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The
Back Pain of Search |
by:
Gallianno
Cosme |
If
you've ever suffered from back pain you'll
relate to the grief that I discuss in this
article. You'll relate even more if your
back pain started on the onset of your SEM
career. Not surprisingly, mine did.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this
industry. It's entertaining, thought provoking,
and challenging. It's an ever-changing industry
that keeps me on my toes in constant search
of information, knowledge, and new ideas.
But there are some aspects that make me
just want to squeal. Most of my rants rest
on the shoulders of the SEO kinship. The,
often self-proclaimed, gurus and goddesses
of the search engine community. The often
disbelieving falsities, self propaganda
nonsense that many in this industry procreate.
Don't get me wrong. I respect many SEM professionals.
The likes of Danny Sullivan, Shari Thurow,
Morgan Carey, and Peter da Vanzo - to name
but a few. But then there are those, who
I'll refrain from naming, who seem to think
they are know-it-alls, alluring people to
follow their often devious or bandwagon
practises, and occasionally belittling those
who don't.
What really gets my pain throbbing is the
constant battle to find original content
from these self-proclaimed "gurus". As you
will know, many swear that increasing link
popularity is the most important factor
in obtaining high search engine placement.
Those same experts proclaim that bulking
up content is the way to gain link popularity.
I'll take this one step further and say
that original, interesting content is what
really works. These are the sites that people
want to share with friends, families, and
colleagues alike. The problem I have with
this is quite simple: where has the original
content disappeared to?
I cannot remember when last I read an original
piece or commentary on the SEO industry?
Most of the "content-bulking" copy that
I come across is repetition of something
said before. "Thesaurusised content" is
what I like to call it.
The majority of the population, myself included,
don't have the time to sit and read old
information. As far as link popularity is
concerned, why would someone want to devalue
their own site by linking to sites that
have similar content? Makes no point at
all. Ever noticed that the most populated
sites on the Net are those that genuinely
have interesting and original information
that people find enticing. Isn't that what
the gurus mean by "content is king"?
I believe that this "cloned information
tendency" that is spreading the Net, like
a virus on steroids, is due to a lack of
creativity and imagination. The effort of
tapping into ones own resources and deciphering
ones own opinion of the industry seems daunting
to many people. I don't blame people for
rather clinging on to the already said like
fleas on a dog's coat during the summer
months. Fear of the unknown is a risk that
very few people wish to take.
I receive a lot of newsletters and RSS feeds
from many sources. Of the over 17 hours
of reading I do per week, half has been
wasted on reading repetitive jumble. Ok,
so maybe the wording and style of the jumble
is different, but the nuts and crux of what's
being said still remains the same. Being
the busy person that I am, I don't have
time or the inclination to read "old news".
So why am I going on like an anal granny
in search of some estrogens? I suppose that
I'm just a diehard fan of original content.
I like to have a smile in my mind when I
finish reading something, either because
I've just read something really interesting,
or because I can relate to what the author
is suggesting.
Just because I want to learn and stay informed
on the industry does not mean that I want
to be bored either. Nothing gets my natural
endorphins running more than entertaining
content. The mixture is undeniably a recipe
for readership. Readerships means link popularity,
and that my dear friends is the only antidote
for serious back pain.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gallianno Cosme a.k.a. Gino is the SEM
Captain at Quirk, a One-2-One eMarketing
company offering tailor-made, innovative
and cost-effective eMarketing solutions.
Go to http://www.quirk.co.za for more
information.
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