Breaking into the SEO Clique – One Year Later
About a year ago I wrote a blog post entitled “How to Break into the SEO Clique.” The post centered on one of my few personal frustrations with the SEO industry; the cold shoulder and cliquey attitude SEO professionals tend to have towards one another. The post focused on my relationship with a top SEO site that had asked me to stop commenting on their blog posts, even though I was submitting quality, well-thought out comments. I’d spend a half hour writing a three paragraph response only to have it rejected by the site administrator. Understandably, I was a little bit miffed.
So as to not ruffle any feathers, I stopped commenting on the blog for a while, just as I was asked. I didn’t want to make waves and have potential clients view me as someone who is difficult to work with and likes to make trouble. I’d submit one comment every few months, just to keep my profile on the site active.
A few months ago, I decided to ramp up my blog commenting on this particular site. I paid for a membership, which meant that my comments should have gone through immediately, free from administrator editing. That was one of the perks of the paid subscription. I had only been at it a week when I realized that, once again, none of my comments were going through! I thought there might have been a glitch in the system, so I let it rest for a few days. Then I submitted a three paragraph comment that did eventually post, so I assumed the issue had been fixed. I checked back on that comment to see if anyone had followed up, only to discover that it had been removed!
Why would this or any other site have comments enabled if they are only going to let members of their clique join in the conversation? I can understand a site owner trying to control the amount of spam comments being left, by why not let someone who is actively trying to contribute to the conversation post their comments?
I wasn’t trying to clutter the site’s feed (which is one of the reason’s I was asked to stop commenting in the first place). I’m just trying to be the best SEO practitioner I can be to help my clients and build my company. Part of doing that is being involved in the SEO community by reading and commenting on relevant industry blogs. It a big part of how I stay aware of trends and news in the industry.
Maybe it’s because we see our fellow SEO professionals as competition as opposed to comrades in the industry. I think having you competition commenting on your blog is a great thing! It means you are doing something right. As long as we stay civil about it, where is the problem?
Has any other SEO professional felt like they just weren’t part of the “cool kids” crowd? I’m ok with not playing in their sandbox, but I think, as an industry, we need to stay respectful of each other. SEO has a hard enough time fighting a bad reputation brought on by black hat practitioners. We don’t need to turn on each other as well.
11 Responses to “Breaking into the SEO Clique – One Year Later”
The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Journal is Written by SEO Expert:
Nick Stamoulis
Tel - 781-999-1222
nick@brickmarketing.com
Brick Marketing - SEO Company
o yes! i totally agree with you. I’m a beginner in the SEO industry but unfortunately i’ve already felt the hospitality of some SEO bloggers. I really tried not to spam, write relevant comments but sometimes i was not welcome on the site just because. I hope you wont do the same
We all are people with similar hobbies and knowledge needs. We should if not cooperate then at least understand each others.
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Manifo,
I’d be happy to hear from you again on another blog post! Blogs are inherently social, so if I’m not willing to let people comment and have a conversation, what’s the point? Thanks for stopping by.
Nick
Nick, couldn’t agree with you more! WTH is ‘up’ with some of these people? I can’t count the number of times I’ve got the ‘cold shoulder’ from other SEO’s. It is a very cliquey industry.
A recent poll by seoroundtable.com suggests that a lot of SEO people turn their noses up at the idea of certification based on set standards in the industry. Easy to dismiss if you’re an established SEO, but what about new people trying to break into the industry?
I can only conclude that many are simply afraid of the competition from newcomers. I wish some of them would participate in helping SEO newbies achieve the same standard of excellence that they uphold so that businesses would be able to receive the same value across the board.
One of the problems with welcoming others into your circle is the number of “bad apples” in the industry. If you read a comment by one of these “bad apples”, do you comment on it? If so, what do you say? Obviously, the owner of the blog does not want anyone chasing away potential clients. Even if your comment can be helpful to the blog owner, assuming they are not one of the aforementioned “bad apples”, they may not see it that way. Going another way, do you want potential clients to know that you are associating with an unethical company?
When deciding who to network with, how do you tell the “bad apples” from the good ones, or the ones who simply don’t yet know any better?
Hi Joseph,
Great questions! Thanks for stopping by and bringing them up!
Take Care,
NIck
I agree Nick. There does seem to be a clique of sorts when it comes to SEO. I think we like to keep things secret so nobody can trump us, but in reality if we share our secrets we become more valuable to the community, our clients and the search engines.
Very true Everett! Thanks for reading and for your comment!
Take Care,
Nick
How true. Having been underemployed for the past few years, and trying to keep up on the sweeping changes due to social media’s effects on marketing, I decided to attend a local social media club in my locality.
My first visit to a club event made me realize the club had ALL kinds of members – from so-called ‘experts’ (really? The field hasn’t been around all that long) to half-novices like myself genuinely looking to learn, grow, and network for potential jobs.
First event, some Little Ms. Thing-Thing told me snootily that “I should not even try” and that she charges “$300 per hour” to run Facebook fan pages for clients. Several others at the event also had an air of haughtiness, and a lack of willingness to discuss best practices or places where one my go and learn. So … why are we at a meeting for professionals?
More recently, I went to another meeting that was blessed by some high-level speakers from a diverse range of professionals. The forum was well done.
But once again, I sat next to another young woman. Our conversation started off well enough — we even discovered we had worked across the hall from one another at a large firm where I had contracted in to write web content.
Oddly, as we discussed social media her mood turned more and more aloof and she did that thing I despise from Gen-Ys … typing away on her cell phone, not looking at me, and making bored conversation.
Excuse me! Look kid, I’ve done marketing for longer than you’ve been able to drive. At least say, “Excuse me … I have some work to catch up on.” It’s called manners. Try it sometime.
(Perhaps they thought I was hitting on them? Beats me — the big ring on my finger should have been a clue. Besides, bony and rude is not my style).
But aside from the rudeness, it was the utter arrogance or both experiences that hit me. Sorry if I am still learning and asking questions! How about being a professional and gracing me with your knowledge and wisdom? Don’t assume because I am in my 40s I do not “get it.” I certainly need to, in order to hold onto jobs today.
And I sure as hell know more about marketing and writing than you do, pumpkin.
So folks, let’s please show some courtesy to each other. Yes, we may on occasion compete with one another. But we are all in this together — to make a living and do the best work for our clients and companies.
The rise of the digital age should not mean decorum, manners and professional courtesy are dead. In fact, we need those traits more than ever if we are all to prosper.
Shame on me — promoting my writing ability and then posting with improper spelling. *sigh* Long day, my apologies.
Thanks John for reading and for sharing your great story!
Take Care,
Nick