Google + for SEO. A Fellini Movie Set in Algorithms.
SEO practitioners are, by their very nature, curious. I think this is the main reason they continue to research and track and measure in a business area where there are no “right answers, or at least, not that stay right for very long. SEO is a changing landscape like no other I’ve experienced in business. It’s more analogous to a game of chess where the rules change every three moves. The queen becomes the pawn, the pawn becomes a soccer ball. Its a Fellini movie set in algorithms.
According to wikipedia.org “Curiosity killed the cat is a proverb used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation. An easier definition of the phrase curiosity killed the cat would be that being curious can sometimes lead to trouble”. As SEO companies we all understand that we ultimately are lead to trouble when we become completely focused on the newest SEO rage, currently the Google plus platform.
It seems like every 30 minutes there is a new post (on G+) about the miracles of G+ and SEO. It’s a mass conscientious thing. One well known SEO makes a post or blog stating G+ has potential, and then every young SEO gun slinger wants to prove it is so. The young guns do a lot of the early testing, and when one or two stumble upon some curious correlation between say… the alt tag in your g+ profile picture and one high ranking low competition keyword, the content marketing crowd goes to work flaming the fires of curiosity, all for the benefit of traffic, not truth.
Even if all of this discourse on Google plus for SEO has a substantial amount of truth in it, the fact remains, (and this is where so many of us fail, and get “killed”), there is no one historic case you can point out where an SEO gold mine platform, wasn’t converted conveniently by Google into just another web page over time, leaving those who invested too heavily in it, poorer than when they began. Can any one who has been working in the SEO community for more than a few years, honestly say, that even IF G+ is the greatest SEO platform in the world today, that in a blink of an eye, it won’t just become another web page or site, like any other, at any moment.
We should be curious… but diverse. We should view all new trends and correlations with historical perspective, and not let the current mania du jour form our operating principles.
By Mike BAyes
Charlie YadonApr 14, 2013+1
+Mike Bayes Great post. I’m guilty in believing so, but here is how as you and I have discussed before whether or not we consider it personal search results or whatever it will only bring something up based on who you engage with, and integrating with places/local helps a little but honestly my Facebook page shows up more than anything.
I’m very active with social media but I also tell my clients to use it more for engagement because in most cases especially in service based companies it’s not going to be the biggest direct sales approach. The biggest direct sales using the internet will be direct search results which takes SEO across all platforms as your stating. Campaigns, website content, search engine listings, local listings, and social media. Not just one. Good insight! Posted By : https://plus.google.com/u/0/117658256335839598514/posts
Linda FitzgeraldApr 14, 2013+1
+Mike Bayes. Excellent article with real wisdom. I can think of another old quote that is equally apropos: “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. Perhaps Google+ is the best SEO since sliced bread; but there’s something to be said for variety as the spice of online life!
Sai Prasad
Hi Mike,
You hit the nail on the head. What i am taking from the post is the importance of diversification. It’s a fair assessment that it’s next to impossible to categorically say what’s works 100% vis a vis SEO.
Your proof of historical data that google has been turning the hot current seo trend into a has been should ring a bell to all business owners and contingency plans must be developed…