Do We Need SEO Standards?

[janeth]

Bruceclay.com - We Do Need SEO Standards

We Don't Need SEO Standards!

I would have to disagree with Lisa and agree with Jill on this one.

1. There are too many ways of skinning the SEO cat.
2. We can’t even agree on the definition of search engine optimization.
3. There are already laws to protect people from SEO scam.
4. There’s no such thing as “cheating” in SEO.

Even if you did set up standards how in the world would you make them mean anything.

[incrediblehelp]

Janeth I agree with Jill as well. I wouldnt mind seeing it attempted though so we all can start discussion about it and pick apart why it doesnt work to learn more about the overall process and to see if it is truly impossible.

[janeth]

I was reading through some of the comments over on Bruce Clay’s blog and a couple things hit me. One was by Brian. Brain was saying that if the SEO industry does not come out with standards the U.S government would. A lot of work in the U.S is already being outsourced to other countries due to the government’s involvement in how one runs their business. And I am not sure that the U.S government would even be able to enforce such standards but it would take a lot of U.S companies out of the game.

If the U.S put standards on the SEO companies they would put junk in that would cause U.S companies to raise their prices and they would no longer be able to compete on the internet.

But the best reason for not doing it came from Kalena. She claims the industry needs standards because there are too many people loading up blogs with nonsense about "rel='nofollow'" and sculpting PageRank.

I don’t want to get into a debate about sculpting PageRank but can you imagine how long it would take the U.S government to decide rather something like sculpting PageRank was good or not. It would take U.S companies years before they would be able to get into something new because they would be waiting on a government organization to decide rather what they were doing was good or not.

[kevsta]

lol @ governments setting standards for seo.

this has got to be an april fools attempt

[janeth]

Originally Posted by kevsta

lol @ governments setting standards for seo.

this has got to be an april fools attempt

It does seem strange that SEO's would be calling for standards, unless they were unable to compete and wanted to level the playing field.

[inertia]

Originally Posted by janeth

It does seem strange that SEO's would be calling for standards, unless they were unable to compete and wanted to level the playing field.

I really don't get it!? How can you possibly set standards for something like SEO?!

Everybody does it differently, has different ideas, and has different methods - therefore it would never work. The playing field is already level. There is nothing to stop one SEO doing exactly the same as an other. The only thing that separates the two is knowledge.

[kgun]

Do you know.

It is possible to make a life jacket following ISO standards and fill it with concrete

Compare it with the financial industry in USA today. If you watch Cnn, you will see that there is much talk about giving more power to the FED and the SEC. The exellent commentators there say that

1. This is the largest regulation since the great depression.
2. It will reduce CEO's to accountant's. I partly agree.
3. As a minimum it will not be effective before after the election.

SEO can in my view be reduced to:

1. Science. You need a minimum statistical / mathematical / alogorithmic background to understand the Bot's (software).
   
   "Actually, "contextual" indexing and retrieval has been part of the algo at the "theme-based" engines (Google, Alltheweb and Lycos) for a couple years now at least. Some of the components are Latent Symantic Indexing and Term Vectoring. If you've got the patience and time, Study those subjects. My Clients and I have been prospering from knowledge of how this works for almost two years now. And I agree that this area is the most interesting and where many of the coolest innovations of search marketing are and will be appearing".
2. Art (The different hat operaters are part of that category).

[kevsta]

at the high end, the forefront of seo knowledge i am sure youre right Kgun, but am also sure there are very many excellent SEO's out there without such background, earning good money for themselves and their clients as we speak.

[janeth]

Why do SEO for someone else at all when you can do SEO for yourself and make all the money?

[inertia]

Originally Posted by janeth

Why do SEO for someone else at all when you can do SEO for yourself and make all the money?

That's something that people ask me all the time! "Instead of making someone else loads of money why not make yourself loads of money?"

I always answer the question like this - like many companies i am in my (SEO) infancy and (like most new companies in their infancy) not earning a huge amount of money.

As i progress and my knowledge/experience/achievements/reputation improves. I will be able to demand more money for my services. Hopefully i will get to a point where i am earning as much money as some of the top end SEO consultants I've spoken to and heard of.

When I'm at this point i will be glad that i didn't copy the (last client i did SEO for) "sports nutrition guy" who i made loads of money for in the noughties!

Its a long winded explanation but you get the idea!

[kgun]

Originally Posted by janeth

Why do SEO for someone else at all when you can do SEO for yourself and make all the money?

Like having two mobile phones talking to yourself. That may even be free here if you are on your own family list.

[janeth]

Originally Posted by inertia

That's something that people ask me all the time! "Instead of making someone else loads of money why not make yourself loads of money?"

I always answer the question like this - like many companies i am in my (SEO) infancy and (like most new companies in their infancy) not earning a huge amount of money.

It's not just about making money. You have to make the client enough money that they think it is worth paying for your services.

Another words...if I am paying you $4,000.00 a month I should be making $8,000.00 or more.

So you never make as much as the client plus you have to answer all their stupid questions.

[janeth]

Originally Posted by kgun

Like having two mobile phones talking to yourself. That may even be free here if you are on your own family list.

Sounds about like SEO to me. lol

[inertia]

Originally Posted by janeth

It's not just about making money. You have to make the client enough money that they think it is worth paying for your services.

Another words...if I am paying you $4,000.00 a month I should be making $8,000.00 or more.

So you never make as much as the client plus you have to answer all their stupid questions.

But what if i have 10 clients?

[janeth]

Originally Posted by inertia

But what if i have 10 clients?

Then you have to make all 10 of them more money then they are paying you.

[kgun]

You may lay with your head in the refrigerator and your feet in the oven and on average "feel comfortable".

[Zombie Master]

I've probably been at this game longer than most... worked on ICM computers on Phantom jets in the '60's, AOL coding RAINMAN in the early 90's and wrote coding tests for employers in the late 90's but I wouldn't qualify for any SEO standards because I've never taken a class on it.

However, my clients always see a tremendous rise in SERP's when I take over an account and I never use black hat techniques.

I agree there should be standards but who would write them?

I'm reminded of Bertrand Russell (America's foremost philosopher in the latter part of the last century) who was given the suggestion he should get his PhD.

He responded, "Who would teach me?"