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If you’re "writing" about SEO, you’re doing it wrong: It has been explained repeatedly but I'll repeat it again. Optimizing for search engines is to a great ex

by cateye 13y ago

If you’re "writing" about SEO, you’re doing it wrong: It has been explained repeatedly but I'll repeat it again. Optimizing for search engines is to a great extent wasted energy. Create just interesting content -> People will refer to it automagically -> Ranking on search engines will automagically improve -> More people will come to your site and more people will recommend it. Optimizing things for search engines -> People don't find what they are hoping for -> You have to "optimize" more and more. This is a vicious circle. I hope that smart people use their ability to create beautiful things and not waste it by performing tricks.

aerosmile 13y ago
Where in the flow above would you put items like: "Make sure that Google Authorship is set up?" Surely, you can't argue that this wouldn't help your content if implemented correctly. There is a long list of similar technical SEO items that smart publishers cover with every new article. Your sentiment is just a reflection of the damage that SEO snake oil salesmen have created in our industry. These days, everyone claims to be a knowledgable SEO, and there are no straight forward ways to prove that (unlike, say, when you say "I know a lot about natural language processing"). Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater - good SEOs are still generating a ton of value at the top companies in the world.