‘Outfox' or ‘Befriend' in Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Remember the mid-20th Century world of "Spy vs. Spy?" The two hapless spies from Mad Magazine were driven incessantly by the ludicrous Cold War ethos of "mutually assured self-destruction." In today's world of Search Engine Optimization, the first camp's ethos is "outfox your rival," which reminds me of those maniacal Mad Magazine spies.
The other camp's ethos, "befriend your rival," harkens back to the late-20th Century George Bush's expression, "a kinder, gentler nation." This camp appears determined to understand the reasons why an opponent is an opponent and incorporate the findings into a "kinder, gentler" SEO philosophy. Some may say, ‘nevertheless, just another way to victory, albeit subtler...a Realtor's Parthian Thrust.
One could argue that the dominant assumption of the Realtor in the first camp is that one can trick and manipulate the search engines into positioning my site at the top, i.e., on the first page of a search, simply by cyber trickery...'just keep on top of the ever-changing algorithms and the houses will sell...Little work, rapid results...easy money, some may think.
The "befriend your rival" camp, called the "Partnership Optimization Method," by Scott Buresh, "embrace(s) the idea that the attributes and optimization methods that give a website high rankings in search engines are, by and large, the same ones that make the site more valuable to website visitors and potential customers."
Makes sense, but the website is not the Realtor. How does one accurately determine a Realtor's attributes from an attractive, high-ranking website? Recall Marshall McLuhan's book, The Medium is the Message? The web has not introduced Realtors to the world; it has only accelerated the way people find out about and purchase Real Estate. It is still the Realtor, not the Realtor's flashy, highly placed website that works for you-the Seller, the Buyer, the family looking for Home...
©Brett Fagan 12.7.07
Comments (1)Subscribe to CommentsComment