Rubel Vs. Beal: Social Media As Search Engine Optimization; Good Practice Or Evil Doing?

Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Monday, 25 of February , 2008 at 11:41 am

Wow! Andy Beal whipped out the Bible on Steve Rubel.

Of course, it was warranted. Rubel is all over Search Engine Optimization experts about using social media.

What I don’t get is what Uncle Sam and the Good Book have to do with Search Engine Optimization or social media marketing. OK, I do understand Beal’s scripture banging a bit. But what is the deal with Uncle Sam at the top of Rubel’s blog post? Is he telling us it’s unpatriotic to engage in Search Engine Optimization or to engage in social media marketing as search engine optimization?

Just listen to Rubel’s snarky mandates:

Search engine optimization professionals of late seem poised to take over blogs, digg, StumbleUpon and other sites with a range of tactics, some legit, others more questionable with the intent of building Google Juice and nothing more.

To be clear, I do not object to the way that blogs, digg links and Wikipedia rank highly in search results. What does get me hot and bothered is when consultants and bloggers propose launching such an initiatives solely for influencing search. Search Engine Optimization, like word of mouth, should be a byproduct outcome, not a primary objective.

But the Search Engine Optimization shenanigans for the sake of SEO has to stop. If you’re going to play in our sandbox, follow the community’s (unwritten) rules.

I’ve always had a problem with unwritten rules. If they’re rules, why not just write them down? Let’s codify them so that we all know how to break them more easily.

So Rubel is pretty clear: SEOs performing social media marketing for the primary purpose of achieving Search Engine Optimization results are anathema. Uhhh, I disagree, but that’s his opinion. I like the way Beal has answered him, however:

Oh come off it Steve. What about the multitude of PR firms that flood social media with company profiles of their clients–all with the sole intent of building their brand recognition. They want to “appear” as if they’re engaging their customers, but really they’re just jumping in so they can figure out how to push their brand on users.

Steve Rubel is right. He’s not the only one that feels that the way he does. But Beal is right as well. He’s not the only one who feels the way he does. There are plenty of blackhat SEOs out there making the rest of us look bad, but this really isn’t about blackhat Search Engine Optimization. It is about any type of Search Engine Optimization. Rubel says, in one breath, that he doesn’t mind Diggs and other social media getting Google juice, but he does mind people pursuing Search Engine Optimization results through those media. Well, if there is Google juice to be had then people will pursue it. It’s human nature. You can not like it all you want, but there is clear Search Engine Optimization benefit from some forms of social media marketing. It isn’t exploiting the media to seek out the benefits. It’s just plain smart.

Category: SEO, Social & Viral Marketing

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