22 comments » The 7 Worst Pieces of SEO AdviceIn the same way you wouldn't get parenting advice from Britney Spears, you don't want SEO advice from a self proclaimed guru that can't rank for their own keywords or can't pass simple SEO analysis.
Basically, people that do SEO as a living not a hobby.
Related PostsNUTSHELL SEO: why redirecting keyword rich domains to your vanity domain doesn't do a lick for SEOhttp://www.rsspieces.com/001A9A 
Posted on January 26, 2008 19:15:38
Comment from: The Instigator [Visitor]  · http://www.instigator.comI love the George Carlin stuff, here's mine:
If your SEO spends his spare time gardening, your SEO might be an imposter  Permalink January 26, 2008 19:21:19Comment from: Peter [Visitor] · http://www.antiventurecapital.comHate to say it, but Wal-Mart is about to take over the SEO industry. Permalink January 27, 2008 00:43:05Comment from: Marius [Visitor] · http://superbullus.wordpress.comi still think that the most important thing is the quality of writting Permalink January 27, 2008 01:55:09Comment from: Cyndee Haydon [Visitor] · http://www.sandbarstosunsets.comMary - What a great list - I've unfortunately learned too many of those lessons enrolled in the school of hard knocks! Where were you 9 months ago when I started blogging! :-) I wish someone had explained these points to me as straightforward as you just did before I blew out all my permalinks changing a structure at an experienced bloggers suggestion or before I made mybloglog so big it almost ate my home page and definitely caused way to many links (lol) - so while it's great to see visitors - it's was definitely for me than my readers. Busy doing a lot of blog house keeping this weekend with a daisy in my hand plucking petals trying to find out if... google loves me, google loves me not, google loves me, google loves me not. I hope I end up with "google loves me"! I hope people really read and impliment these suggestions. I loved you "might be an SEO imposter.." series - had me rolling on the floor. The reality is a true SEO expert is hard to find and worth their weight in gold - I always learn so much from you - thanks for sharing your knowledge! Permalink January 27, 2008 02:45:17Comment from: Laurie.Manny [Member] · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.com I saw an ad on AR yesterday for a guy offering SEO advice at a discount to AR members. Visited his site, a PR0, not a 'no page rank'. Yeah, that's somebody to trust fer sure...'let me do for you what I can't even do for myself!' Permalink January 27, 2008 07:58:48Comment from: Guest [Visitor] · http://www.rsspieces.comCyndee, What is so wonderful about on page SEO mistakes that affect SERP is that you can recover from major mistakes like too many links on a home page very quickly (1-2 days if you write a new post after making changes). Other stuff like reciprocal linking can take a lot longer to recover from. In your case, it already looks like you have been reformed in Google's eyes. Congrats on making back to Page 1 for some ofyour search terms and I look forward to seeing Google reward you at the next PR update. You have a wonderful blog and wish you all the best at keeping it in Big Daddy G's good graces. -Mary Permalink January 27, 2008 10:02:54Comment from: James Bridges [Visitor] · http://www.onlinerealestatesuccess.comGreat advice. I think one of the most often used methods that is told to real estate professionals is that of reciprocal linking because some people still think it is the thing to do, so I am glad you brought that up in the first paragraph. Rand Fishkin and Aaron Wall are definitely some of my favorites because they definitely try to make the information clear for everyone to use and the lifetime updates on the SEOBook is a pretty good deal :) Permalink January 27, 2008 10:46:54Comment from: Jay Thompson [Visitor] · http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.comGood post Mary! Thanks for pointing out the "gang commenting". That one just drives me bonkers. Google employs a bunch of smart people. Ya think they won't be able to figure out the same people are leaving keyword packed comments on each others blogs?? Permalink January 27, 2008 12:35:14Comment from: Marc Blasi [Visitor] · http://www.PalmBeachRealEstateAndLoans.comToo many people still hope for the quickie SEO fix, as opposed to the one(s) that take a little time, but DO work. I can't believe that I still get link requests - clueless. The laziness keeps spreading....... Permalink January 27, 2008 12:51:33Comment from: Guest [Visitor] · http://www.rsspieces.comJay, Thanks, that was a great post about the commenting ring. There is a difference between keyword rich content and flat out keyword spamming and that was one of those killing two Bad SEO advice birds with one stone; commenting for reciprocal links and keyword spamming. I wonder who's hair brained idea that was... whoever told people to do that should have their keyboard replaced with an etch-a-sketch. Permalink January 27, 2008 15:42:27Comment from: Dennis Blackmore [Visitor] · http://www.realestatevirginiabeachhomes.comThe problem is that people dont know how much they dont know about SEOtology until they meet someone like Magnificant Mary! I am rapidly leaving the blogfog with her guidance. Permalink January 27, 2008 17:32:43Comment from: kermit johnson [Visitor] · http://www.realestatewtincities.netDo you think that putting my existing posts into additional categories is a bad idea in terms of SEO? Permalink January 28, 2008 01:23:13Comment from: Halfdeck [Visitor] · http://www.seo4fun.com/blog/"Always ask why the person giving you advice is recommending it and before you implement it, make sure that a respected authority in the SEO word seconds it by doing a search on Google." Nice post overall Mary, but here's the cold hard truth: You cannot