And like a puff of smoke, Home Depot’s Web Site is all but invisible in Google.
Last year, JC Penney found themselves penalized by Google. Penney’s Search Engine Optimization had become too aggressive, and the search giant slapped JCP on the wrist. Now, it’s happened to Home Depot.
The subject of what Google allows and what’s considered grounds for penalty is one that fascinates me, both because my mind loves puzzles like this one and because The Answer Guy does Search Engine Optimization. And Home Depot did something last week that falls right into puzzle territory. They asked contractors to link to the Home Depot web site, which isn’t actually forbidden, but then suggested that the contractors could hide the links, which is.
It’s almost enough to lend credence to the assertion that SEO is a Vile, Disgusting Idea.
In fact, when Mark Schaefer at BusinessesGrow.com suggested that last year, his point wasn’t that there’s anything wrong with the idea of Search Engine Optimization so much as he meant that SEO’s nebulous nature makes doing it sketchy. It’s a fair point; if you don’t know the rules, it’s hard to play the game.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play, does it? I mean, even Dilbert does SEO.
The issue, as we all learned very young, is that it’s how you play the game. OK, so you want to win, too, but still . . .
The most important determiner of your SEO status is the number and quality of links that point to you. This is simply “true”, whether or not Google is willing to specifically admit it. And it will remain true even after Google’s new algorithm for semantic search takes hold. At the end of the day, links are what makes Google think you’re important.
Obviously, that means that you want links. But Google has a lot of rules about the kind of links you can have pointed at you. You can’t buy links, for example, and Google knows the difference between a link that’s bought and paid for versus one that’s more natural.
That last paragraph is troubling, to say the least. Google thinks they know the difference between natural links and paid links, and they police the matter accordingly, but they also make mistakes on the issue, all the time.
And it’s OK to ask people you do business with to link to you, but isn’t there an implied payment in that? Where does the line lie, really? As Mr Schaefer pointed out, there are so many rules with so many interpretations, Search Engine Optimization can’t help but be a big ugly minefield.
So to do Search Engine Optimization you need to either do what Google says is right, which is create great content and let the chips fall where they may, or you need to get educated enough about what will work and what won’t and what’s allowed and what isn’t, and craft your great content based on those rules.
And that’s why you can do SEO yourself, but probably shouldn’t. Head spinning? It could be worse. You could work in the IT Department at Home Depot.
Want to talk Search Engine Optimization Philosophy? Contact me, here.
Interesting read. I’m not sure I agree with you on ‘not doing SEO yourself’ though. Seems a lot of supposed SEO professionals have been strolling their clients down the wrong path lately, you just pointed out a great example of that. I wasn’t even aware of this until I read your article. I’ll definitely tweet this one along. Great stuff, keep it up.
-Daniel
Focalpoint Renovations
Daniel, I tell clients ALL THE TIME that if they’re willing to put in a lot of work there’s nothing at all magical about SEO. And I always encourage them to be involved in the process, even (especially!) after they’ve hired us.
The problem, hey-I’m-busy-trying-to-run-my-business-and-you-should-do-my-SEO-for-me issues aside, lies in this paragraph from the piece above:
to do Search Engine Optimization you need to either do what Google says is right, which is create great content and let the chips fall where they may, or you need to get educated enough about what will work and what won’t and what’s allowed and what isn’t, and craft your great content based on those rules.
Choice “A” is either a complete crapshoot, or impossible if you as an expert in something other than content creation don’t have the skills. Choice B, which I presented as an either/or but is really an also, is a LOT of work.
Again, all doable by most reasonably smart people, which businesspeople need to be to BE businesspeople. But in practical terms? Dude, hire someone.
Thanks for weighing in, and by the way: you need to optimize the header image on your web site. You’re wasting bandwidth and slowing down pageload speed—both of which are, you guessed it, SEO no-nos.
Thanks for weighing in!
You have a problem with fat headers? I know, thanks…it’s on my to-do list. I’m even more concerned with the slow load time of my gallery. *cough* GZIP *cough*
This is what happens when you build a website with scotch tape & spit. I appreciate your reply and I’m reading your other posts. Really solid insight and extremely helpful. Everything I pretend to know about SEO I’ve learned from reading articles like yours so thanks for putting the information out there.
Oh, and do you have a problem with microformats too? 😉
-Daniel
I think microformats are fine. In fact, I’ve been meaning to pay more attention to them and use them more both for us and for clients, but then again there are a LOT of things we’re constantly evaluating for “inclusion in the mix”. To date, microformats haven’t bubbled to the top.
Though I can tell you they’re rising. 😉