So here we are at the peek of an industry fluctuating with myths and rumours, with unprofessional sorts attempting to get on the SEO bandwagon, web host companies, web designers, scam artists and the list goes on. To my surprise, I even found an article of mine “SEO Myths & Rumours Exposed” (co written with Ian McAnerin) ripped apart and parts of information contained within some bodge, scam artists attempt at selling SEO secrets for $19.95. Yep, you know the one, send out heaps of spam and hope to sell a poor and ineffective product to those unsuspecting people who think there are some big secrets holding back their website.
You can’t blame people for wanting to attempt SEO themselves. People like me and other global professionals and experts alike just make it all sound too easy. Well, it is easy to us, that’s our job after all. I guess you probably find your job quite easy compared to someone attempting to perform the same tasks for the first time? I look at people attempting SEO for themselves, like a handyman refusing to pay a tradesman to perform the work. With a little learning and some patience, they can generally do just as good a job, if not better, because it contains pride and passion to produce high results. A professional could of done the same thing in probably a quarter of the time, but the same end result was achieved. It is merely the difference between how much time you have to spend vs. the cost savings.
You can learn the basics of SEO just about anywhere on the web today, but the problem is, it is only the basics. Nothing comes close to years of actual experience and personal knowledge. This is the only way that you can know what works and what does not, when to use one technique and when not to. In essence, the fundamental search engine optimization secret that many just don’t understand is, “What works for one site, may not necessarily work for another”. I advertise this within my signature block in the High Rankings Forum. It seems that some people are simply unable to grasp this concept. If you insert x+y in this site to achieve xy, then why can’t I just do the same over here? Why does x+y=c on this site? It doesn’t work, that’s the secret to it all.
Every website is unique in design and characteristics. This is nothing new, so if every website is unique in itself then it stands to reason that every SEO technique must be used uniquely within every website. The basics are the basics, put some keywords in the meta information, carry them through to your page headings and body copy and go get yourself some links pointing at your site. That is the absolute bare basics to SEO. I have years of actual SEO experience and couldn’t even remember how many websites I’ve performed SEO on. Years of experience have provided me with the knowledge of what works where, and when.
SEO is not a skill you are going to learn on your own website. If your website is a very non-competitive type site, then the absolute basics will most likely get you to page one or two of the search engines. That’s a great achievement however you look at it, but it is only the basics of SEO, nothing more. If you own one of those mildly competitive sites, like the other 90% of the WWW, then your competition generally heats up some extent and the basics are not going to see you through. This is when you see people landing upon the forums in an attempt to still save themselves money and do it themselves. After a year of frustration, possibly resorting to illegal and unethical methods, maybe being penalized and then recovering; people eventually quit. Why? Because they didn’t know the one and most important revelation, “SEO is not created equal and what works for one site, may not necessarily work for another”. Like it or not, it’s a fact!
By Search Engine Optimization expert Anthony Parsons.