blindly trust anyone's opinion on SEO. Even Aaron Wall managed to get two of his own sites banned, and then failed to get them unbanned because he believed his tactics are either gray hat or would go undetected. REW, which advises white-hat SEO and sells SEO services, are now in the process of trying to get itself unpenalized (the home page TBPR is down to 3, and its not ranking for its own name). Even Rand Fishkin once said that PageRank is not the cause of supplemental results - he turned out to be wrong. You also cannot judge SEO prowess based on reputation built on marketing via conferences, blog posts, forum contributions, networking. They only prove those SEOs are great at building their brand and building alliances. Whether or not that skill can be channeled into doing the same for a site in a different vertical is open to question. There was one high-profile link baiter that I referred a client to - my client ended up blowing a few K and 0 links. That really drove home the point to me that just because someone's got a big profile on Sphinn or Digg doesn't mean the guy will do more than just go through the motions. Now, don't get me wrong - I respect all those guys. But if you are going to pay for SEO, look for someone with a proven track record. If you want answers, post your URL at Google Group Webmaster Help. There's more real SEO discussion going on in that forum than all the SEO blogs out there combined. Permalink January 28, 2008 08:55:16Comment from: Joseph Bridges [Visitor] · http://www.internetrealestatesuccess.comThose are definitely some of the top SEO people in the country by far. Also everyone should note that Top SEO people do not make cold calls to real estate professionals. That is a big hint that they are not SEO experts and that they are just trying to get business from real estate professionals. Also remember if you are in the business of Real Estate some of the writings by Aaron Wall and Rand Fishkin may be above your technical knowledge. My brother, James Bridges(who also posted on this post), and I were technology consultants to fortune 500 clients prior to real estate so the information from these gentleman makes sense but I would encourage others not to get to hung up on the tiny details and make sure to focus on posting high quality real estate content. Permalink January 28, 2008 12:59:19Comment from: Guest [Visitor] · http://www.rsspieces.comKermit, That is fine. Go ahead and post them to multiple categories - however, since you have already pinged those posts, you probably won't garner any additional value fo them unless you just want to make those posts more "finable" for users. Permalink January 28, 2008 13:06:44Comment from: Jason Brown [Visitor] · http://www.jbprealtygroup.comWhen "SEO experts" contact me and ask "are you interested in being seen on the FIRST page of Google?", I tell them I'm very interested in learning how they can get me on Google's home page.
Permalink January 31, 2008 13:51:55Comment from: Mike Brown [Visitor] · http://www.deretiree.comREBlogGirl, Thanks for the great post. I remember you from the REW boards a while back. Your site looks incredible, great use of color and images. Even after spending years on the messageboards and blogs I have no idea as to what works and what does not for SEO but somehow I've been pretty lucky at keeping my sites on the first page of G for most of my keywords. I wish there were a "10 steps to top rankings" that really worked but unfortunately it seems to change every couple months. Anyways, thanks for the great post and you just got yourself another regular reader! Permalink February 03, 2008 04:55:01Comment from: Pamela Rader [Visitor] · http://www.mobile-settlements.com I have, quite sadly, followed number 1 & 2. I learned quickly by reading reputable sources, like Mary! Thatnks for steering folks clear of this garbage. Permalink June 05, 2008 17:17:32Comment from: Mindy Allen [Visitor] · http://mindyallen.wordpress.com/This is great...I know I have contacted you a few times when I heard SEO advice that sounded sketchy. It is difficult for novice bloggers to sift through the junk that's out there! Thanks! Permalink June 28, 2008 13:28:00Comment from: Roshni Poddar [Visitor] · http://www.healthtip.info/I read your post but recently my website was spammed by google and whne contact all seo experts all said me to change my url. i did completely then only i got my website reindexed(sure i had to request google). But at times it is a must to play with your permalink(if needed). Permalink June 30, 2008 22:05:03Comment from: Chris Banners [Visitor] · http://www.letsgobanners.comI can't believe how many companies have been telemarketing our firm asking if "we would like to be 'partnered' with Google to get us first-page rankings. I know just enough to ask them "how" they managed to partner with Google to get "first page rankings" for the measley sum of a couple grand a month (plus or minus) the key word competition. They assure me that Google gives them favor. Seo firms get a bad rap from this. It reminds me of a great attorney joke: 99% of the regular attorneys give the 1% (rest of us) a bad name. Permalink October 29, 2008 06:28:05Comment from: Lincrasto [Visitor] · http://www.widecircles.comhe reality is a true SEO expert is hard to find and worth their weight ----------------------------------- Linc
http://www.widecircles.com Permalink November 19, 2008 23:42:28Comment on this article This post has no feedback awaiting moderation... |
I have recently encountered a glut of bloggers that have
taken some very bad advice in the form of reciprocal linking (this one seems to
be repackaged monthly as a comment scheme, blogroll or some other hair-brained
idea), too many links on a homepage, more than one H1 tag on a single page,
etc. 
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