Comments on: What Obligation Does An SEO Blogger Have?

By: Scott Walldren

Scott Walldren — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 04:05:44 +0000

Oh my. This sounds like an existential discussion of SEO. How can any of us be “sure” that our work has an effect. I suppose the key is find a purpose in the day to day work, and long term title tag strategies, as my old friend Sartre might say.

I agree with you that it’s difficult to ascertain the validity of blog claims as any one can say anything. I can cite a few examples of adjustments / tweaks I’ve done for clients whereby I can fairly surely attribute my work on their site as cause for moving up in the world…however which one or combination of which one I cannot say.

I suppose this really DOES boil down to philosophy: the philosophy of good SEO practices.

PS – New to your blog, really enjoyed the posts so far!

By: Krista Johnson

Krista Johnson — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 22:24:11 +0000

Great informative content. My blog readers at Marketing Ease, could benefit from your blog and knowledge. Thank you for your expertise!

Krista

By: Steven Bradley

Steven Bradley — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 04:43:52 +0000

Just to toss something different into the conversation I think a certain amount of the responsibility resides in the reader as well. Very little is actually clean and indisputable fact. You can find data to back up most any point of view you have.

More often than not you’ll find the truth is something that tells you what you already believed.

As a blogger I do my best to show alternate points of view and I hope I make clear when something is my opinion and not fact. I think it’s fine to offer opinion, though you should make it clear it’s opinion and also offer reasons why you hold that opinion.

By: Jon Kelly

Jon Kelly — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:44:01 +0000

I think that readers should realize the no matter what they are reading — blog, magazine, newspaper, anything — there is a POV and that they need to critcally evaluate any claims made. It’s nice when writers (in any forum) point to alternative viewpoints, but I don’t feel cheated if they don’t.

By: Ron Carnell

Ron Carnell — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 20:05:09 +0000

“2. Make it very clear that we understand that what we are saying may not be true, even though we believe it to be true”

Okay, Donna.

So, uh, why didn’t you make it clear that it may not be true that we should all admit that what we say isn’t necessarily true? (I feel myself falling into ocean of self-referencing paradoxes! 🙂

I’m not trying to be facetious (at least not entirely), Donna. What you’re essentially doing is expressing an opinion about the way people should express an opinion. One just HAS to appreciate the irony in that, don’t you think?

By: Kim Krause Berg

Kim Krause Berg — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 19:32:51 +0000

Linking to alternative views/opinions shows maturity and the ability to listen, in my mind anyway. I respect the writer even more when I see proof they have an open mind, and sometimes, heart.

Thank you for also caring about this topic, Donna 🙂

By: g1smd

g1smd — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 18:42:41 +0000

I see one story that has been comprehensively debunked on several sites nearly a month ago. However it is still being repeated as “fact” in new posts on other sites even many weeks later.

There are many bloggers who simply quote some “newsworthy” story without checking any of the facts. If people aren’t careful, that will ultimately bring the whole medium into disrepute.

I mean, how many people trust wikipedia as an authorative resource these days, not just from the fact that it is mostly written by non-experts, but also from the effects of various vested interests editing their spin into the text, or suppressing the truth?

By: DazzlinDonna

DazzlinDonna — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 17:19:50 +0000

Andy, linking to alternate points of view is definitely one good way to even things out.

By: Andy Beard

Andy Beard — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 17:11:31 +0000

I think the key to this as I have mentioned in a few threads on [an seo site] is linking to alternate points of view.

Even in my “WordPress SEO Masterclass” post I linked out to alternative opinions on WordPress SEO which has merit, such as the one by [a popular blogger], because there are so many ways you can optimize a WordPress blog, and get equal results, and maybe you don’t need more than just adding an HTML sitemap.

Then again all we have to work with are things like site:yourdomain.com/* to work with to diagnose potential problems.
A reader recently asked me to look at his site, but I don’t do serious consulting, so I did it for free, mapped out everything he should change in his linking structure, and currently he has gone from 37 pages reported by /* to between 80 and 90 depending on whether it is raining.

He doesn’t have a lot of powerful link juice, and it takes time for Google to work itself out and /* might not mean anything at all.

He has also gone from 14th for his key money term to 9th, but again the weather outside has been quite variable this kind of year, not sure if that makes the Googlebot a bit uppity.

But the post has received almost no links from anyone in the SEO industry, I have had to rely on normal bloggers and a competition to get some links to it.
SEO communities are extremely insular, [some] especially, and linking to differing opinions is what blogging is about, and provides the safety net for factual proof that SEO bloggers are lacking.

[items in brackets were edited by me (Donna) – as i said, this is going to stay theoretical only – so no names]