What’s Wrong with the SEO Industry
Every once and a while I like to get on my SEO soapbox and talk about what I think is wrong with the SEO industry. Keep in mind that I have been working in this industry for over 12 years and I really love doing it, but every industry has its faults and the world of SEO is no exception. This industry probably has one of the worst reputations out of any marketing-related field, mainly because most news regarding the SEO industry focuses on the black hat, the spammers and the SEO con men. It’s no wonder John Q Businessman doesn’t trust me when we first meet. Once bit, twice shy and I have to work that much harder to convince him that I truly want his business to succeed.
One of my biggest complaints with the SEO industry is that anyone can claim to be an SEO expert.
There really aren’t many schools offering Internet marketing degrees, but even after studying the industry, any professional with a few years under their belt will tell you that a degree doesn’t make you an expert, experience does. Yet anyone with a computer can set up shop and create an Internet marketing business, establishing themselves as an expert. What kind of experience do these “experts” really have? While SEO might seem like an easy enough industry to learn about and get involved in, it isn’t something you master overnight. While the basics can be picked up rather quickly, really understanding how the search engines work and how far reaching SEO is takes years of experience.
Website owners looking for SEO help have hundreds if not thousands of companies to choose from. This means that the good and bad SEO companies are constantly battling each other for business. SEO con men will offer an unbelievable amount of service for an unbelievably low rate. They win the client because website owners are looking for the biggest bang for their buck and don’t have a lot of extra money to spread around. These “experts” take the money, do a shoddy job and call it a day. Now that site owner has a bad taste in their mouth for SEO. They rant about their horrible experience and the SEO industry takes another hit.
When you call yourself an expert, you better be able to deliver.
Working as the in-house SEO manager for a large brand doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready to take on the branding battles of smaller companies. Without the budget and brand clout to help you out, do you really know what it takes to help a business do well?
As I mentioned, I have been working in this industry for 12 years, and I still don’t consider myself an expert. The rules of SEO are always changing and once you master one thing, a whole new system is put into play. SEO is all about rolling with the punches and adapting. Personally, I think very people can call themselves SEO experts because of that. When the techniques, tactics and rules are constantly changing, how can you ever know enough to call yourself an expert?
14 Responses to “What’s Wrong with the SEO Industry”
SEO Journal is Written by
Brick Marketing Founder,
Nick Stamoulis:
Nick Stamoulis - SEO Bio.
Tel. - 877-295-0620
nick@brickmarketing.com
Connect with Nick Stamoulis
Brick Marketing - SEO Company
I am a computer technician. My clients asked me about Web Promotion. I started the research about a year ago. I have a technicnian’s point of view, and came to the conclusion that building the structure first is the proper approach for me.
I did a haphazard promotion for [david anders, the computer guy, seattle] as I was reading hundreds of guides, tutorials and blogs. I ended up with 7 blogs (did not have one before), another 6 free websites, claiming my Google Places, Bing Local, Yahoo Local and Yelp page for my business. Listed on Yellowpages, Superpages, Local.com, Manta, and many others.
The Yelp page has produced the most income. I assume the other parts have contributed to the YELP page ranking (good reviews help, too)
I understand a lot more, now. And I feel I can charge clients for the structure creation. Whether they hire a SEO to enhance the basics, is up to them. I use Scribefire for writing and posting, I like it alot and suggest you try it.
I posted links to your top posts on six of my blogs.
AMEN! I have been talking about this and fighting this for years. I usually try and help the mom & pop companies that need an Internet presence. But way to many times they have already been scammed or treated so poorly that they believe ALL SEO people are scam artists.
It is a reputation that I wish I could stop and help these people before it is too late.
SEO is not the only “industry” suffering from faux experts.
Nearly every credential/non-credentialed industry/profession is rife with false prophets. (It strikes one as interesting as how this affect precisely mirrors the US governments which are dysfunctional at every level.)
Education, more education, and more degrees means only one is proficient at taking tests and regurgitating (frequently with undesired fluids). Few can think for themselves.
Like every other skill, digital or otherwise, working-learning, learning-working, hands-on, measured results, and first hand experience with success are more important than credentials, or huge numbers of sites/clients/cases.
Watch out for those who tell you “WP is nowhere”, “let us run your site”, “let us host your site”, or “let us build your site” … They are only salesmen in SEO glasses. The SEO person you want/need doesn’t do those things.
Truly good professionals are hard to find–they are not out of their offices knocking on doors or sending mountains of email; they are busy doing that which makes them professional. Hint: SEO. That is, you must search them out in person, not Google keywords of relevant terms and pursue the top ranked hit.
As there is no free hot lunch, there are no quick, easy or free solutions to success with SEO, or any other phases of life.
One of the easiest ways to spot an SEO scam artist is with the quality of the copy they promote themselves with. I have been brought in as a consultant in a couple of cases after a clients website failed to perform, or fell in the SERP’s after a scam SEO effort.
In each case, the quality of the content was dismal, and the SEO scammer used black hat techniques to promote it.
I’ve emphasized this point to potential clients, and it has worked well for differentiating my work from the Black Hats. The ethical members of the SEO industry are easy to spot, the content they promote themselves with will be well written.
As an ethical SEO/Content Manager, I emphasize the quality of content as the foundation of any SEO effort. In each situation where I’ve been brought in to “fix” bad SEO, I have focused on improving the quality of the content as the first step.
