Are SEO Fear Mongers Stealing your “could-be” Income?

July 30th, 2012 | 10 comments

I recently had the info graphic that you see in this post (to the right) created to help promote Keyword Canine, which is a partnership between me and Jonathan Leger, along with others to promote some of Jonathan’s other products (See my recent interview at Marketing Land if you’re wondering why a 6-figure IMer like myself would want to be an affiliate manager for another successful IMer.)

Shortly after I got the info graphic back, I posted it to facebook, twitter and G+. Not long after I published it someone had shared it on their timeline and said something to the effect of “Who else agrees that this info graphic is outdated and irrelevant.” Now, the guy who said that had recently asked me to promote his new product, which I respectfully declined because it just wasn’t something that I felt would be beneficial to my list, so that MAY be why he had such a negative tone, but, his post followed with 2 or 3 comments from others who basically agreed with him.

So I opened up the info graphic, thinking that I must have made a mistake, and read through it all again. Nope, no mistake. So why would this guy, and his buddies, say this? They must REALLY believe that basic SEO no longer works.

Well, they’re wrong. I have a long list of websites that I currently own, which were promoted with the same basic strategy outlined in the info graphic. Sure, there are small details that aren’t included like registering a domain etc. but the same basic concept applies. Nearly all of those sites hold top 10 rankings and 2 of them I’ve achieved top 10 rankings in the past MONTH.

It makes me wonder what kind of garbage is out there that actually convinces people that the same SEO that’s been working for 10 years still works just as good as ever, with a few minor changes here and there of course. See my last post on what HAS changed.

I challenge anyone who disagrees to prove me wrong. We’re not talking about personal beliefs here. We’re talking about something that can very easily be proven by simply taking action, which I do on a daily basis and I hope you do too!?

So if you’re one of the few who disagrees, do what that info graphic says. Do some good, solid keyword and competition research, get a quality site put up and then build some standard one-way backlinks in the form of web directories, social bookmarks etc. (also this tool I just recently found is KILLER for solid backlinks) and you will see that the problem is not that SEO is dead or even dying (not for another 3 or 4 years at least) the problem is that those who disagree are allowing fear mongers to prevent them from taking action! Or if they are taking action, they aren’t doing things correctly.

Judging by the comments on related posts here at the blog, I believe that many of my Ethical IM Newsletter subscribers know better, but just in case you’re one of the few who think SEO is no longer easy, I hope this post has helped you fight off the fear mongers so you can think clearly and continue to make good, profit pulling websites like I continue to do!

10 comments

Stef (68 comments.)
31st July, 2012 at 2:24 am

Hi Josh,

It’s not even a challenge to disagree with the graphic because you already mention what’s wrong with it in your post: “get a quality site put up”.

The graphic is like saying how you need to do everything right to win on the olympics, without mentioning a word about the athlete
Josh Spaulding
31st July, 2012 at 2:49 am

Some people might say that is common sense. And that’s not the argument the guy had.
John Gibb (2 comments.)
31st July, 2012 at 10:42 am

Great Post Josh. I have an empire of websites, both new and old. Link building works as well as ever and ANYONE who says your info graphic is BS does not build websites on a regular basis.

I even have a service where I build websites doing what this info graphic states for many personal clients. Let the people who say you are “full of it” get on with it… People who build websites and continue to test what works vs what doesent – are the ONLY people worth following in this game anyhow.

Keep up the work good mate.
Stef (68 comments.)
31st July, 2012 at 12:56 pm

Hi again Josh,

Would you mind sharing the argument the guy saw wrong/missing in your info chart?

Cheers,

Stef
CY
31st July, 2012 at 2:29 pm

Josh: why don’t you put up a case study of actual site to show what you preach actually works?
Josh Spaulding
1st August, 2012 at 4:21 pm

That’s a great idea, CY. I’ll do it
Josh Spaulding
1st August, 2012 at 4:22 pm

@ Stef – He basically said the three steps in the info graphic were “outdated.” Someone in a forum must have told him that
Stef (68 comments.)
1st August, 2012 at 5:03 pm

@Josh

Thx for the update, was hoping he had added some top notch improvements to prove his point. Meanwhile, old school rocks
Josh Spaulding
1st August, 2012 at 5:37 pm

It does And yeah, I don’t see that happening. Those of us who take action will see the facts for ourselves.
erda (8 comments.)
11th October, 2012 at 3:02 pm

The only thing I see that I would take issue with is “using variations of your main keywords as anchor text.” If that’s ALL you use as anchor text, you’re likely to get Penguinized. It’s really necessary to mix it up with some branded anchor text, some URLs, and some completely unoptimized anchor text as well to make it appear more natural.