http://www.soloseo.com/blog/2006/12/19/do-it-yourself-seo-for-small-businesses/ SEO for All Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:38:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 http://www.soloseo.com/blog/2006/12/19/do-it-yourself-seo-for-small-businesses/#comment-1969 SoloSEO Blog » Bloggers Lack Respect Fri, 09 Mar 2007 21:26:19 +0000 http://www.soloseo.com/blog/2006/12/19/do-it-yourself-seo-for-small-businesses/#comment-1969 [...] As I now I sit here… a blogger, somewhat educated (with a Bachelor in Economics, a MBA, and working on my dissertation for a Ph.D. in OM), but with no formal education in SEO. I don’t remember that class being offered at the university. So my formal knowledge on SEO is suspect I guess, it has come from a few popular SEO books (who knows if they are really of value or not), personal experience, attendance at PubCon, and blogs, and our success with SoloSEO, although steady, isn’t as earth shattering as I would liked it to be after only 3 “official” months, and yet I still am blogging. I can now see Blog mountain from this side and my perspective is different. Before getting our first businesses online, I had no extensive knowledge into Internet Marketing, Do-It-Yourself SEO, as Internet Marketing wasn’t a course offered way back then. Nor did I have any idea that there was such a wellspring of information on the topic online. This abundance of info comes from some very intelligent, and trustworthy individuals. However, because of the three strict credentials listed above, I truly had a difficult time giving many “SEO experts” respect right out of the gate. While I have made my peace with many SEO blogs and are comfortable with their interpretation of SEO principles, I am still often dumbfounded by some of the speculation, and mind-numbingly simple deductions made by some considered most knowledgeable among us. Comments I read in blogs like “I think,” “my Spidey sense tells me,” or “based on my gut” followed by a claim concerning how the search engines algorithms MAY work, cause me to gulp the Pepto. In the world of academic writing, any claim made by an author needs to be defended by statistically reliable results, or at least based on some long term research which indicates, within a statistically acceptable level, a strong possibility of fact. But in the world of blogging, anyone can claim to be an expert, run some unscientific, and even questionable tests (or not do anything at all), and then throw the results out there as probable truths. I believe it is this free wielding of ideas which causes many “offline” reporters/media sorts to question the credibility of bloggers. I’m not saying it’s right, and it is obviously stereotypical. Plus I don’t think many reporters have sound a footing from which to throw stones anyway, but with major market changes comes detractors, and due partly to woeful failings of mainstream media, bloggers have continually gained notoriety, and have found a voice. [...] […] As I now I sit here… a blogger, somewhat educated (with a Bachelor in Economics, a MBA, and working on my dissertation for a Ph.D. in OM), but with no formal education in SEO. I don’t remember that class being offered at the university. So my formal knowledge on SEO is suspect I guess, it has come from a few popular SEO books (who knows if they are really of value or not), personal experience, attendance at PubCon, and blogs, and our success with SoloSEO, although steady, isn’t as earth shattering as I would liked it to be after only 3 “official” months, and yet I still am blogging. I can now see Blog mountain from this side and my perspective is different. Before getting our first businesses online, I had no extensive knowledge into Internet Marketing, Do-It-Yourself SEO, as Internet Marketing wasn’t a course offered way back then. Nor did I have any idea that there was such a wellspring of information on the topic online. This abundance of info comes from some very intelligent, and trustworthy individuals. However, because of the three strict credentials listed above, I truly had a difficult time giving many “SEO experts” respect right out of the gate. While I have made my peace with many SEO blogs and are comfortable with their interpretation of SEO principles, I am still often dumbfounded by some of the speculation, and mind-numbingly simple deductions made by some considered most knowledgeable among us. Comments I read in blogs like “I think,” “my Spidey sense tells me,” or “based on my gut” followed by a claim concerning how the search engines algorithms MAY work, cause me to gulp the Pepto. In the world of academic writing, any claim made by an author needs to be defended by statistically reliable results, or at least based on some long term research which indicates, within a statistically acceptable level, a strong possibility of fact. But in the world of blogging, anyone can claim to be an expert, run some unscientific, and even questionable tests (or not do anything at all), and then throw the results out there as probable truths. I believe it is this free wielding of ideas which causes many “offline” reporters/media sorts to question the credibility of bloggers. I’m not saying it’s right, and it is obviously stereotypical. Plus I don’t think many reporters have sound a footing from which to throw stones anyway, but with major market changes comes detractors, and due partly to woeful failings of mainstream media, bloggers have continually gained notoriety, and have found a voice. […]

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