Do We Have Opinions or Do We Have Facts?

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I have been wondering about this a little bit lately, as it has come up more than once.

Everyone has an opininon, and that is perfectly fine, but there are some things that I think of as fact, not opinion. For the most part, I think SEO should be one of them.

When I started here, I really knew nothing about SEO at all, and I was a bit concerned about my ability to learn it because it seemd that different people had different view on what was effective. I resolved myself to simpl yfollow what is presented in the lessons here. That seems the most logical thing. I mean, I pay to learn this stuff here, right? So I should be following these lessons.And frankly, I trust the information presented here.

So it seems strange to me that there should be conflicting views on SEO. Shouldn't it be facts more than anything else?

As I have written a couple of times, I am now being paid to do blogs for various sites. The company that I do this for provides me with topics, as wel as keywords from the SEO company they work with. But some of the keywords and the things they present to me don't match up with what I am learning here.

I keep looking at it the same way I would if someone said "Well, in my opinion, 2+2 equals 6."

How can you have an opinion on that?

Well, my opinion is that the lessons here at Wealthy Affiliate offer the best information, and so that is what I am going to follow. To me, something works, or it does not. There really isn't too much room for opinions.

What do you all think?

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Recent Comments

53

I believe there might be as many different opinions about SEO as there are businesses selling "their" ideas. Just because your client prefers to listen to their own source doesn't mean they are correct.
Like you, Craig, I'm here at WA because I believe they know what they're doing. If I should ever decide that I don't believe that any more, then it's time for me to leave.
Over the years, I dealt with dozens of different advertising agencies, and every single one of them knew the best way to promote our business. Pretty incredible, huh? Lol

I don't want to sound like I don't value opinions, or experience. I absolutely do. And there are definitely times where something might sound a bit odd, but it actually works, so I have no issue with things like that.

I won't go so far as to say that things cannot work unless they match what is taught here, but it seems to me that what we are learning at WA is a tried-and-true method, so having someone tell me to do things differently (and, in my opinion, illogically) just seems wrong.

If your Primary Care Physician that you had been seeing for twenty years, and knew your medical history was telling you to do one thing, and renowned physician you never met told you to do something different, which one would you listen to?
In your case, your client chooses to believe the person or company they're paying to provide that information.
You can do whatever you think best, but if it were me, and my client wanted me to use a particular system or information, I would abide by their wishes, even if I thought there might be a better way.
The boss ain't always right, but he's always the boss. (Your client)

Agreed. That is what I am doing. I just find it a bit frustrating, because even though it is their site, I feel that the work I do is reflecting upon me, so I want to be personally satisfied with it.

Have you asked your client to allow you to try something different occasionally, just to see if it works better than what they do now?
If they agree, you switch it up, and get better results, then you proved your theory.
Remember "There is none so blind as he who WILL NOT see"

I', with WA lessons.

Jeff

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The training should be the manual.
Thank you for posting Craig. how's UNI treating you?

Thanks. In the end, i will follow what the client wants (they are the ones paying....), but I feel things could be done much better.
But maybe that's just MY opinion. Ha ha!

Now, maybe it's because I am tired and it's 2:00 AM, but I am not sure what UNI is... Unless you are referring to our friend the Universe. Lol

If so, I am feeling a bit frustrated that my latest requests are going unanswered. But that's probably on me. I need to get back to a more positive, upbeat mindset again after a rough couple of weeks.

Sorry I should have "dude". My bad. 2:45am here now. Get some sleep.

Totally agree, is it a matter of what works for you

I couldn't agree with you more. The great SEO training that we receive here is spot on. They are trusted methods used by seasoned online marketers for years.

That's how I feel. WA is teaching us what works, not what they feel *should* work.

Excellent article. I wonder about "some of the keywords and the things they present to me don't match up.... can you please elaborate on this subject if possible.

Sure.

I wrote this in another response to someone else, but will repeat it here.

So, we are taught to write in a natural, conversational manner. This includes keywords, which should make sense grammatically. If you were to write an article about the best food available for dogs, you would possibly write something similar to "The Ten Best Foods for Your Dog".

Now, imagine that you are told that this is incorrect because you need to use the keyword "best food dog". You are specifically told to use it as written, which means your title is incorrect. You also cannot write "Choosing the Best Food for Your Dog" because that, too is incorrect. They want you to match what they give you *exactly* so you end up with the title "How to Choose the Best Food Dog"

That doesn't make sense, does it? But that is what the client wants because it matches what they have chosen as the keyword.

Thank you for the explanation.

Maybe it depends on the Google country the keywords are mentioned for?

As we know keywords score different per country. Did you ask?

England / USA / Canada / Australia

It's all here in Canada.
I mean, ultimately, it's not my site and I have to respect what the client wants, but it just seems weird to me.

Perhaps you can add your proposals when your work is complete, when yours are better.

This way that company can at least compare and if they see you do a better job, they may ask you for the next SEO job too.

Just an idea, and yes you are right to look into this.

Yeah, I might do that. I was actually debating whether or not to offer to do all the SEO myself, but while I feel that in some cases I could have done better than what was provided, I don't really feel confident enough to market myself as an expert.

Excellent opinion & point Craig! I must agree with you;. Why would.you pay for training and not use it???
Blessings

Absolutely.

I agree that SEO and how it works is fact rather than an opinion. The opinion comes in at determining the best keyword to target.

I guess some things may be open to interpretation, at least to a degree, but overall I think that as I said, a thing either works, or does not.

Very good point, Craig. I agree with you. However, with your paid blogs, do you have to use what they send you for keywords, etc.?
Carol

Pretty much. And sometimes they send me awkward stuff. Like, imaging having to make a title with "Great Food New York".

Now, you might think you could just add "in" and make "Great Food in New York", but they don't want that. I can add words before or after, but I can't add the "in".

That may be a bad example, but it's just off the top of my head. They will give me things that don't make sense grammatically, but I cannot change them because they feel it will mess up the SEO...

I can see what you're up against. Guess since they're paying you, ya gotta give 'em what they're asking for, even though you know it's not right.

I agree with Carol. Use keywords that make sense, i.e. 'Great Food in New York' for your own sites, but use what they are asking you to since they are paying you and clearly think they know what they are doing. It's NOT your job to educate them.

But you are absolutely right - I know that from other sources too, not just WA. Putting in extra little words so that the whole thing makes sense is perfectly ok for SEO.

I wonder if they'd let you put in a full stop between 'Great Food' and 'New York'. If they do, you could write something like 'Our restaurant specializes in great food. New York has many restaurants, but [name of their restaurant] is not only renowned for.... but also...'

In another context on another blog I recently read the saying 'A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.' So I wouldn't waste energy on getting them to change their opinion.

Isabella

Yes, I think I am just venting a little because of how it doesn't make sense to me. I would be tempted in the above example to do something similar to what you wrote. Perhaps something like "Who has great food? New York!"

I would have expected all SEO experts to have the same basic view, but evidently I am mistaken.

I agree - it doesn't make sense, but the reason is probably that they learnt at a different time. Meanwhile SEO rules have changed and they want to stick to what they have learnt.

Possibly. I hadn't really considered that possibility.

I'm thinking either the person who is telling you what to use for keywords, etc. either took someone else's course, which was not nearly as succinct as WA's training, or they interpreted it their own way, or as Internetgranny suggested maybe the rules have changed, and they haven't kept up to speed.

I think we are all thankful to be blessed with such good training by such knowledgeable people.

Good luck, Craig!

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