I Had an Interesting Conversation Today About SEO

byMD_Incognito

338 followers

12 years ago

So while I was at work today, a guy that deals with our business stopped by (he comes thru regularly) & we got to talking. For the sake of clarity, here's a little background: he's in the SEO biz, has several local businesses as clients, and has a track record of ranking regular small business sites & local nonprofits.

So the guy knows his stuff -- well, definitely more than me. Anyhow, I like to get his thoughts every now & then on IM in general, so I asked him about hiring a reputable SEO service. Little did I know, I was in for quite a surprise. He had some attention grabbing thoughts on the matter:

• Thinking about hiring an SEO firm to do backlinking was not only outdated, but was actually a flawed model.
• 'Affiliate sites' are a thing of the past. Building affiliate sites after the google updates is just a waste of time.
• Backlinking as a whole not only doesn't work, it's blackhat!!
• What should take precedence, is 1)quality content & 2)firm knowledge of your target market

He then elaborated on how another website that was focused on traditional SEO (hint; it rhymes with 'oz') has changed its model because social media is king. THOSE are the post-penguin-panda-hummingbird era backlinks.

I found these comments really interesting for three basic reasons. First, I did agree that focusing, or at least incorporating social media into any SEO campaign is sound advice. I think it's fair to say that anyone that is vaguely familiar with building a site understands that. Second, the "affiliate sites are dead" thing really rankled me. I find it hard to believe that any recent circumstances, including mighty google's updates could kill the entire industry. Frankly, I don't believe it! And thirdly, his comments about backlinking just puzzle me. Obviously, he is more qualified to speak & opine on SEO, but this is what gets me every time. I'll finally put my reservations aside & dive back into IM, only to get caught by another game changing google update.

Look, I know this isn't 2005. Times change, circumstances change. I get that. What I lose sleep over is this: is it still possible for me to make money online? I mean, did I miss it? Am I the dude that got to the mine after all the gold was extracted? These are my insecurities with making money online bubbling right back to the surface. I initially tried my hand in 2011, but I got overwhelmed. Tried again a couple months later, but the panda bogeyman scared me off. I swear, it seems like every time I'm ready to go, google's updates make it practically illegal to earn a cent digitally. I know it's not true, but this is the nexus of my insecurities.

And all of the noise surrounding search engine optimization does not help. I'm sick & tired of trying to learn SEO, because every time I read something on an authority site that makes sense, I find another established source contradicting that. It's not only frustrating, it's confusing. Since when did SEO become stock market investing? My impression of it (from what little I know about SEO) is that the only people that know what's up learned their way around the neighborhood before google started changing street names. I'm a little crestfallen about the whole subject.

I would love some feedback on this topic. While I'm not a rank amatuer, I need to hear from you Wealthy Affiliate. I would especially appreciate any commentary, tips, and/or advice from folks that have experience in affiliate marketing, but everyone is welcome. Honestly, today I need to know that it's still possible to get there. At times, I have my doubts. This particular point in time is one of them.