Jason Murphy

SEO IS FOR LOSERS!

Dec 14, 2006 Search and SEO

Before I get hated on by other internet marketers I must disclaim that I don’t fully believe in the title I just wrote. I think SEO is a fantastic business and I love they dynamic industry changes. But I can definitely relate to this account of an SEO Loser at an SEO conference. Its hard to fit in when you know everyone’s name, but no one knows yours. Its kind of like the popular table at school lunch. If you’re trying to jump in the popularity game, good luck trying to find a place to sit that’s even remotely close to the cool kids. (Man I do not miss my school days. Although lunch wasn’t bad for me. I would always spend the time on a newsletter I published at the time.)

The SEO is quite an elitist industry. Exposure and reputation are king. If you can get your name (or online moniker) to be recognized by the masses, you win the clients, the babes, and the cash.

Take a look at one of the persons that SEO Loser was stalking happy to meet: Shoemoney. Not long ago Jeremy Shoemaker (aka Shoemoney) was just a regular user on Digital Point. He was anxious to learn everything that he could, and became quite popular on the forum as he shared all his energy and new tricks he learned. Now (about 2 years later) he has an online Radioshow/podcast, a popular blog, his own advertising network, several profitable forums, a few software sites, and a gazillion ringtone landing page sites ta’boot. Jeremy is singlehandedly making six figures a month on his personal projects. Everyone knows this, and they all want to be his friend.

Another Digital Point success story would be Rand Fishkin. Rand was also a frequenter on many other forums too, like SEOChat. He started on his own, programmed a few “cool tools”. Used those tools for clients, and now runs a very successful SEO company that focuses on “Linkbait” (a strategy used to create internet buzz). His company, SEOmoz, also has a very popular blog with tens of thousands of readers and thousands of comment participants.

But outside of the industry? We’re all a bunch of geeks. Truly. We’re referred to as such too. How many times have you had to explain what Search Engine Marketing, or even Affiliate Marketing is? The masses all use the web to play Jewel Quest while at work. Watch them blank over when you explain them how you can move up in search engine rankings or get 25K hits from digg.com. SEO/SEM is increasing in popularity, but most people on the streets simply do not care.

Even the poster boy of the industry, Danny Sullivan, knows the SEO industry is a tight circle. Check out this bit from a recent USA Today article:

No illusions about fame

He may not have a fortune, but in his own little

world, “Danny is the rock star of our industry,” says Brown, who sells
him that way to potential attendees of shows.

Sullivan holds well-attended Q&A sessions,
where he takes questions from the audience for several hours. But he
harbors no illusions about how large his niche fame actually is.

“Sure, you can get swamped at the show,” he
says. “A lot of people want to talk to you. But then I’ll stand next to
Matt Cutts, and he’ll get masses of people vying for his attention.”

Sullivan calls this fame within a small group of
people. “Here in England, where people ask what I do, and I tell them

about search marketing, they respond with a blank stare. That says it
all.”

Despite it all, I’m quite fond of the SEO industry and what they have accomplished in a short timespan. In 2005, the industry grew at a rate of 44% over 2004 to become a $5.75 billion industry (according to a report by SEMPO). They also state that by 2010, we’ll be hitting $11 Billion. I think that is a little too conservative since search is just starting to peak. But it still isn’t too bad for an what’s mostly an indie market.