Cult of SEO: It Doesn't Work

15 years ago

Phew. I don't even know where to begin. Let's start here.

http:xx: www . howtoflirtwithagirlovertext . com (1 page, crap content)

howtodrawahors.net/ ( 1 main page, and it is a sales page)

http:xx: www . acneonchin . com (1 main page, very little content)

In the article he has these words (in the above URL's) bolded.

Flirt With A Girl
Draw A Hors
Acne

I assume these are the keywords he thinks the aforementioned sites are ranking for? I don't see those sites in the top ten for any of those keywords. Take things a step further and howtodrawahors.net isn't even an active site anymore.

Guess that page one ranking really worked out well for them huh?

He goes on to state...

You need to buy a ton of SEO tools to even compete in the Google Rankings

Um not you don't. You can just hop right in and go for broke, however, tools--especially RESEARCH tools will help you out immensely.

On top of that his recommended SEO method talks about how to do proper Keyword Research, which has you using paid tools like TheKeywordAcademy for better results. Take it a step further and he recommends an OPTIONAL service provided by SEmrush.

So he denounces using PAID tools for SEO and then recommends them in a different post?

He also seems to place absolutely zero value in creating quality content, yet also recommends you do this in his seemingly "do no wrong" recommended SEO post.

Are these kind of posts what it takes to get attention these days?

As an addendum. Panda changed the landscape of SEO dramatically. Anyone with a brain and knowledge of previous SEO techniques can tell you that without fail.

EDIT: removed links to sites quoted.

Thanks
1 reply

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Izaya Banned 15 years ago

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- Mansion 15 years ago
  
  That is just his marketing schtick; SEO, as a general concept is not questionable--methodology is; however.
  
  Thanks
  
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- BloggingPro 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Izaya
  
  Why you hating bro?
  
  Not hating. OP asked for thoughts. So I gave them... at length.
  
  Thanks
  
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- MattVit 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Izaya
  
  Why you hating bro?
  
  What kind of a reply is this? He's giving his opinion - and a good one at that. I say good because he's given very valid points and made it easy to read. He made a useful contribution...
  
  Thanks
  
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Becker13

Banned 15 years ago

Originally Posted by BloggingPro

Phew. I don't even know where to begin. Let's start here.

http:xx: www . howtoflirtwithagirlovertext . com (1 page, crap content)

Hey man the site that I own that shows up for how to flirt with a girl is Collegeflirt.net. Not that how to text a girl =P. That site truly has crap content

Also I was using those sites as examples of how much made up theory there is about SEO. All of those sites directly break the SEO laws that people constantly preach, yet they all rank very well...

I personally find it annoying when people tell newcomers they have to write twenty 1000 word articles and spend countless hours doing busy work to rank highly. I am by no means saying make crappy spam sites, but 90% of SEO is made up crap people follow like a religion

Oh and also how to draw a horse ranks higher now in google than when that article was written.. =P

Thought id clear that up

Thanks
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Kay King

15 years ago

Another young blogger who expresses himself best with the most common profanity...wow. Just because someone goes against common wisdom doesn't mean what he says makes sense.

why is everyone fighting to the death to rank in the American Google

I would think that's obvious. Ever try selling online to people in China? There are many marketers that should be marketing in their own language because they can't compete in the English market with their language skills. They could be building markets in their own region. Why aren't they doing that?

The perception (and perhaps the reality - don't know) is even in a bad economy the buyers are in English speaking countries. That's why everyone tries to position in English for Google ranking. Big DUH!

I understand marketing to a certain demographic and some of the stuff makes common sense. But when you post it here as "something new" it will get a response.

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Becker13

Banned 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Kay King

Another young blogger who expresses himself best with the most common profanity...wow. Just because someone goes against common wisdom doesn't mean what he says makes sense.

I would think that's obvious. Ever try selling online to people in China? There are many marketers that should be marketing in their own language because they can't compete in the English market with their language skills. They could be building markets in their own region. Why aren't they doing that?

The perception (and perhaps the reality - don't know) is even in a bad economy the buyers are in English speaking countries. That's why everyone tries to position in English for Google ranking. Big DUH!

I understand marketing to a certain demographic and some of the stuff makes common sense. But when you post it here as "something new" it will get a response.

Well honestly i believe (dont quote me) there are well over a billion English speakers in the world. America only has 300 million of those.

