SEO Maven Now Sells Content Services

February 20, 2009

Whoop-de-doo. I received a copy of a news release with a “Market Wire” tag on February 19, 2009, with this headline, “Leading SEO Company Includes SEO Copywriting in Search Engine Optimization Program at No Additional Charge.” I located a copy of this gem online at Reuters here. Click this puppy quick because I don’t think the item will be online very much longer.

Here’s the story:

SEO Advantage in Florida said: “We’re pleased to let our clients know that we are now including professional copywriting in our ongoing SEO programs at no additional charge”.

Let’s think about this:

  1. If SEO worked, then why include anything other than the key word indexing, site set up tweaking, and metrics? Well, these tricks don’t work reliably. Sure, an SEO maven can goose a ranking, but if the maven makes a boo boo, the client slips backwards, sometimes fast, sometimes slowly.
  2. If content were not important, this firm would not add to its costs of doing business by fooling with writers. Human writers require management and money.
  3. With the inclusion of writing, does this not suggest that the basic premise of does this not suggest that SEO may be like a three legged stool with two legs: tricks, analytics, and the missing leg, content?

After a feisty entitlement generation SEO apologist attacked me today, I find this news release indicative of the change that is going to sweep across the carpet bagging business.

Are your sensibilities wounded? I am too old to get annoyed with SEO wizards who now find that content, not metatag stuffing, is needed to make a Web page appealing to an indexing bot.

Stephen Arnold, February 20, 2009

Comments

3 Responses to “SEO Maven Now Sells Content Services”

  1. Andrew Girdwood on February 20th, 2009 9:35 am

    To be fair – very many SEOs have been preaching that content is king for very many years now. Helping companies understand that the Goog doens’t care how big your brand is and that you actually need content which says what you do is SEO.

    Sure. There are very many snake oils sales people but I’ve seen just the same from people selling Enterprise Search.

  2. Stephen E. Arnold on February 20th, 2009 10:57 am

    Andrew Girdwood,

    I am on record about the carpetbaggers operating in enterprise search, content management, data mining, business intelligence, customer relationship management, social software, and search engine optimization. As a retired addled goose, I feel quite happy flapping my wings and quacking. I think of the persona of the addled goose as a digital Don Quixote. What interests me is the intense desire in carpetbaggers to defend their position. My thought would be that if the assertions, case examples, and customer base were lined up like little soldiers, why the strong push back about my stating what seems to me to be the obvious. Push back makes me confident that I am on to a thread of gold.

    Stephen Arnold, February 20, 2009

  3. Andrew Girdwood on February 21st, 2009 7:10 am

    I’m pretty sure I’ve agreed with you before in that too much of SEO is snake oil and smoke.

    However, I’m part of that industry and do not wish to be tarred with a brush meant for someone else (even if it’s a goose feathered brush!). Also; the reptuation of the industry is important to me as well. The snake oil lot do the rest of us damage.

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