A Quick Way to go Insane

Posted On: 2007-02-15

There was a time when I thought that being the mother of toddlers was a quick way to go insane. But then my kids grew up and I inherited a few more from Steve and I thought that being the mother of teenagers was a quick way to go insane.

Now I've changed my mind; surviving toddlers and teenagers without going insane is a piece of cake. I did it, you can do it and just about everyone can do. It's not a drama, it's really very easy compared to some other things in life.

In this industry there's something much more difficult for individuals to survive than kids. In this industry the one thing that will quickly drive you insane is trying to unravel the incredibly twisted tangle that the industry has got itself into over what you need to do to get a good position in Google.

Of course Google doesn't help because it doesn't really provide any clear indication of what you have to do. Oh I know that various Googlers come out of their ivory towers now and then and issue pronouncements about getting quality links from trusted sites and only using genuine white hat methods. If that floats your boat and makes you feel warm and fuzzy then that's fine.

But for most of us that's meaningless drivel because all those pontificating Googlers who take the time to leave the Google Jacuzzi and come and talk to the great unwashed don't reveal what constitutes a quality link. They don't tell us what constitutes a trusted site. They just make their pronouncements and retire to enjoy their free cordon bleu meals in the Google diner.

Meanwhile we all run around like headless chickens trying to work out what those pronouncements really meant. Some legends in their own lunchtime will immediately tell you that the hidden meaning in those Google pronouncements is that getting a good spot in the SERPS is all about links.

They'll tell you that the more links you get the better your site will rank and sometimes I think it's all just a variation of the old toy joke. Instead of 'he who dies with the most toys wins' some experts like to tell you that here in Webmaster land it's he who dies with the most links wins.

And perhaps there is some validity in the link theory because lots of people are preaching the link theory ... but then lots of people preach all sorts of things that are patently wrong so perhaps it's not all about links.

Some people actually try to decide just what might be a trusted site. I saw a list recently that one mainstream webmaster board had put together of the factors that they thought were signs of a site that Google trusted. Perhaps those factors were important ... two or three years ago but they certainly aren't valid today.

Then to those people who preach links and trusted links there is the Google Sandbox otherwise known as the ageing delay, they make it all sound a little like the old Catholic tradition of purgatory really. It's somewhere you're new website disappears to until Google thinks it can be trusted.

Against all that you have a few people ' a bit like the prophets of old crying in the wilderness ' who say that it's not about links and it's not so much about sandboxes and ageing delays. It's all about on-page optimization and showing that you trust your new sites enough to link to them from your old sites.

They'll also tell you that if you can't get a site listed in Google within two months 'max ' then you really should go back to your old job.

Now when you compare those two points of view which one are you going to choose? Which one are you going to stake your business on? Which one is right and which one is wrong?

The decision is ultimately yours but you can see how easy it is for the whole search engine thing to drive you nuts in a very short time. One way to avoid going insane is not to believe either side. Don't look at either side of the search engine argument as having a monopoly on the truth.

Instead go and do some experimentation yourself. Test both sides and see which one actually works for you. Be prepared to take control of your own search engine future instead of surrendering it to people who may have absolutely no clue and still be living in the past.

Make your own decisions based on your own research and when you find the answer don't share it with anyone. It's your key to success and you need to exploit it because, if you find the answer it will give you the edge over everyone else. As soon as you give it away you will lose the advantage you obtained through your own hard work.

Now let me leave you with two thoughts.

Steve and I can get brand-new sites listed in Google and returning good search engine placement for various terms in weeks rather than months with very few incoming links so why don't we get hit with the ageing delay for those sites?

The second thought you should think about is that can there really be any site in adult that Google would bestow this 'trusted' status on?

Think about it and you too might avoid insanity.