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A search engine attempts to identify whether your content is relevant by
comparing it to all the other potentially relevant documents for that term. It
has no choice, since it doesn't understand English, French, Chinese or whatever
the documents happen to be written in - it just counts words and compares
results.
The net result is that a search engine will define "relevant" as something that
talks about a subject in the same manner that other sites on the subject talk
about it. It then relies on link analysis to sort it out from there.
The good news is that this identifies most spam fairly quickly, and also
identifies on-topic documents pretty well. The bad news is that spam
written using pseudo-natural syntax will often pass the relevancy filter, and
very well written information that approaches a subject from a different angle
than normal, or uses more technical or less well known words to describe a
subject may be judged as less relevant, when in fact it might be far superior.
In the case of the far superior content, although it would get dinged as
originally being less relevant, the search engine will attempt to take into
account human opinion by looking at links. This is why links will often trump
content. The search engine is hoping to reward exceptional material it can't
understand simply by comparing it to its peers.
This is a built in limitation of using a computer to do search - it rewards
mediocrity in the content because mediocrity is easier to measure.
Basically, the larger the data-set, the more confident you are in your
conclusion. The largest data set comes from the largest pool - i.e. the
"average". Therefore your content is judged based on comparing it to the
average, rather than the spectacular. This works well for content that is
inherently informative, but not so well for content that is inherently creative
in nature.
This type of analysis worked very well back when the searching on the web was
primarily for information. However, when commercial sites came along, so did
marketing. Marketing is inherently creative. Great marketing is
distinguished by not following the norm. Great marketing doesn't pay much
attention to search engine algorithms; it attempts to speak to the consumers
needs and dreams.
This is a problem for search engine optimization and one reason why the best SEO's are generally
creative people, not technicians or search scientists. They need to work with
both sides of the equation - the technical side gets you rankings and visitors,
but the side that speaks to people's souls also speaks to their wallets.
Therefore a good SEO will attempt to compensate for these limitations using one
or more methods:
1. First, the SEO will attempt to make the document match the relevancy criteria
the search engine is looking for simply by adding in keywords and related terms
and phrases. In short, use "natural" writing combined with knowledge of keywords
and search engine behavior.
This works most of the time because a great many relevant pieces of content are
solid information pieces, not artistic masterworks. You can make solid
information SEO friendly while maintaining (and usually improving) the writing.
This is where a good SEO copywriter really shines.
The very best can take information and make it speak to a consumers needs and
dreams while still being search engine friendly, but it's an art, not a science.
2. If the document can't be changed, or if it would be a crime against common
sense to do so (for example, taking someone’s poetry and making it
"SEO-friendly" would ruin it - it would no longer be the same poem) then you
have to be more creative and work with titles, anchor text, linking, and so
forth in order to compensate for the search engine's inability to appreciate the
work's artistic merits. This requires a more technical SEO approach.
The best ranking sites match a search engines expectation for what a good site
should be. The best converting sites match the consumer’s expectations for what
a good site would be. The best SEO's understand this and work to accomplish both
goals at the same time.
Ian McAnerin is the CEO of McAnerin Networks Inc. is an
international website promotion company with it's key focus being on
outstanding, individualized customer service. McAnerin Networks has been
in the internet business since 1994 and has provided
SEO consultation
services for some of the largest
and most respected companies in the world. Search engine optimization and
website promotion is McAnerin Networks' only focus and this
specialization shows in the resulting higher
search engine visibility and more qualified traffic for its clients.
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