In a case study i showed on the CPA forum, I showed how I a crazy amount of targeted clicks from a canadian media buy for less than .01 CPC average.

That is a PPC/CPA example, but the same thing applies to SEO right now. It is also insanely easy to take advantage of.

There are countless exact match domains open in Indian and the Phillipines google right now that rank with very few backlinks in their respective googles.

While that traffic is not as valuable as US traffic, when you are getting 200k targeted visitors a month to your site it is a null factor. Yes they might not have the same income, but solve that by selling them cheap products.

(after all if you have a 5% conversion rate, with 200k visitors on a product priced at ONLY a dollar, that is still 10k a month from 1 site)

Long story short there are HUGE chunks of pie being completely ignored because people are all following eachothers butts instead of trying new things.

[ 1 ] Thanks
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JackPowers

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Kay King

Another young blogger who expresses himself best with the most common profanity...wow. Just because someone goes against common wisdom doesn't mean what he says makes sense.

I would think that's obvious. Ever try selling online to people in China? There are many marketers that should be marketing in their own language because they can't compete in the English market with their language skills. They could be building markets in their own region. Why aren't they doing that?

The perception (and perhaps the reality - don't know) is even in a bad economy the buyers are in English speaking countries. That's why everyone tries to position in English for Google ranking. Big DUH!

I understand marketing to a certain demographic and some of the stuff makes common sense. But when you post it here as "something new" it will get a response.

I disagree, if you do have the language skills, it is MUCH easier to make money as a newbie in practically any other language than English. I've ranked 2nd for 'dating' for example in another Google and while it didn't make the millions I would have made in Google.com it certainly made a nice income.

Originally Posted by Becker13

Well honestly i believe (dont quote me) there are well over a billion English speakers in the world. America only has 300 million of those.

In a case study i showed on the CPA forum, I showed how I a crazy amount of targeted clicks from a canadian media buy for less than .01 CPC average.

That is a PPC/CPA example, but the same thing applies to SEO right now. It is also insanely easy to take advantage of.

There are countless exact match domains open in Indian and the Phillipines google right now that rank with very few backlinks in their respective googles.

While that traffic is not as valuable as US traffic, when you are getting 200k targeted visitors a month to your site it is a null factor. Yes they might not have the same income, but solve that by selling them cheap products.

(after all if you have a 5% conversion rate, with 200k visitors on a product priced at ONLY a dollar, that is still 10k a month from 1 site)

Long story short there are HUGE chunks of pie being completely ignored because people are all following eachothers butts instead of trying new things.

Smart thinking, because honestly more and more .com searches have become impossibly competetive, even stupid long tail searches have actual competition. There are only 10 spots for 'car insurance', 'credit score', 'dating' etc. and you better believe those 10-50 first results spend thousands a month on SEO. I am not saying you can't make money ranking in Google.com, but it's much harder than in other languages. Consider it this way, there are billions of people who can write an English article but only a few million who can write in Finnish;-)

Here's a very interesting and eye opening article dealing with that subject:

Introducing the Controversial Theory of "Peak SEO" | Coconut Headphones

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4morereferrals

15 years ago

Originally Posted by JackPowers

I disagree, if you do have the language skills, it is MUCH easier to make money as a newbie in practically any other language than English. I've ranked 2nd for 'dating' for example in another Google and while it didn't make the millions I would have made in Google.com it certainly made a nice income.

Smart thinking, because honestly more and more .com searches have become impossibly competetive, even stupid long tail searches have actual competition. There are only 10 spots for 'car insurance', 'credit score', 'dating' etc. and you better believe those 10-50 first results spend thousands a month on SEO. I am not saying you can't make money ranking in Google.com, but it's much harder than in other languages. Consider it this way, there are billions of people who can write an English article but only a few million who can write in Finnish;-)

Here's a very interesting and eye opening article dealing with that subject:

Introducing the Controversial Theory of "Peak SEO" | Coconut Headphones

though i agree that the game is ever increasingly harder - especially as of late ...

however; i cannot nearly fathom the amount of retail products, new technology, concepts, ebooks, IM products, health and fitness products, consumer electronics gadgets etc [ aka $$$ keywords ] - that didnt exist 4-7 years ago - let alone last year.

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Daedalus 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Becker13

Long story short there are HUGE chunks of pie being completely ignored because people are all following each others butts instead of trying new things.

