The SEO Wars

Recently there has been a huge battle between different SEO firms as to who is using the correct methodology.

Linking is the Only Thing That Matters

Some people believe that linking alone is all you need.
John Scott (of Internet Marketing Research) & Phil Craven (of Web Workshop) are some of the major proponents behind this line of thinking.
The Basic Concepts of SEO

The problem with this idea is that buying links does not ad value. If one were exclusively focused on buying links then their site would not be operating as efficiently as it could be.

Quality Content Wins

Others think you need to create wonderful content that will make people want to link to it. The problem is that people will not be able to find it until there are some links.
Jill Whalen (of Highrankings.com) is a big propenent of this idea.

The Truth About SEO and Spam

Either way you look at it, all SEO is at least a mild version of spam, or there is no such thing as spam. - What the HELL is spam?

SEO's Fighting

There has been a bunch of bickering. Entire websites of hate content have been built for certain members of the SEO community and people are making slanderous remarks about each other in forums.

SEO Links, Content, + Reality

What it all boils down to is that links or content works UP TO A POINT, but greater success can be achieved by mixing links + content.

SEO Methodology + Terminology

Some people use different terminology for different things. Some people register sites. Some people buy or rent links. When you buy a Yahoo! listing at $299 / year, are you doing any more than renting links? Because Yahoo! is collecting that money is it any more honest than getting a link from Freds Farm Equipent? Why?

Discuss SEO, Content, Links, and Cheese!

Chris Ridings posted a great article on the subject for discussion in the SearchGuild forums "Content is King, is the King Dead."

OFF TOPIC General Internet Marketing

I got some sort of cold and I keep sneezing.

In case you do not know who Seth Godin is, he is an internet marketer and book author with a cult following. Godin's books are best known for emulating the very concepts they cover.

• Unleashing the Ideavirus is the most downloaded ebook ever.

• Purple Cow had a remarkable distribution chanel by coming in purple milk cartons.
• It is no surprise then that his most upcomming book, titled Free Prize Inside is to include special packaging (most likely with a free prize inside).

Free Prize Inside is set to ship in 10 weeks and I have already ordered mine.

I have seen Seth when he came to Rhode Island and have also went to his office to hang out for the day. If you look closely in the picture in this branding article, those are my hands holing the Yorkie bar while I am standing next to Seth.

Seth is one of the best speakers and marketing thinkers I have met. Here is Seth's post about Free Prize Inside.

As far as Google AdWords Goes there are three main book or reports on the subject that I know of. I recently wrote my SEO Book and am starting to advertise it on Google AdWords.

I have already read Andrew Goodman's Google AdWords: 21 Pay-Per-Click Campaign Secrets Your Competition Doesn't Know twice, and think it is one of the best search engine reports on the market. ($69)

The other two main reports reports out there are the one created by Perry Marshall and Chris Carpender's Google Cash. I looked at the Google Cash one and saw that they are adding the Perry Marshall report in as an added bonus and are selling the Google Cash package cheaper than his report alone. Google Cash is directed toward affiliate sales. Generally I do not like affiliate sales as they do not build value, but I figure I should be able to learn some more great information between the Perry Marshall's Google AdWords report and the Google Cash report. It cost $49 if you want to give Google Cash a shot.

I will report a review of Google Cash and Perry Marshall's Google AdWords reports later this month or early next month. Either way the package comes with a 90 day money back guarantee.

People use the phrase Search Engine Wars so many times that it's a joke. I think wars are no laughing matter, but the excessive use of "search engine wars" is somewhat excessive and funny.

I feel leftout though, as I have not used the phrase "search engine wars" before this post. I figured that all battles have local fronts. Thus I am extending the "search engine wars" message to the local battle fields. Local search engine wars: "CitySearch's performance-based search advertising program added 24,000 local businesses in its first nine months, parent company InterActiveCorp said yesterday.
IAC said the Los Angeles-based local search service added 3,000 performance-based listings in the last three months of 2003, ending the year nearly halfway to IAC CEO Barry Diller's goal of 50,000 local search advertisers by the end of 2004. Pay-for-performance revenue at CitySearch rose 14 percent from the previous quarter. "
(source DMnews)

Some of the current top competitors in this market are CitySearch, SmartPages, SwitchBoard, and Verizon SuperPages. Big search players like Overture and Google are also going to eat up a lion share of this market. Kanoodle will also sneak into this market, as many of their employees were associated with the formerly highly targetable Sprinks product (which Google swallowed whole.)

More on the local search engine wars from a few months ago:
Search Engine Watch: Local Search Series

Much of the local search engine marketing news is also covered by the Kelsey Group.

Here is a totally random spam which shows how hard it is too trip a spam filter. Note the keyword density of this page for Keasley (and how tired I must have been to have my spelling that far off!)

Bad luck brought to you by the letter L.

Room for Rent Lycos is renting some of its office space to cut costs. (no relation to the movie)

Shedding Shares LookSmart is not looking very smart...at least their stock is well, um, falling (like the London bridge)