Comments on: Spammers, Evildoers, and Opportunists

By: Derek Powazek

Derek Powazek — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:35:13 +0000

Comments here are closed. Please see the followup SEO FAQ.

By: Chris Sloan

Chris Sloan — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:34:33 +0000

I can understand some of the frustration; there are a lot of individuals out there that have seriously tarnished the reputation of this industry as a whole. I agree that some of the things to do are obvious, but if my time is worth $500 an hour and I can pay someone to provide a service for me that’s $65 an hour I’m not going to spend hours learning to do the “Obvious” myself.

To the statement “SEO is poisoning the web;” I would reply “ABUSIVE SEO is poisoning the web.” Not everyone has evil ententions and in-fact we’ve been preaching many of the points you’ve made for years, but I’d ask that you not lump everyone into the snake oil sales all at once.

Also, isn’t link bait an SEO tactic, because I’m sure you’ll get some links for this one?

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:28:17 +0000

Great post. Content is king, always!

By: Martin

Martin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:27:54 +0000

For some peculiar reason people are still not getting it right in terms of making sure that the code etc. is optimized and stuff like that – That’s why we still need SEO experts!

On the content/design side I agree with you Derek – and I have been going on and on about the same thing for years but I guess some time common sense is not just that common!

By: mkhall

mkhall — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:19:28 +0000

“The problem isn’t necessarily SEO, it’s those that abuse SEO in order to push their shitty content higher up in the results than actual, legitimate and more more relevant content.”

This is 100% on the money here. You don’t need good product/content, you just need to hide your competitors.

By: Yogi

Yogi — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:18:22 +0000

Seems to me that most of the pushback comes from SEO people. Funny, that.

Further, if you really read what Derek said, you’ll see that most of the comments don’t actually speak to what he wrote: they attack his delivery, or his choice of words, or complain that he left out some trivial thing or, funniest, that what he talks about is not “obvious”. And, of course, we can always blame our clients for not being willing to pay for our special expertise.

But designing a web site is not what it was 10 years ago, and anyone who takes the job today should either be willing to be a real pro (like JV, above, who seems to have missed out on the idea that what he did is what is expected of a professional web designer) or be willing to accept that they are a hack because “the client won’t pay for it if I don’t call it SEO.”

If my mechanic were as unethical as most SEO people, my car would have needed a transmission replacement, instead of a tune-up. Hey, wait a minute…

By: Eric Hayes

Eric Hayes — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:18:12 +0000

JV, okay so there are good web developers and good copy writers, when the two come together they “make good websites.”

By: Network Geek

Network Geek — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:10:19 +0000

First off, loved this post.
Secondly, I agree that SEO should be a part of the process of building a good, functional website, not an extra service bought after the fact.
Thirdly, I love, love, love your formula for visibility success; “Make something great. Tell people about it. Do it again.” In the end, lasting value is all that matters. (I’d like to think that my blog being the #1 hit for “network geek” on Google is related to the value I’ve provided over the past ten years or so.)

Lastly, this post proves that the advice of taking an apparently controversial stand on something on your webpage will drive traffic and links! Fantastic! Lead by example! Brilliant! ;)

By: Aptly Creative

Aptly Creative — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:01:13 +0000

I don’t sell SEO as a service, I include it as part of a site design. I put it very simply to clients, SEO = good content.

By: Cheryl Wilson

Cheryl Wilson — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:56:58 +0000

This article makes so many assumptions that it’s more hilarious that anything else. Anyone can pick an industry apart and write a self serving negative post. Building a business online or is more than do something “great”. What’s great to you may not be great to your target audience. SEO will always be controversial. If you are going to launch an online business without investigating sound SEO principles, it’s your choice. However, you will more than likely miss some very obvious opportunities that SEO can uncover.