There's another side of that coin. USA is driven entirely by consumption and the entire economic system of the world is based more or less on your own. GDP-wise, consumption is roughly 70% of the total amount.

I've done an experiment when it comes to AdSense for my local traffic (I live in a non-English European country). My CTR was 1-4%. CPC was also terrible since there is a lot less competition.When it comes to the sites I rank for US, my CTR is 25-35% and a decent CPC.

Then there's the cultural difference. US citizens shop online and don't really make a big fuss about it, while a lot of European nations are quite skeptical when it comes to using their credit card online for sites such as e-bay. Hell, I've been surrounded by technology my entire life and have always been well informed, yet my first reaction is to leave the page when it comes to sharing credit card info (talking about respected websites such as odesk.com for example) or using a Google Ad to get to a page I am looking for.

I agree there are a lot of markets which are still untapped, but it's not all black and white. ''If we build it, they'll come'' strategy isn't going to work.
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- Becker13 Banned 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Domsa
  
  I agree there are a lot of markets which are still untapped, but it's not all black and white. ''If we build it, they'll come'' strategy isn't going to work.
  
  Excellent point.
  
  There is demand for certain things in foreign countries and many times its exactly the same thing that is in demand in the US. Will the customers be as valuable as american customers, of course not in some instances, but the traffic is there none the less.
  
  Also i think approaching with this mindset is an insanely good investment. Look at how fast india and other countries are growing right now, in a few years having a solid chunk of their internet property is going to be worth a ton.
  
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Tacit

15 years ago

I wonder who he means exactly when he says "the big dogs"?

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Dennis Gaskill

15 years ago

I only read part of the article . . . because it didn't take long to see I didn't need to read any further.

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pacelattin

15 years ago

Yeah, its quite a read. Smart guy though... has written for me in the past, so wanted to look this over. Was a little heavy reading.

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sovereignn

15 years ago

I work for him I wouldn't take anything he ever says too seriously :p

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Daniel Wilson

15 years ago

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LeahRae 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Daniel Wilson

Hi!

He just wanted to hype us and it worked! You've clicked on his website and someone even published it here.

So True! I have to get back to my kool aid
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- seoconsulting1 14 years ago
  
  Love your work and videos Alex! I bought your course on authorship the other day, and it was a bargain. Really insightful stuff.
  
  Been reading your blog non stop over the last week. I really love your article on the EMD update, such a fresh perspective when everyone else is so negative.
  
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4morereferrals

15 years ago

Originally Posted by pacelattin

Interesting Article by Alex Becker.. not sure what to think about it. He is one of the only gurus that goes out there and says everything is BS? Thoughts?

The Harsh Truth About SEO That Will Piss You Off (and How The Big Dogs Really Make Money) | The Link Back

The title of this post sucks - as does the post it refers to Who the hell is alex becker anyway.

Ohhhh jeeez never mind ... Ive bee nto the site now and its the same half baked half truthed crap from a dude who didnt have much success with seo and how has the magic solution.

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yukon

Banned 15 years ago

Originally Posted by 4morereferrals

The title of this post sucks - as does the post it refers to Who the hell is alex becker anyway.

Ohhhh jeeez never mind ... Ive bee nto the site now and its the same half baked half truthed crap from a dude who didnt have much success with seo and how has the magic solution.

Wasn't that character played by Ted Danson back in the 90s sitcom (Becker)?

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Daedalus

15 years ago

The entire post can be summarized in 2 sentences - If you wish to be a successful Internet Marketeer, you need to think like one. And to think like one, you need to think for yourself.

Guys, if you are newcomers and unsure what to do, take your time when it comes to starting a project. Read what others are saying, think about what they're saying, think whether they have ulterior motifs to post something. Having that knowledge, try to logically deduce things and form your own opinion. Then and only then start investing money. And do it slowly and carefully.

P.S. You might find this video interesting. Some things can be applied to Internet Marketing.

Believe Nothing

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mosthost

15 years ago

My favorite part is where advocates learning Chinese to set up exact match domains in China.

Not exactly a mainstream strategy

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realmaverick

15 years ago

One word

WOW

It seems nothing more than a marketing ploy. A bid to generate controversy and links back to his site etc.

Rubbish.

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Becker13 Banned 15 years ago

Originally Posted by realmaverick

One word

WOW

It seems nothing more than a marketing ploy. A bid to generate controversy and links back to his site etc.

