The search engine optimization field is quite interested in that it is much more an art form (however ugly the art may be in this case) than a science. I say this because for the most part, an SEO is nothing more than the knowledge, experience and skillset they bring to the table. But in this field, our knowledge is not concrete. No one truly knows for certain exactly how Google’s ranking algorithm works – precisely what factors in takes into consideration, and exactly how much weight is given to each. If I knew this, I’d be a very rich man.
Okay, so a few people do know it for certain – Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google. And believe me, they are very rich men!
But this is nothing new. Our knowledge comes from experience. Trial and error. The techniques I use are nothing more than the ones that have been successful for me in the past. Even for the most research-oriented SEO professional, their techniques and knowledge is nothing more than their observations, and can not be thought of as facts so much as they are theories with some empirical evidence backing them up.
Anyhow, it is my believe that one’s opinions, observations and experience as only as good as that person’s credibility. For this reason I have listed a few notes about myself below. This way you can make your own judgement about my credibility (for better or worse) and you’ll have a little more insight regarding how seriously you might consider my opinions and ramblings, or how quickly you may dismiss them as rubbish or recycled ideas.
A sampling of my professional background:
- internet junkie since 1996
- built first website in 1997
- worked for one year in the e-Business department at Black & Decker
- started a web design and internet marketing company in 2002
- earned BS in Marketing & e-Business from Towson University in 2003
- Valedictorian of my college class and spoke at my graduation
- worked for one year as an Internet Marketing Specialist for Brave New Markets
- have been studying and practicing search engine optimization since 2002
- currently manage SEO campaigns for 10 to 15 different websites