Opinion – Search Engine Success

By Tom Henricks
Posted Tuesday, June 22, 2004

This article is actually the summary to a book soon to be released by the author, titled “Guaranteed Website Success”. Opinions are quite often controversial. Such is the nature of this one.

There a many opinions and conclusions being expressed by so called “experts” at this time. We can’t turn a blind eye to all this information but nothing will replace our own logic and powers of observation. I would like to take a minute to summarize and express my own observations. Some will obviously disagree with these statements and views. Such is the nature of free speech and our ability to draw our own conclusions. I suggest that those that disagree are the ones that are reluctant to use their own logic and change with the needs of the present time.

Google is presently in a state of change. Their objective is honest – to produce valid results for your searches. However in the quest to do that they may stumble a bit in the process. That is a big challenge. They are presently considered the number one search engine and want to stay there. Their processes would seem a bit unstable at the moment but they must and they will stabilize to maintain their own position. There will be changes and modifications aimed at improving the whole exercise. Be observant and move with the needs of the present.

If you visit the forums you are going to see a lot of chatter and a lot of views about what is going on. Thoroughly discussed issues revolve around keyword placement and a term some of the so called experts are abusing “search engine optimization”. Some of these so called experts are in my opinion misusing that term “search engine optimization” They are claiming that they would never participate in that dastardly practice. Well, just look at the term. What does it mean. To me it simply means putting together your website so that people will find it when they search using their favourite search engine. If these guys aren’t doing that, they aren’t going anywhere. Of course they are participating in the practice. They just prefer to call it something else. I can’t figure out why though. The term doesn’t indicate anything under handed when used in itself. We all practice search engine optimization, it’s the difference in success and failure.

Much is being said about “keyword over use, stuffing” blah blah blah etc. Many are claiming keywords shouldn’t even be used here and they shouldn’t be used there. Wake up you “experts” that are making these crazy claims that google doesn’t want you doing this. Yes, you can produce a few results that will support that stand. I can produce my own results very quickly. Pick a dozen search terms out of the air. Do a search on each in google. Go view the source code. I will guarantee you are going to see plenty of first page results that exhibit the so called practice of “keyword stuffing” So what are you guys going to do? Are you going to shun the practice because “some expert” has told you google doesn’t like, it even though google is obviously rewarding the practice. Better not paint yourself into a corner. Use your logic. Observe and move with the market. Nothing is more valuable than your own powers of observation and ability to change to reflect those observations.

Regarding the theory being expressed that google doesn’t want you using keywords . Think about it. The whole basis of the search process revolves around keywords. We don’t search for a whole page of matching data. We search on a word or phrase. Who is going to determine which words are relevant to our website. Of course the search engines must leave that to us. Logic is part of that process and they still can’t get that logic from a machine. It is just too time consuming and resource heavy to try any valid effort at that. The search engines need us to provide that data at this time. If you have figured out the point where the search engines are deciding that “over use” can be stamped on this one, you have done well. I can show you heavy, heavy keyword placement that is being rewarded as we speak. That is now amidst the results of the google changes.

USE YOUR OWN LOGIC. Do what is working . If it is working, nobody can say that google is discouraging the practice.
Personally, I am saying the only rule today is that “there are no rules”

Observe, apply logic, and react positively. Don’t quit on it, because the job will never be complete. It will be a process of constant adjustment to the needs of the present time.

Tom Henricks
I’m not considered an “expert”.

About the Author
Tom is webmaster at website "Low Cost Websites" that is primarily targetted at helping to improve website performance and also a practicing walleye fishing guide near Windsor Ontario.