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Garbage in, garbage out: the psychology of good SEO

Sat, May 31, 2008

seo theory

One of the most important guidelines for successful selling and marketing is ‘garbage in, garbage out’.

Well, actually, originally it has nothing to do with marketing, but with computer science: ‘computers don’t make mistakes, humans do’. But ‘The term can be used in any field in which it is difficult to create a good result when given bad input.’ (quote from Wikipedia).

In many cases, this applies to SEO. I usually turn it around: I make the input as good as possible.

The true success factor of SEO

After you’ve put all technology and knowledge of SEO behind you, it turns out that enthusiasm and motivation are the true success factors of good SEO. Technology is something you can learn, knowledge is something you can gain. But enthusiasm is something you need beyond that. Not only for SEO as a profession, but also for the organizations, people, and products or services you optimize for.

That will deliver the best results in competitive branches. That will make the communication between you as a consultant and the company run smoothly. Simply because you really understand what it’s about.

So how to ‘do’ enthusiasm?

I take a significant amount of time to familiarize myself with an organization I’ll do SEO for. I learn about the company. I read about-pages, press-releases, catalogues, Wikipedia entries, subscribe to their newsletter, talk to people about the company and people that work there, et cetera.

It’s not just for acquiring information. You should do that anyway. But it’s also to get closer to the organization. People you know well, you usually like better. It’s simple and psychological. I work harder for people / organizations / products I like.

I honestly believe that that delivers the best results and is an invaluable tool for every SEO.

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Post written by:

Ramon Eijkemans - who wrote 21 posts on SEO copywriting: Searchwritten.

Web developer since 2001, SEO consultant since 2006. You can visit my LinkedIn account to learn more: ramoneijkemans.p.s.; I also run a Dutch blog about SEO and webdesign in general.

4 Comments For This Post

  1. Ramon Eijkemans Says:

    p.s.: I do know that ‘KPI’ usually is something you can measure. I should probably use of term like ‘factor’ or something, but KPI is such a nice term to use… I keep it here for the sake of argument ;)

  2. SEO Pune Says:

    I totally agree wid the post.

  3. Robert Kingston Says:

    @Ramon, KPI is a sexy buzzword. If you like that you might also like KFS (Key Factors of Success).

    I believe you need passion as well. I’ve tried performing SEO on some of my clients sites and it’s just not possible for me to work with them as I do with my own sites. Usually one or two of the triumvirates for successful SEO is missing. Usually Knowledge about their industry and Passion for their business.

  4. Ramon Eijkemans Says:

    @Robert: agreed.

    ‘KFS’ would actually better describe what i meant with this article :)

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