(Snake Oil Redux): Is Internet Marketing a Complete Scam?

Last week, This article was published at The Verge. It’s simultaneously one the best things I’ve read in a long time and a complete piece of garbage.

Which maybe is a sign of great writing. Certainly the 762-and-counting comments against the article speak to both its controversial topic and analysis.

So here’s the question: is Internet Marketing (in all forms, but most to the point as Search Engine Optimization), nothing but a big bubbling vat of snake oil?

As an SEO Consultant, I say not, but I’m biased, right? Maybe, but if you read that article—and I encourage you to do so—you’ll have a hard time coming to any conclusion other than that the point was that all Internet Marketing is snake oil, and by association that means that all marketing of any sort is snake oil, too.

Which, of course, is ludicrous.

Here’s the truth, though: The Verge, as one more blog-network-come-lately, is very much in the Internet Marketing business. I appreciate that The Verge is doing a good job of stocking their content farm with better content than AOL and The Huffington Post, but when all is said and done The Verge lives and dies on their ability to create lots of traffic to their huge stable of work down there on that content farm.

So it’s at least a little bit disingenuous for The Verge to rail against Internet Marketing. Snake Oil? Really? Well, yum, yum, yum. Slurp that snake oil all up, Verge!

That’s it, friends. Have a great weekend, and speaking of snake oil remember that exceptions prove rules, some people won’t ever break outside their comfort zones, and you might just believe that SEO is a Disgusting, Vile Idea, even if it works.

But once you realize how off the mark The Verge is on Internet Marketing, I have some really tasty snake oil for you at our Search Engine Optimization Philosophy page.

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