Are we chasing our tails and going nowhere?

Hi David

There is definitely some advantage in paying attention to the latest "trick of the day" (which at the moment, seems to be backlinks on authority sites), but as marketers, we should be looking both at the SHORT TERM and the LONG TERM.

Google's algorithm is constantly changing. And we've got a major change coming up with the Caffeine update, which Matt Cutts compared to the earlier Big Daddy (?) update a few years ago. But Google will ALWAYS want to serve up the best possible results for their users, so giving Google USERS what they want, in a format that Google loves, should always be high on the agenda.

In the end, having a genuine authority site will usually pay far greater "dividends" than one that has been "artificially" boosted, and you'll get backlinks naturally because of it.

Unfortunately, it takes time to build up an authority site in the eyes of others. Ironically, it's easiest to do that with Google, but with our peers, it's less easy.

I think there's so much focus on "quick fixes" because of the bum marketing mentality. I don't have anything against bum marketing myself, it's a great starting point... but at some point, you'll want to turn your efforts into a REAL BUSINESS.

Still, that's not to say you can't have your cake AND eat it. Personally, I don't think it's an either/or situation. Using some of the "tricks of the day" CAN help your site to get more visibility, which in turn can lead to more natural authority.

So why not have both? That's the way I see it.

That's the problem - most people don't have any value to give, so they try to fake or force value in the world.

If I have a product which cures cancer, how many backlinks, SEO tweaks and fake "popularity" building do you think I need to bust my but in creating?

When you have something people want and is different (or basically just valuable and effective), then the links will create themselves, the word of mouth will generate by itself...etc.

Sadly, many folks enter the "internet marketing niche" (whatever THAT means) by picking a product to promote as an affiliate, but with no "base" to promote from.

If they already HAD a business and made additional income off the back using affiliate promotions, then that would be a different story...one which many folks overlook earlier on.

Then, when nobody visits their 20 page content site on losing belly fat, and promoting the same program that everyone else is promoting, they blame Google, or whoever else is "against" them for not sending them traffic.

And if they get traffic and no sales, they'll blame Clickbank.

I've done it myself. I'm not attacking anyone in particular...in fact, it's a pretty standard route of entry into the world of online marketing.

The real result is - are you going to continue fighting a dying battle to trick multi billion dollar companies so you can squeeze a few short lived commissions for the next several months (at the expense of all your waking hours), or are you going to spend the next 6 months or more conceiving something of TRUE value that creates its' own magnetism in your market place.

hint - it doesn't always have to be an eBook.

In terms of those who already have the solid business in place, with something of value to provide, then yes, I can see that the latest techniques can help to start the wheels of motion.

But to rest your income on them, is weak. True promotional activities cost money...press releases, multiple media exposure, official/high calibre interviews, joint ventures, marketing gimicks, you know the stuff...

Yes.

Some of us already have.

Good SEO is very much based around what you've outlined here.

It does help a LOT if you understand the search engines and what they like but the overriding rule always has been and most likely always will be that high quality, highly targeted content wins the long term search engine wars.

I have pages still number one on Google for competitive terms that I optimized in 2003-2004 and did nothing since.

I'm glad I took the advice of a genuine SEO expert who told me to focus on providing highly targeted, high quality content, make one page or more per long tail keyword phrase, make as many pages as possible and get backlinks to those pages from high quality related sites.

It's simple...it works.

Trying to scam the search engines always has a use by date.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

If you know your competitors are doing things to gain a market advantage - even if those things only give short-term edges - you're likely to do those things as well. The waters are shark-infested. Sink or swim mentality sets in. Sometimes you swim and still lose a leg to the sharks.

I get the OP's beef, but it's a utopian dream. It's a genie that cannot be put back into its bottle. Only something draconian by Google will put things right, whatever that is.

John