Rubbish.

Hey man. The honest goal of that article was to

1 simply prove to newcomers (which my blog focuses on) that many so called SEO facts just are not true

2 Show simply how I and other people i know rank

3 Give them ideas that I am seeing people make a killing with

Sorry it came off that way to you though
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iAmNameLess 15 years ago

Originally Posted by realmaverick

One word

WOW

It seems nothing more than a marketing ploy. A bid to generate controversy and links back to his site etc.

Rubbish.

You really think so? I admit, when I first clicked and saw this I thought wow, another dooms dayer of IM.

In reality though, everything he said is true.

When it comes to SEO... in my opinion MAYBE 5% of everyone who claims to do SEO can really do it! The rest read theories from these kids on the board and believe it is the complete truth.

The dumb facts, I agree with everything he said... local SEO = gold mine... foreign SEO = gold mine..

I have to give him props... I don't think it is a marketing ploy, I think it was a nice blog, and insightful. I don't know how anyone could disagree with him...
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Becker13

Banned 15 years ago

Thanks nameless,

Honestly I can completely see why some people would not like the post though, simply because the post is not for everybody and I act like a crazy person on my blog.

Ill be the first one to admit that the writing on my blog is dramatic, unprofessional and controversial..but that is why I love writing on my blog..

When you spend all day being professional with clients and doing internet marketing it feels great to sit down and lets loose/say what is really on your mind in your own way.

My motive behind blogging is simply because I LOVE talking to people/helping people with IM. I would be working at Arbys without it, and is a HUGE part of my life. Of course I make some money blogging, and while I love my blog. marketing it is not an effective/or profitable use of my skill set. ( I much rather promote my offline businesses or spend time working on my websites)

So, no, my crazy ranting post is not a marketing ploy. It is simply a overly dramatic nerd venting on his blog and trying to give value to his subscribers =D

So with that being said, I hope some warriors enjoyed the post, and even if you didnt I am glad you stopped by and gave my writing some thought!

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Mike Anthony 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Becker13

So, no, my crazy ranting post is not a marketing ploy. It is simply a overly dramatic nerd venting on his blog and trying to give value to his subscribers

ummm......If you say so

Looks like a classic cult of SEO tactic - called linkbaiting.
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- Becker13 Banned 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Mike Anthony
  
  ummm......If you say so
  
  Looks like a classic cult of SEO tactic - called linkbaiting.
  
  I actually just started an SEO cult down the street from my house and we just have a local meeting about the mighty link baiting =P
  
  How did you know!!
  
  Thanks
  
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- Ettienne 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Mike Anthony
  
  ummm......If you say so
  
  Looks like a classic cult of SEO tactic - called linkbaiting.
  
  That's exactly what it is. The only part worth listening to in that entire post is the Master of Puppets song.
  
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OmarNegron

15 years ago

good post. Was an interesting read.

Thanks!

-Omar

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Kay King 15 years ago

Well honestly i believe (dont quote me) there are well over a billion English speakers in the world. America only has 300 million of those.

What I SAID was "English speaking countries". Didn't say US or America.

As for other languages, I said I think some marketers would be better to work in their own language. Those markets will grow.

I happen to like blog rants to an extent. They're more interesting than properly keyword positioned same-old-stuff
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- Becker13 Banned 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Kay King
  
  I happen to like blog rants to an extent. They're more interesting than properly keyword positioned same-old-stuff
  
  haha I could not agree more
  
  Thanks
  
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dms321

15 years ago

I just wanted to mention that in many countries people either do not buy online using credit cards or the number of buyers is very small.

I have not tested myself. This is just a thought.

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charlesetna

15 years ago

link bait or not - you have to tip your hat to anyone willing to back up their work on a forum like this!

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dagaul101

15 years ago

The thing with SEO is it's always changing, so what works now may not necessarily be the case in a few years time or even months, it's sad that some are still using aged tactics that worked once, but doesn't mean they will always work

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thebitbotdotcom

14 years ago

@Becker13

From personal experience...I have dabbled in non-US English speaking markets and monetizing them is not like monetizing the US market at all.

I have sites that get massive traffic from India and the Philippines and they make little to no money after prolonged split testing campaigns and just about every expert on the planet critiquing my methods.

They just don't buy anything online.

I am sure there is a way, but one thing it is not is "low hanging fruit".

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