A couple of days ago a tweet went out directed to John Mueller voicing disapprovement on how Google Search works, stating that “the whole process doesn’t seem fair” and John promptly replied (Full Discussion).
Simply put, John was blunt in his reply and reduced SEOs down to 1 of 4 types:
- Spammers
- Lazy
- Lost folks
- Well-meaning folks
A brutal truth to say the least. Learning to execute SEO effectively is not an overnight process and the temptation is strong to look for shortcuts or just give up all together. Also, there are heaps and heaps of information (some good. some bad.) regarding effective SEO practices that stay within Google and other major search engine’s guidelines. It is a daunting task to read through all the latest “news” when so much of it is riddled with speculation and uncertainty. It’s all part of an SEO’s work, however, so being aware of any latest developments in search is crucial in order to stay ahead of the game.
Another key point Mueller makes is that there are more competitors in search than ever before for many, if not most, industries. There simply isn’t enough room for everyone to be on page 1.
On top of everything else John even admits that Google is “far from perfect. It’s a challenging problem.”
Everything mentioned above must be taken into consideration post-update. Google core updates come and go but following a best practice SEO strategy is a win 100% of the time even if your rank is not exactly what you want. We all want to be first in search but that doesn’t mean that the other ranks on the first page don’t get traffic.
It is completely understandable that SEOs get frustrated with the process from time to time but I find paying attention to what actual Google representatives say helps even if their statements are vague at times.
Getting a 2nd opinion on an SEO matter and talking to those who like to experiment with SEO strategies can be eye opening but chasing theories can be a big waste of time if you are not careful.
I, for one, look forward to see how Google develops it’s search engine.
Despite any recent setbacks an SEO might have had as a result of the recent algorithm update, I think all of us can agree it is a privilege to be working in this space.