Question for the Week of April 20th, 2008
There is a discussion over at WebProWorld about setting
standards for SEO.
http://www.webproworld.com/search-engine-optimization-forum/68100-do-we-need-search-engine-optimization-standards.html
What are you views on this, O, Mighty Guru? (I think I know,
but could you tell us anyway?)
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There can be no standards set for SEO anymore than there could be standards set for lawyers calling themselves, JO's, (judge optimizers), or mechanics calling themselves RO's (road optimizers), chefs calling themselves TO's (tableware optimizers), or carpenters calling themselves HO's, (hammer optimizers) or ------I could go on for a long time but I think you get the point.
While lawyers may have all kinds of relationships with judges and know what motivates them, they still would never call themselves judge optimizers because
#1. that is NOT what they do
#2. It is misleading and gives the wrong impression
#3. It has negative connotations.
Mechanics and chefs don't call themselves road and tableware optimizers because
#1.While they could not perform their skills were it not for those things being understood and used well, they still have no direct control over them. They do not optimize roads or plates, they optimize cars that use roads and improve the presentation of gourmet food that gets eaten with tableware.
#2. It is mislading and gives the wrong impression
#3. it seems a little silly to call something you do by the name of something you do NOT do.
Carpenters do not call themselves hammer optimizers because
#1. The hammer is just a tool they use to get their job done. They need to possess the skills necassary to effectively make that tool do what they do better, but it still just a tool.
#2. To call themselves a hammer optimizer glorifies the tool and belittles the carpenters skill and dedication to a craft. It makes the hammer the most important aspect of building a house when the fact is, his skill and ability enables him to use a lot of other tools to accomplish the same objective.
#3. Carpenters do not optimze hammers, they build houses.
SEO does not need standards because it does not exist. No one calling themselves an SEO optimizes a search engine.
You can not get a group of people to ever agree on ethical standards by getting everyone to agree to behave a certain way when they do the thing they really don't do. That is why the term ethical SEO is a classic oxymoron. NOT because there are a lot of ways to accomplish online commerce, but because we are all arguing over something that does not exist.
you -- I'm proud to be an ethical SEO
them -- what does SEO stand for???
you -- search engine optimization!
them -- good for you. which search engines do you optimize?
you -- well I don't actually optimize search engines. I just call it that because everyone else does.
them -- doesn't that make you kind of an honest liar????
There are a lot of ways to practice law.
There are a lot of ways to approach auto repair.
Every chef has their own personality injected into the preparation of food
And there must be as many ways to get a house built as there are carpenters
Yet each of these professions have organizations that establish and encourage their membership to follow a set of ethcial standards.
In the Guru's mind, the online marketing industry desparately needs a professional organization but it needs to be open to
website optimizers
PPC experts
usability consultants
copywriters
people who can effectively decipher analytics
mobile phone and wireless marketing specialists
ad jockeys
public relations consultants
split testing experts
php, joomla, drupal, java developers that can enhance navigation and tracking
affiliate marketers
anyone that sells online promotional services
link builders
advertising agencies
and search engine companies.
Then you could set a code of ethics that included things like
Honesty with clients, employees, vendors and shareholders is our foremost responsibility
Always strive to do the most good for the most stakeholders. You, the client, the industry and the web at large
Do what we say we will do
Pay our dues on timeI think that would pretty much cover the basics. From there you could make it as detailed, complex, convuluted, confusing and contradictory as you like, keeping in mind that with each detail comes increased difficulty in majority agreement but as long as 51 out of 100 voted yes, it flies and of course all that really matters is that the code enhances the image of the industry and secures that part about paying the dues on time.
Call it something that welcomes all those different skill sets, stop calling it SEO and call it something that all of those skill sets actually do, like Online Marketing Professionals, and there could be a professional organization for the betterment of the online marketing industry within a matter of a few months.
From there, sub groups could easily be formed,(and separate dues charged), like the PPC Specialists of America, Greater Northern European Lesbian Link Builders Association, the STDW, (split testing dudes of the World) or the Iluminaughty. It would work as long as the PSA really did PPC in America and the GNELLBA really were lesbians and the Iluminaughty really were naughty.
My biggest pet peeve about calling the online marketing industry search engine optimization is that if gives this mystical power to search engines limiting the scope of the services and the marketing results we could all be producing. It somehow makes us all feel that search engines have too much control over us and often abuse that power when it is we ourselves that hand that power to them on a silver platter. We do NOT optimze search engines. Do you think the search engines don't understand that? The only people that seem to not understand that is our potential prospects which I personally believe would be many, MANY times larger if we just called what we do by something that actually reflected the value propositon we offer.
As the SEO community, we can do a LOT of things for a LOT people. All of them highly value driven with very good profits margins. But instead we limit our market, we confuse our prospects and we hand the power of our skills, intelligence, education and research right into the hands of the search engines invalidating ourselves and our industry.
Search enignes are important BUT they don't control design, navigation, effective copy and contrary to popular misconception, they don't control what or how we perform professional online marketing of which search engines are a part, but ONLY a part.
Stop calling it what it isn't and call what it is, (trying to be as inclusive as possible), and a professional industry organization, complete with ethical standards, will soon be upon us and you could at least count on the Guru talking it up big time.
Peace Y'all
G
You're gonna to have quit playin superman. You're ruinin all my good towels!