SEO is evil - Vanessa Fox bites back

March 6th, 2008

Just read a fantastic response from ex Google guru, Vanessa Fox regarding another recent ‘SEO is evil’ post from well-known expert Alex Bosworth. In her post ‘SEO is the worst thing ever invented‘, Vanessa responded to a number of misguided points raised by Alex, and I wholeheartedly have to agree with a number of her responses, not least

• MODERN SEO is not just about rankings. As Mike Grehan has often eluded to, SEO as we know it has evolved significantly, and a GOOD SEO’s job is not just about rankings, its about maximising ROI. People ask why do they need SEO. Well lhere are some thoughts for starters
• Many web designers develop for look alone not for ROI - there is a difference. A good SEO will test - learn - refine - test again, learn again refine and so on - until he gets it right. And then continue testing.
• Most web developers do not consider correct robots management. During the recent SES conference in London, one of the key points made during the keynote speech was regarding Privacy. How would you like content that isn’t supposed to be indexed, indexed. I would suggest you wouldn’t yet this is something I would suggest the vast majority of traditional web development agencies and designers don’t consider.
• Most web developers do not consider the role of correct domain/server setup and infrastructure - for example how many of your web developers are going to consider regionalisation of domains, geo-location of servers etc. Very few I would suggest - most will just whack your website on their shared hosting and have done.
• Most web developers do not consider duplicate content
• SEO is not just about rankings - modern SEO as Vanessa says in her article Traffic vs Engagement vs Bounce Rate. ROI therefore is a fundamental part of any SEO campaign. After all who wants to rank no.1 for ‘Concrete Lifejackets’ if no one is ever going to search for that, never mind clickthrough, never mind purchase.
• Good SEO incorporates good optimisation with good usability. You look at any big/good UK SEO agency, and most will consider usability or conversion metrics as part of their service offering
• Another aspect Vanessa tackled was a comment made by Alex, namely ““Do you think that javascript widget you made for navigating your archives is really awesome, intuitive and innovative? Google disagrees, it thinks it’s a big black hole of nothing.”. I would advise before you post something like that Alex - you do some research. This isn’t merely a whim of the search engines, it is based around mere usability. That is something I would suggest Jakob Neillson will pick you up on, never mind Google.

I would highly recommend a read, particularly people new to SEO. SEO is not evil, much as advertising isn’t evil. Surely embracing and understanding the role of modern SEO will help people understand the value and contribution a good Search Marketing Specialist can provide to any web project.

Vanessa Fox Nude - SEO is the worst thing ever invented

Entry Filed under: News and Views, SEO