SEO Underground?

Probably the "best and the brightest" in the SEO space have always been underground. Any information shared with the masses at conferences and SEO Blogs (e.g. 10 best tips, techniques, etc.) is almost always link bait for the particular site/conference. In the other words, if the masses know about it, then by definition it is no longer insider info. This is constant theme of Michael Martinez, author of the popular SEO-Theory blog. Link Moses himself Eric Ward recently wrote about going completely underground as well.

There is nothing wrong with SEO conferences and SEO blogs. If you are trying to get started in this space then by all means jump in and become immersed. But a word of caution; after the initial swim in these waters be careful not to get sucked in by the undertow of the SEO echo chamber. Take a step back and reflect. Use your business sense to filter the BS. There is a lot of "snake oil" being sold and it tends to attract more snakes. Don't get bit.

There is an obsession in SEO circles with gaming Google. One of the older memes of the early Net was "content is king." There is still much more than a kernel of truth in this trite expression. What is the point (for an online entrepreneur) of driving traffic to a destination that provides little value? Whatever traffic you get: 1) will leave and won't convert; 2) may in fact get irked that their time was wasted (i.e. you are worse off than if they had never arrived). While it is true that "building it" is not enough (you have to get the word out), the initial focus needs to be on having a worthwhile destination.

Yeah content is king. But content is hard to get right and there are no quick fixes that can be bought for $49.95 a month and a couple of ginseng knives. That is the reason that SEO will become more and more of a vertical specialty, because content is a key part and to get the content "right" you must have knowledge of the context (i.e. the specific industry). SEO is not online marketing. SEO is not information architecture. SEO is simply a small piece of the puzzle.