2 replies to this topic

[iamlost]

Sigh.

It is so very sad that that Dr.Pete's Top 1 SEO Tips for 2013, SEOmoz, 13-December-2012 is...
drumroll please:
Diversify.

Yup. Diversify.
Diversify links, diversify anchor text, diversify traffic sources, diversify marketing, diversify your point of view...

Not that he is wrong, by any means.
Indeed he is quite correct (with one tearful snortal of a proviso*) so far as he goes; I'd even add a few more starting with diversify revenue streams...

The sigh is because this has been a number one business tip since well before the web was even an arpanet. It is sad because diversify has been discussed by trade and mainstream media, on listservs and web fora in regards to all the above for well over a decade. That someone with the reputation of Dr.Pete has to say the same to the SEOmoz general audience in 2012 is truly painful.

This holiday season I wish that Dr.Pete's prophecy be believed and taken to heart by all and that he not be another in the unbroken descendants of Cassandra...

This holiday season I wish that someone everywhere would edit prior to publication, at least the titles:

Top 1 SEO Tips

Lose the 's', 1-tip is singular, even when it is an SEO tip. Really.

* that he should feel the need to differentiate diversify links and diversify traffic sources says much that is wrong with many an SEO mindset these last many years...

[cre8pc]

Interesting. Pete brings a good point, that I brought up the other day in my last Ninja blog post. Basically the idea is to get outside and get ideas for marketing that way. Take a look around you. What are people doing? How are they doing it?

I wrote

There are all kinds of ideas to try and angles to stretch and pull. Take your cell phone GPS Navigation application for example. When you ask for directions, it may ask you several questions such as “How would you like your route?” and it offers options like no tolls, no traffic, fast or slow, etc. A waiter may ask you, “How would like your steak done?” and you will provide the answer. Take a cue from your world to get fresh ideas on how to help your site guests make good choices.

This what holistic SEO and UX is. Dr. Pete is reminding those who still haven't had the light bulb go off. Excel spreadsheets are part of the process but never the end of it. Go outside and get new ideas.

[DrPete]

Re: the grammar, that was actually intentional - I was playing on the expectation that all posts are more than one tip.

In terms of needing to keep telling people these things, I can't argue. Unfortunately, that's the situation we're in. Google rolled out Penguin because they finally got tired of people ignoring what they'd been saying for years. We should've seen the writing on the wall about spammy anchor text a long time ago, but it's painfully clear that we didn't.

For the latter points, though, I think we all fall into the trap. It's easy to get tunnel vision - I've seen this even with my own clients. You work on a site for long enough (I've worked with one site for 13 years now) and you naturally get trapped in your own assumptions and bias. I think we all need a reminder to break out of the rut once in a while.

Edited by DrPete, 13 December 2012 - 10:44 PM.