“To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.”
― Leonardo da Vinci
Contents:
1.) Introduction
2.) SEO. Is it a science?
3.) SEO. Maybe it’s an art?
4.) The Churn and Burn Business Model in SEO
5.) Conclusion
1.) Introduction
Is SEO a science or an art?
Is it real marketing, or is it just reverse-engineering the PageRank algorithm to determine what works in what niche?
Are the results that we get replicable?
For example, if an EMD (exact match domain) can rank for ‘best laptop under $500’, does that mean that we can rank using EMDs in more competitive SERPs (Search engine ranking positions) like ‘payday loans’ or ‘coupons’?
2.) SEO. Is it a science?
Tinker, and then tinker some more. Do you have a suspicion about on-page SEO that nobody has ever mentioned? Form a hypothesis, design an experiment, run it, then revalidate it. Maybe you just stumbled upon a ranking factor that’s got enough weight to it that you can exploit it without it ever coming under fire.
– The Engineer, buildersociety.com
Upon observation, it appears to be a science, and we always ask ‘why’ to find the truth in science.
You can have your rank tracker telling you something completely different than what you read in a big blog or publication. Not all SERPS (Search Engine Ranking Positions) are the same, so that both conclusions could be right (relativity), or the writer of the case study may not have accounted for some ranking factors, so it is not a straightforward process to make inferences.
Each one is true in some instances because there are a lot of ranking factors and a lot of variables, so it is kind of hard to determine which ranking factor produced which outcome (ranking, tanking, or de-indexation)
3.) SEO. Maybe it’s an art?
Continually coming up with new ideas for link building that are compliant with Google’s guidelines and mixing and matching different strategies appears to require a modicum of creativity
If you’re building a long term asset, then link acquisition through ‘whitehat’ channels could appear to be safer and more long-lasting than those crappy private (Is it private, Nah this is just a misnomer) blog network you may find on blackhatworld
4.) The Churn and Burn Business Model in SEO
And then there is the Blackhat ‘churn and burn’ business model. I’ve seen cases of websites that are being sold on flippa at a high multiple(24x the monthly revenue), sites that have a considerable probability of tanking and disappearing from the SERPs at any moment, so always do proper due diligence before purchasing any web assets
5.) Conclusion
As long as search engines rely on factors on links, CTR (I’m looking at you serpclix.com), keyword density, and other factors that can be manipulated, SERPS manipulation and black hat activity would remain.
And those who are exploiting these blackhat techniques right now would continue doing so for the foreseeable future.