SEO has no direct, knockdown guidelines on how to make your page rank higher. It doesn’t tell you how to be a competitive site, doesn’t tell you how your site will get into the 1st page search results. It doesn’t tell you it’s secrets. You have to know it yourself.
And so that’s what some people do
Some people do the trial-and-error method. First, they try to know what methods are punishable by Google (which is the top search engine there is based on users) and what methods are legal, then they try out new ideas in hopes of somehow increasing their page rank. Some of these ideas are proven to be true while some are still on the test-tube.
As long as you know what’s wrong, you know how to avoid it
Let’s face it, companies won’t hire white-hatter SEO analysts because it takes years for them to improve a site’s page rank. The white-hat way is the long way. It takes a lot of time. Yes it is undoubtfully clean and legal, but companies won’t like it when they shell out a lot of cash on you just because you’re squeaky clean and a good SEO practitioner. Hey, I’m being honest here. For companies, business is business. If you don’t deliver, they will find someone who can. I don’t encourage people do be black-hatters. I encourage people to be thinkers. Don’t do the illegal but don’t stick with the white-hat cutie-cute method. Chances are, you’ll get fired.
So what hasn’t been discovered yet in SEO?
Well, personally I won’t say I’m a black hatter, though I was taught and trained to be. But I’ve been finding out a lot of ways where you can go around Google’s algorithm. I’m a programmer myself and I know that there’s no one-way algorithm to do a program. There are millions.
And if there are millions of ways to make an algorithm, that must only mean there are millions of ways to get around the codes. I’m not saying there are millions of ways to go around Google’s algorithm, but there are still a handful.
So what do we do next?
First and foremost you have to know how Google works in terms of their search engine and spiders. If you don’t know it, you will never know how to get around it. Knowing your opponent is half the battle.
If you know what matters in Google’s search engines, then you know what should matter to your site. Google has a lot of things to look at when ranking a page. Some of these are the header, the keywords, the relevance of your articles, and most importantly, the backlinks.
Knowing how these stuff affects Google’s search engine is knowing how to control them to your advantage. Search engines are never the same in a couple of years. They keep on improving and changing and so should you. That’s why good SEO analysts are excellent researchers and observers – because they know how to adopt to change and they know how to beat it.
About Sean
Informative Post…
Good Job……
the “white hat cutie-cute term” made me laugh… ahahaha
For me knowing how google works is the hardest thing to do, knowing how dynamic their algorithms are. The best thing you can do is adapt to it as they changed. :)
Nice share!
Hi Sean,
I really like your posts they are informative, thoughtful, and with a little bit of humor thrown in. I am a coder also, as well as an SEO… that just makes it more fun! ;~) I like the challenge of being code creative to achieve SEO results, mostly in a corporate environment where there are lots of “must haves” that could be potential stumbling blocks to achieving the best rankings. Being “creative” allows me to overcome a lot of that while keeping everyone happy as well as Google. It’s not “black” per say… but creative, definitely! Boring? Not so much. ha!
Good post… thanks!
~ Jim
@seo_web_design
I agree with you Sean.But we must also not forget that Google is one of the most profit obsessed corporation.They are ready to sacrifice webmasters,users in order to generate profit.In the past they have behaved in a manner which shows that the only thing they care about is $$$.The funny thing is now also lots of people believe in the bullshit that google is out there to help you.With every change in their algorithms they seem to achieve only one purpose of promoting their own services and penalizing competitors.Thanks for this nice article
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There is one thing I disagree here: it takes years [ to do what ? ]. To increase page rank ?
I haven’t seen a living company ever bothering with page rank, but yes, of course, they are interested in results.
And I haven’t seen the need for even small, microscopic projects, to take years for measurable results. It takes months, and the results are tangible, measurable and seen if you are doing your job, and by doing your job I mean legitimate SEO. Anyone not capable to show some improvement within 3-6 months, not years, is not worth their salt, and don’t blame it on the white hat, blame it on laziness and not having a clue !
Hey Boris,
It’s quite funny that you landed on this post. I think this is my 2nd post ever in SEO Hacker :)) and yes, a lot of ‘noob-ness’ in this post that you can disagree with. Heck, I might even disagree with now. SEO is ever-changing and my learning curve has just started here. Thanks for dropping by Boris!