Smarta a new site for entrepreneurs is launching later this year, but until then they are running a pre-release preview site which includes some good content. It appears to have some quite smart people behind it, which makes it such a shame that they’ve posted a rather silly article SEO = Search engine overkill? on their blog. In it they say:

…we’re getting rather excited about launching later this year – which makes us prime target for SEO experts offering to optimise our site.

There’s a whole industry at it. Each has its own understanding of Google’s complex algorithms and how best to trick them.

Expect any combination of keywords, meta tags, cramming core terms on every page while not exceeding 250 words and changing logical titles and headings to tenuous ‘search-friendly phrases’.

What you end up with is barely recognisable or much use to visitors, but he, that’s the price you’re expected to pay for a top five placing.

I’ve added the emphasis. It’s a real shame that people still circulate this rubbish. No decent “SEO expert” will set out to trick the search engines, if Smarta (or you) are hiring such “experts” then get rid of them NOW!

Equally no decent SEO expert will suggest you change a site so much that it’s no use to visitors, that’s just stupid. Anyone halfway competent will design the site to encourage their visitors to take the next logical step (whatever that may be for your site). Next they say:

At the moment, what value is it getting from visitors who realise they’ve come to the wrong place and leave within seconds?

Few advertisers want anyone, so why do we? Retail stores spend millions on branding and presentation to pull in a carefully targeted demographic, not any Tom, Dick and Harry who’ll have a mooch but won’t buy.

So why is there an online propensity to sacrifice the identity of websites to get just anyone through the search door?

Well just like offline retailers there isn’t such a propensity among online retailers, but some sites, especially those that are advertising driven might well take such action as their revenue depends on the number of page views they generate rather than the sales they make - not all that dissimilar to some magazines the drive up subscriber numbers to justify their advertising fees. One of the benefits of CPA of CPC advertising is it discourages this business model (whereas CPM encourages it).

So my advice to Smarta (and you dear reader) - if you’ve hired anyone that’s made such suggestions, fire them. If you want to learn about proper SEO then visit Aaron Wall’s SEO Book.

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