The Search Ninja

If todays top SEO’s really are doing well for their clients, they don’t have a clue why.

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In a bold and festive (April Fools) gesture, the Dark SEO Team appears to have hacked Matt Cutts blog. You can click the image below for a full screenshot that I took just minutes ago.

A cool little ajax tool that furnishes quick stats about your site’s popularity according to various sources.

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With the release of Stoney’s Destination Marketing piece I started to think about some of the SEO jargon that gets invented and proliferated throughout the search marketing community. Some of the SEO speak you hear is slick and clever; rolling off the tongue and snapping like a whip at anyone within earshot.

PPC, SERPS, ROI

There are also some not-so-crack-o-the-whip terms that have been concocted by SEO’s as well. We don’t need to rehash them here or pick on anybody, but I’m sure we can think of a few that fit this category.

Here I’m going to detail some of the SEO Jargon & Acronyms that I myself am quick to use; be they creations of my own or of my local colleagues who are, with myself, the co-rulers of SEO here in Reno (Bow Down Sucka!).

• Term: Destination Marketing
• Description: Destination Marketing is the product of a family of philosophies on search marketing that reflects the way we do SEM for our clients at Pole Position. It is based around the simple yet profound idea that websites should be built up as true Internet destinations; offering unique value within their niche and thereby securing loyalty, reputation and success.
• Credits: Stoney deGeyter

• Acronym: AXP
• Definition: Access Probability: A family of technologies that I developed to serve as accurate performance metrics for search marketing campaigns.
• Credits: Jason Green

• Acronym: KRP
• Definition: Keyword Ranking Performance: PPM’s embodiment of the AXP core formula.
• Credits: Stoney deGeyter

• Term:The Little Death
• Description: Non-indexing or temporary index drop caused by a temporary server outage or other “act of god” that prevents a web robot from finding your site or causes a web robot to ignore your site. “Now Ya See It… Now Ya Don’t”
• Credits: Jason Green

• Acronym: S.I.R.E.
• Definition: Search Index Reverse Engineering: The name of an ongoing project which began in 2004 that seeks to understand primary search engine mechanics through innovative re-engineering techniques.
• Credits: Jason Green

• Term: SEOnce (see-on-s)
• Description: A combination of “SEO” and “Science”. This term is used to describe some of the more questionable research techniques and resulting conclusions crafted by some SEO’s who are very much unqualified to do so. Search engine psuedo-science. Alternative use: “SEOntific”
• Credits: Jason Green

• Acronym: SEO2g
• Definition: 2nd Generation Search Engine Optimization: The theory and practice of an evolved SEO methodology which is based upon a solid understanding of web IR resulting from valid research.
• Credits: Jason Green

• Term: Inquirio Magnus
• Description: A nick-name that I half-jokingly like to flatter myself with from time to time. It means “The Great One of Search”.
• Credits: Jason Green

• Term: SEOBoss
• Description: Stoney’s new nick-name which is boldly written on the vanity plates for his 69′ Charger
• Credits: Stoney deGeyter

There are many more, but I’m tired of typing and so that will have to do.

I saw the boss briefly today and got a little bit of info about the SEMpdx SearchFest at which he presented on keyword research. According to the already emerging coverage of the event, Stoney’s presentation stood out to the attendees and is being met with praise. I would like to congratulate him on nailing what I already knew would be an excellent presentation.

No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other.
- Jascha Heifetz

Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say that it makes him more pleasing to others.
- Samuel Johnson

Today at the office, the boss and myself were enjoying a lively game of pool and discussing the future of search engine optimization. He felt that SEO would eventually become recognized as a minor aspect of traditional “Marketing”. That is, according to his prediction, SEO would remain a common aspect of Search Marketing, however Search Marketing would (eventually) be recognized as an aspect of Marketing (proper).

I feel that while this may seem (intuitively) to be the logical course for SEM/SEO, the increasingly technical/scientific nature of true SEO may always earn it a distinction as unique profession/practice. The skillset of a true Gen2 SEO is significantly different from that of a marketing professional. Accordingly, I predict that over the course of the next few years we will see a greater distinction between search engine optimization and traditional marketing. I would even go so far as to say that a clear distinction will exist between SEO and SEM. The later I see as being focused more strongly on paid placement avenues for achieving visibility.

This one’s interesting: The Salamander’s tongue actually acts with a speed that is greater than can be explained by muscular action alone.

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SEOMoz offers 8 tactics to help you get the job done.

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