Aaron was right when he said that this was one of the best SEO interviews ever. Bob had a lot of ideas and contributions that just feel so right.
Do you believe it is cheaper for most marketers to try to influence search engines directly, or to aim to influence groups of people and individual topical authorities?
(Boy, I bet I catch hell for this one, you may get a little residual hell yourself just for letting me say it, but here it goes.)
I believe it is incredibly cheaper, faster, easier, more profitable, more stable and more reliable to try to influence people than search engines. Plus, influence people and the search engines follow, (see bathroom spamming above), but if you aim the other direction, the only chance you have of influencing people is IF they search the right way, IF the search engine puts it in front of them and IF the search engine doesn't move it.
Bob & Aaron also went into inherent bias in the ranking algorithms, a topic that doesn't see the light of day much:
Are all humans biased?
Absolutely! It is at the very core of being a human.Do all algorithms made by humans have biases to them?
Yes. One of the reasons I was able to succeed in the search engine placement game was because I could see beyond the programs and realize that the programs only did what a human told them toWhen is bias a bad thing?
When your bias conflicts with mine.When is bias a good thing?
When your bias agrees with mine.
Bravo guys. I loved reading this piece.
Definitely an interesting topic...I think this is becoming increasingly true as search engines mature...as their logic becomes more intuitive. Thanks for the post Rand! I'm glad you're finding a bit of time this week to write!
Absolutely! This is one of the things I admire so much about SEOmoz and (in theory) a good chunk of the white-hat SEO community: you realize that search engines don't buy anything.
Tricks to get to the top of the SERPs may help drive traffic, but without a quality site with great product, good interface and interesting, relevant content; very little of that traffic will convert.
I agree completely. Influencing people is the result of building one's brand and that is what any small business should spend their money on. I believe it's the only viable long term SEO strategy.
Hey Rand... it's Bob Massa. :P
Thanks - just caught that :)