I'm often asked, "What is
a search expert?"
Previously, I outlined the
characteristics of an SEO (define)
firm. Yet an SEO firm's success depends
on the skills and talents of its
individual search experts.
SEO professionals often have a wide
variety of skills, such as copywriting, Web design, and
link development. SEO firms vary as to which skills are
more important. Some firms specialize in search-friendly
copywriting, which is certainly critical. Others have
more technical expertise, such as IP delivery.
Search professionals also use buzzwords,
such as "SEMPO
membership," certification/training from a colleague's
academy, or even a colleague's name when they apply for
a job at an SEO firm. Do membership and training affect
search expertise?
In this three-part series, I'll present
my thoughts on what constitutes a true search expert.
Part one addresses the beginner level, part two the
intermediate level, and part three the advanced/expert
level. I'll also include some personal observations.
The Art and Science of SEO
SEO is the art and science of designing,
writing, coding (in XHTML), and programming a Web site
to increase the likelihood Web pages will appear at the
top of search engine queries for selected keyword
phrases. An SEO professional's end goal shouldn't be
positioning, but rather attracting
qualified traffic.
Web pages must primarily meet the needs
of their intended audience. The target audience should
be able to find a page's content quickly and easily via
search engines and Web directories. Achieving these
goals involves creative copywriting and site design
skills (art) and effective coding, programming, and
analysis skills (science).
A true search expert has a combination of
artistic and scientific skills. Classifying the search
expertise level is actually a rather daunting task. To
make it more fun, I began with my subjective "Mom"
experiment.
Gauging Search Expertise With the "Mom"
Test
I decided to try a totally subjective,
unscientific test on search-friendly copywriting. Test
subject? My mom. I chose Mom for very good reasons:
-
She's a special education teacher.
She's certified to teach grades K-12 for special
education, regular education, and gifted students.
Her specialty is language arts.
-
She's good at following directions.
If I give her an assignment, she'll follow
directions and ask questions if she's unsure about
the assignment.
-
She's a good writer.
-
She's an Internet newbie.
-
She's cute, precious, and adorable.
(Mom told me to write that, although these aren't
characteristics of my experiment.)
I assigned Mom to write a persuasive
400-800-word essay comparing sea otters with river
otters. I gave her a 10-word (phrase) vocabulary list.
She had to use words from this vocabulary list
throughout her essay. She had to give the essay a title
40-70 characters long. The essay had to be divided into
sections with headings and include photos with captions.
After she finished the essay, Mom had to
write a 200- to 250-word summary that accurately
described the essay's contents and persuaded me to read
it.
The result? The content was 100 percent
search friendly: focused, keyword-rich, descriptive, and
persuasive. It was exactly what a search-friendly
copywriter might write.
Afterwards, I asked Mom a simple
question, "Do you consider yourself a search expert?"
Her reply, "Absolutely not."
If a search professional had the same
skills as my mother, I'd rank his SEO expertise level at
beginner to beginner-intermediate. A search expert also
has technical skills. Without those technical skills, a
search expert can't advance further than the beginner
level.
Conclusion
I don't discount the talents of skilled,
experienced copywriters. I appreciate the variety of
writing skills involved (ads, content, etc.),
particularly the ability to write catchy, informative
headlines. Yet I don't consider copywriters, even
search-friendly copywriters, to be search experts.
Search-friendly copywriters with solid technical skills
belong in the intermediate level.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shari Thurow is
the founder and SEO director at
Omni Marketing Interactive, a full-service search
engine marketing, Web, and graphic design firm.
Acknowledged as a leading expert on search engine
friendly Web sites worldwide, she is the author of the
top-selling marketing book, "Search
Engine Visibility," published through Peachpit
Press. Shari's areas of expertise include site design,
search engine optimization, and usability.