If a potential client is not interested in improving the quality of their content, I will walk away. There is no ethical way to promote bad content. This is why I firmly believe that the ethical SEO industry must promote quality of content as a significant differentiating factor between White Hat & Black Hat SEO.
As an SEO, a degree doesn’t have anything to do with the quality of your work. It is the content that you use to promote your effort which speaks volumes about the quality of the work you do.
Its really no different from any other profession. I mean how do companies know that a potential marketing director is any good? or an IT director? – because they have a degree from a liberal arts school, 5 years ago ?
There is also another contributing factor in that most businesses think a web person, is a web person is an IT person. We are all the same .. right ?
I look at it as opportunity .. so many bad SEO agencies, creating so many opportunities for the good guys. Its easy to show potential clients where their current provider is missing the mark. What other profession can you do that? You cant apply for a job as an accountant and show a company how their books are currently being cooked ?
As always .. good article Nick !
Hi Nick,
Great post, living in Malaysia, they are lot of guys claiming to be Gurus of the internet. One such Guru met up with me and couldn’t answer the basics of web marketing. I appreciate your point. I wouldn’t consider myself an expert in the class of people like Rand Fiskin and yourself. Thanks for the post.
@Mathew, I agree with you mate, way too many people getting scammed and it really makes people who do the job look bad
Bravo Nick!
Great article, as always. Everybody wants to claim to be an SEO expert, just like they want to claim they are a video producer because they’ve owned a flip cam for 3 months now!
Also, anytime you have a service that is not well understood by the customer, it is SO EASY for some smooth talker to convince a customer that they know it all! As you know, I hired a company that preyed upon that ignorance. I firmly believe that they were convinced that as long as they kept the BS flowing, then I, as an ill-informed customer, would believe they were doing all this work when in fact they were not doing squat. That was their business model! sigh….I am still paying for that.
Keep up the good work!
LG
Hi Nick
It’s very hard to determine what being an expert is. I have way more background in technology than many of my clients but that to me doesn’t make me an expert. Even in industries that have training, certification and degrees, that does guarantee an expert.
We all get ranked by our ability to meet our clients needs best we can. SEO is tough because it changes so much. I don’t even know if Google can count themselves as experts.
In past years, we saw Expert Desktop Publishers, Expert Web Developers, and now Expert SEO people. And yes there are scammers…many of them.
I feel potential clients need to do more research themselves and structure any SEO work they do on a temporary basis or ask for more details on what is being done. The legit SEO companies need to look at maybe better educating people. If a scammer says, I can get you in #1 or #2 spot in Google….well they are lying. Buyer beware.
In the SEO work that I do, I find that if you play by the rules and follow the guidelines from Google and other search engines, you can be successful. But you have to be honest with people. And they can’t be distracted by advertising from scammer SEO people. Some of the onus is on the business consumer I hate to say.
Lastly, I am finding that SEO is so much more tied to good content, active social media work and clean/clear coding. Submit a great website with proper information and content and you will rise to the top. Thats where in my opinion alot of people fall down…they don’t do the above and then rely on SEO to make magic happen.
My 2 cents! :+))
Gordon
You hit the nail on the head with this one, Nick. I’ve seen some of the SEO turned out by others. All I can do is shake my head.
To David Anders, I like what you said about how your focus is on one aspect of marketing. You’re not trying to be all things to all people. I love that! I am the same way.
Whatever comes easy has a lot of experts! You don’t have a lot of CFAs or Engineering Grads, do you? SEO is the latest field for frauds.
Great comments as always Nick!
Like Lorraine, I too hired a company who preyed on my ignorance – a month was all it took and I am still paying for the “help”.
Even though I thought I did do my due diligence – they did not explain everything (and I don’t think my rep even knew) they (the techies in the background) were going to do and I ended up with non-existent 800 numbers on a mirrored copy of my website. They took over my free listings and changed the numbers and website on them as well and one by one I have to find them and fight to get them “re-claimed” – what a mess!
Now I do it myself, a little at a time, each day with help from you!
Nick, great post. The good thing about the proliferation of poor or scam style SEO “experts” is that once you are able to work with a client and show real results, they are not sold on SEO – they are sold on you. Then they tell others and before you know it you have a full stable. Since it takes quite a lot of work to deliver real results today and work of an ongoing nature, most of us only can handle a set amount of regular customers. The key then becomes charging what we are worth and continuing to deliver what they are paying for. I find it helpful to give live seminars every few months which establishes our company as one of the good guys that really knows what they are talking about and gives potential clients the ability to ask question in a non-threatening, non-sales environment. Once we truly establish ourselves as the authority and can demonstrate results, the attraction model of marketing delivers the new customers. Thanks for a great post as usual.
Frank
Hello Nick….
I have been an accountant/economist for about 46 years and have started this import/export website last year. Trying to create jobs through export if US products to mainland China. You would not believe (probably) the BS I encounter when I try to find a legitimate, i.e. honest SEO type. I need two, one for the US (Google?) and one for China (Baidoo). All these “experts” are looking to Get Rich Quick off my small income. I am really tired of GWP, a/ka
“Greedy White People”. Home in Maine, we express pique as “I’m going to kick’em with a frozen boot!”. We paid good money for our current website, which stinks. I am rewriting it and adding new suppliers and will relaunch, probably by January 2012.
Right now I have a company telling me it will cost $80/month to get good positioning on Google. I do not know what is true, what is normal. Baidoo is still unknown but we are researching that cost too.
Any ideas from anyone? Do not want to good things illegal or not kosher.
Regards to you all…Guy Gray