OK...
I am not saying SEO is bad...really...hear me out...
I get asked a lot about SEO/SEM and PPC (pay-per-click) advertising. To be honest, I think many of the "SEO experts" that sprung up mysteriously and suddenly between 2004-2006 were just scam artists looking to make a fast buck. [...More like a few thousand quick bucks; per sucker.] Here's why ...
Many unscrupulous types of people that had no web experience whatsoever, and whom barely knew HTML became self-proclaimed *experts* overnight by scaring web site owners with this "we can't find your web site" baloney. Many of them will tell you, you don't need to know anything about the web and code to be an SEO expert - to which I'll say is a load of bull.
As a webmaster, I get several telemarketing calls a month from these screwballs that cook-up different scare-tactic schemes that range from the ridiculous to the partially truthful. That's sooooo, "2004". But overall, the reality of it is, not one person who has ever called peddling SEO/SEM services has ever once told me (my company, my clients) that I need more or better content -- which largely is the truth for any under-performing web site.
Let me tell you why...
You can't throw a website up on the Net that has no content as expect to be "number 1 on Google" -- and any *SEO Expert* that tells you they can either guarantee you results or make you number one -- if you have no content -- or not very good content -- is lying to you.
The Scam Artists
I know of a local firm here in Florida (who shall remain nameless) that sells SEO/SEM for $2000-$3000 a MONTH [that's before a single pay-per-click ad is run, by the way...] that proudly bills itself as a "pay per performance" company. Hmmm... Pay per performance at $2-3K a month? Oh, the $2K is a *maintenance fee*, they say.
Let me tell you something ... if you have two to three grand a month to blow, you don't need SEO -- just a good pay-per-click campaign and the right keywords -- or, for $24,000 to $36,000 a simple lobotomy is certainly within reach.
No amount of SEO/SEM can help a site that doesn't have good content, and anyone that tells you any differently is stealing from you.
Wait! Don't throw SEO out entirely ...
If you are going to hire any SEO artisté -- get a good one! The first thing I like to hear from such people is that they have looked at my CONTENT -- not just run my URL through SEOTools and Google AdWords and lopped me some silly fear-tactic driven proposal. The minute one of these charlatans starts blathering on about ALT and TITLE tags and hasn't dropped the terms keyword density, depth of content and SEO-friendly copy, it's pretty easy to tell that their SEO experience came from some PowerPoint presentation they stole from the University of Boondocks at-large web site.
So SEO isn't all bad ...
Expecting to be number one on Google without proper texts on your site is ...
SEO is an art and a process that never ends. Don't be suckered in by the snake-oil salesman with the matchbook degree.
</tim.staney>
About Tim Staney
Tim Staney has more than ten years (since 1997) of web development experience building enterprise-grade web applications for Fortune 500, small business and not-for-profit enterprises across the United States and Canada over a wide-range of industries. Tim specializes in information architecture, content management with a keen focus on user experience, and social media integration.
Tim Staney is a resident of St. Petersburg, Florida and active member of his community.
Staney regularly presents to professional and community groups, speaking on social media, social marketing, web content management and web strategy.
Tim Staney is a member of the American Marketing Association and <uwebd />, University Web Developers as well as the St. Peter's Episcopal Cathedral Communications Task Force. Tim is the Web Content Manager at St. Petersburg College working for the Marketing and Public Information department managing content in the college's Ektron content management system. Tim also teaches courses like Social Marketing for Small Buisness and Designing Effective Websites for St. Petersburg College's Learn to Earn program.
/contact.aspx "Contact Web Developer Tim Staney of St. Petersburg, Florida")
Except where otherwise attributed, the statements, thoughts, views and beliefs in this blog post are solely those of the author.