- The Verge published “The People Who Ruined the Internet” about the world of SEO marketers.
- The SEO community, including those interviewed for the article, was not happy. Jeez.
- SEO didn't destroy the internet, but there's more to how Google shaped it.
Are Google's search results becoming increasingly irrelevant and worthless? Blame it on “the people who ruined the Internet,” a recent article in The Verge suggests. Well, he's probably an SEO guru, but perhaps understandably doesn't take the headlines too kindly.
I never thought I'd say this, but guys, SEO drama is painful.
The 8,000-word article for The Verge, written by Amanda Chicago Lewis, begins with an anecdote about attending a search engine optimization industry event that featured a live alligator. This book attempts to answer questions that many of us have thought about: Why do we think Google search sucks now?
In recent years, social platforms have been at the forefront of responsibility for disrupting the internet.There's no shortage of analysis and reporting on why facebook sucks, instagram sucks, YouTube sucksand so on.
Google searchWhite paint on a gallery wall, on the other hand, is something we kind of take for granted as just a backdrop for the internet. But that's not the case. Alphabet's multi-billion dollar business, makes money from the ads that appear in searches. And it's a huge industry, with people and companies making a lot of money by cleverly leveraging search.
Much of what we see on the internet every day, including this news site, is shaped by efforts to appeal to Google's search algorithm.Add an additional layer where we are On the brink of AI reshaping everything. Therefore, SEO is a topic worth considering.
The Verge story is quite long (you should read it!), so I'll summarize it.
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Some of us think “SEO experts” are scammers. Because their job is to somehow cheat a fair system and profit from it.
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But at the end of the day, they're not scammers, they're good people, and they're performing a valuable service that connects websites and customers within the framework that Google built.
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Google consistently says it values great quality, and most SEOs have learned this to be true. (This helps weed out the bad apples, but of course some will still get through.)
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What if Google's search results aren't actually that bad, and the internet is messed up for other reasons that may be vaguely related to Google search, but are clearly not just about SEO?
In response to the Verge article, Search Engine Land, a popular site dedicated to SEO news, wrote, “A bitter, cynical Verge article blames SEO for destroying the internet.” I did. Tuche.
Regarding Search Engine Land, Danny Goodwin writes:
“Most of this article is an outdated and remote view of SEO, like the days of pornography, drugs, and gambling in the Wild West. Much of the focus here is on bygone days… Among the famous Some people brag or reminisce about their past. This isn't really about SEO in 2023. And it ignores all the good work most SEOs do to improve search and user experience. ”
Danny Sullivan, former journalist and founder of Search Engine Land — Now a Google employee, he was also dissatisfied. He was quoted extensively in the Verge article and retorted on his personal blog:Some thoughts on The Verge's article on SEO”
Sullivan points out a few minor mistakes (he left Search Engine Land before joining Google; The Verge's article makes this even more vague). He also resents being told that he is “crazy” and “angry” without using the actual words “I'm mad!” in the story. In his interview. I feel so:
It is not uncommon for sources to be dissatisfied with how they are portrayed in the story. The story calls him a “corporate stooge,” which is not usually a compliment. But Sullivan is in a unique position in the story. In fact, he has a powerful position with his Google.
One of Lewis's points that stuck with me is that there are a lot of people making a lot of money in the SEO industry, but unlike other parts of the technology industry, they don't have as much power. That means no. They are not the masters of the universe shaping our future. They are always chasing Google's tailwinds: followers, not leaders.
The reaction on Twitter and in threads among other SEOs was also, oh, pissed off. One thing that is usually true is that people in subcultures, such as furries, pro-natalists, and reactionaries in his square of dimes, do not like to be written about as a group. It's no big shock that treating SEO as a subculture doesn't please them. Especially when the headline calls them the people who broke the internet (even though the article doesn't actually say that).
The folks at Threads pointed out that The Verge also uses, gasp, SEO techniques on its site. It gives you, “You're saying that society should be improved in some way, and you're participating in it!” (You might be shocked to learn that Insider uses SEO techniques on this very website as well.)
Despite The Verge's headline (as far as I can tell, SEO isn't great), Lewis doesn't seriously say that SEO experts have ruined the Internet. In fact, many of them work very well and do a good job of dispelling the common idea that SEO is inherently fraudulent or evil.
SEO is probably like a wig. You only notice it when it's really bad. His SEO stands out as spammy and misleading. You won't see good SEO like the people in this article are doing.
On February 28, Axel Springer, the parent company of Business Insider, joined 31 other media groups in filing a $2.3 billion lawsuit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses caused by the company's advertising practices. I woke you up.