The SEO Game

A couple of days ago I was talking with a startup CEO about SEO’s and how they are SOP as QED before his company’s IPO.  

Anyway…

It got me to thinking about SEO consulting firms and how they are the flavor of the period, so much so, that if you aren’t employing/deploying one within your marketing arsenal then your company is somehow inadequate, not with it, and as such, diminished in value.

I call bunkum and balderdash! 

This is a myth that was most likely created by the very same SEO specialists to produce an unbreakable marketing cycle.  Well, I’m here to break that cycle and prove that what these firms are selling is, in essence, modern day snake oil.  To do this I am going to use that ancient tool of Aristotle against this cyclic rationalization – logic.

Are the SEO dark arts magic or science?

If they purported their services fall within the realm of magic then I wouldn’t be here today calling them snake oil salespeople.  Rather, I would trumpet their service and marvel at their accomplishments for they truly would be providing a unique service.

No.  They proudly state their methods scientific while holding aloft reams of data with lists of keywords.  Touting the latest in search engine algorithm fighting algorithms, they project charts and graphs of forecasts touting astronomical success rates if you just douse your content with these specific terms.  All well and good because their research is full of numbers and numbers don’t lie.

Let’s do the math.

Fictitious Firm A constantly comes up after Fictitious Firm B and C under a normal net search of Fictitious Firms, yet it desperately wants to get ahead of these competitors.  So it hires the John R SEO Company to help it move up to that exalted location.  John R SEO supplies Firm A with a list of terms that have been identified as positive search engines flags and dutifully begins to incorporate them in their content.  Meanwhile Fictitious Firm B has gone out and hired John Q SEO to help them maintain their position as Fictitious Firm C, deciding to pull a no holds barred campaign to become number one in the Fictitious Firm game, hires Hector P SEO to squash the competition.  

Who knew the Fictitious Firm game was so competitive.

Since all three of these SEO firms are generating lists based off of numbers crunching they are, in essence playing off of the same list.  And that means that firms A, B, and C will be using identical keywords in their content and ultimately remain in their respective positioning regards to search engine listings.

Am I telling you not to use SEO’s?  

No, I am just saying, you should watch the P’s and Q’s.