Marketing & SEO Discussion List - LED Digest

> In the business word, the tax advisor has become such an
> important figure. Why? It's all written there - in the law ;). Not
> trying to be fascetious, but the best answer is often to change
> one or two words, and see if the argument holds.
        - Michael Motherwell, LED 2242

As a small business owner with 13 years of online experience, I perhaps have a little more insight than the average brick & mortar business owner and just wanted to comment on Michael Motherwell's above statement regarding professionals vs. SEOs.

Using a tax advisor as an example is where the waters can get very muddy: tax advisors, lawyers, and other professionals or tradespeople require academic training. SEOs, on the other hand, learn in the trenches. How does a business owner separate training from experience and how does one know which experience will work for their business. Without bona fide credentials, it's all guesswork. Graphic designers, programmers and other technicians also have, typically, an education in their field. Web designers and SEOs typically don't. Having learned to do both myself, I definitely don't consider being proficient in either area... and having tried to outsource SEO a few years ago, I found the majority of companies I contacted knew less or about the same as myself. SEO, I feel, would be a difficult field to teach in universities: courses would require copywriting / journalism, marketing, library sciences and computer sciences. A very heavy course load indeed.

Not to diminish the need for a search guru, but if businesses (any size, any sector) would _plan_ to have a well-written site that's easy to navigate might just negate the need for SEO altogether.

I don't think SEOs will disappear in the near future, but once businesses become more savvy, they will demand more, and that likely includes credentials. It's happening in other areas already such as consumables and home renovation -- we no longer pick up the phone, believe what we're told on the other end, and buy the product or service without further research. Certainly not the people and businesses I know, both with and without online experience.

SEO will likely go the way of the banner exchange which pollutes web sites with non-essential information and graphics.

Barb Sybal