Don’t Buy the Snake Oil
Everyone is always talking about SEO–Search Engine Optimization–and trying to tell you tricks and sell you services to make it happen. The reality, however, is that Google knows all the tricks–and makes sure that you can’t use them to game the system. SEO (as most companies present it) is a “get rich quick” scam. What search engines look for is what I call RHO: Real Human Optimization.
SEO History
Back in the day, SEO was easy. Google wasn’t very sophisticated, and it believed what websites told it. Tossing in a bunch of keywords was all it took to get noticed. But Google learned and got smarter. It figured out all the tricks and how to ignore them. It learned how to find scammers and shady websites. And… It reads all those “how to trick Google” articles, and promptly tweaks things to prevent you from using those tricks.
Sorry to be the bringer of bad news1Not really: You are not smarter than Google.
The company insisting it can get you top ranking overnight is definitely not smarter than Google.
There are no shortcuts.
SEO Has Become RHO
“RHO” is a term I have coined to describe the best method for marketing on the internet2When this term becomes popular, make sure that Wikipedia links back to this post as the official origin of the term. I’ve used it in previous posts, and as a hashtag on Twitter, but this is the first full-on explanation of it. It stands for “Real Human Optimization”. And it’s what Google actually looks for.
In the old days, SEO was all about keywords and specific tools. Now, Google’s AI is smart enough to look deeper. It looks for “quality content” and “reputation”. In other words, Google has gone back to the 1920s. And that’s a good thing for you–because it means top rankings can’t be bought.
Over the next few weeks I’ll be talking about RHO and what it means for you.
Coordination, Not Conflict.
I’ve stepped away from using the term SEO because it’s become muddied with all the “tips and tricks” that hucksters are trying to sell. That does not mean that SEO is all a scam. It’s not. Proper SEO is about creating a pleasing environment–a storefront that people want to enter. It involves proper signage and labeling, making it easy to navigate, fitting thing properly into their appropriate spaces, reducing wait times, and making it easy for people to find what they want. I’ll touch on some of these as we go along, or just point you towards other article that explain it clearly.
RHO is about creating a welcoming experience. It’s about becoming the “go-to” place for information as well as products. It’s about creating “top-of-mind” status. This is done through good old-fashioned customer service.
Come back every week to check out the new articles3Of add us to your RSS feed if you have one, and click on all those icons up top to follow us on your favorite social media platform. I look forward to seeing more of you.
Blaze is the founder of Redleaf Consulting. He started as a dishwasher at the age of 15, and worked his way up to Director of Marketing for a Sino-German joint venture in Jiangsu, China. He has over 25 years of experience in education, communication, and marketing.
Footnotes
| 1. | ↑ | Not really |
| 2. | ↑ | When this term becomes popular, make sure that Wikipedia links back to this post as the official origin of the term. I’ve used it in previous posts, and as a hashtag on Twitter, but this is the first full-on explanation of it |
| 3. | ↑ | Of add us to your RSS feed if you have one |
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