Practical SEO for Every Blogger
. . . People are giving out advice about ranking in Search engines, when they clearly know nothing whatsoever of the topic.
Worse, in extreme cases . . . they’re giving out information that is patently false, and could actually get bloggers into trouble with some engines. . . .
There are no quick fixes.
I’ve been in and out of websites and blogs, following links on SEO from every search engine. I know I can spell SEO. I know a few other things too. There are people on the web who know much, much more. There are some who don’t, but say they do. There are a few who will propose that the metaphor in this photograph is real.
This picture of Search Engine Optimization is a fantasy. I know. I made it. The only thing concrete about SEO is that the rules are always changing. This can be frustrating, but it’s very much worth supporting.
The alternative is that everyone knows the algorithms that search engines use to build their indexes and how each engine values criteria such as link popularity and themes. We really shouldn’t want to know everything. That would be wrong, as wrong as burning books is. Think about it. One of two things would happen.
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1. We would spend more time talking about search engines and even less time talking about readers and quality content. The conversation would become “how to fit the algorithms–how to pass the test.” More time spent discussing the test is less time spent on content. If the rules were available, we’d have no choice but to follow them. Ignore what everyone knows, and we fall off the listings. Suddenly search engines would be controlling everything we said. That’s if the system stood.
2. The current information access system would completely fall apart. What happens when everyone is number one? No one is. Users would be left with thousands, millions of choices all ranked equally authorative and relevant–a universe of information with no indexing system. It hurts to think about it.
Eric Mutta and I are structuring this series with an eye toward what we really need to know as bloggers and what we can let go of. We’re looking for Optimum SEO that will keep the bulk of our time for attending to our readers and the content they deserve.
We’ll talk through the available resources and how things work. We’ll share plenty of information and places to get more. In other words, this will be Practical SEO for Every Blogger. Don’t be surprised if we all become better search engine users by the end of the series.
And if I meet someone claiming an SEO answer that is set in stone, I will say most graciously, I prefer mine etched in ice.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
