SEO: The Way Of The Buffalo?

I've heard a lot of talk lately about search engine optimization as a profession being short lived or even a "fad." Not sure if that's because of the wealth of free (and sometimes erroneous) information out there on the subject or because of free tools and Google Analytics but I have to say I don't see it that way!

I've read in a number of articles that say SEO is moving in-house. As someone who worked in a corporate environment for quite a while as a designer and programmer, it ain't so bad! Consulting jobs are hard to find anyway. Another argument is that there is no real certification or even a test of skill. Don't worry, as the industry buckles down and marketers who can do it at a low price point overflow into the workforce, there will be standards that will need to be met. Not to mention, nobody will hire anyone unless they can get results. Oh, and I'm all for certification! (Gorbs Corp. is developing an excellence program as I write this!)

but, back to the argument that everything is available for free and anyone can do it.

As a parallel, let's look at the web design industry. There are tons of free and cheap templates out there to grab up, but you still need to know what to do with them. A person can go to a place like Weebly.com and lay out a site online with every option in it - for free! How do you compete with that? Try TemplateMonster.com on for size. There are so many nicely designed templates that I even used one (the design anyway, not the code) for my corporate site. It saved me hours.

Web design for me has taken somewhat of a back door to SEM because of this. By that I mean that I do less ultra custom design work - you know, the stuff that pays the big bucks. Instead, I lead my customers to templates that are available to me as an affiliate. I just saved myself 20 hours of work and phone calls and made money before I even opened Photoshop. I pass that savings on to the client. Now I just need to customize a bit, optimize a bit and throw it up on a server. Easy money - especially for someone who has a background in it. I can do 4 times more sites, take advantage of some great design, make my clients happy and move on to the next one until it's time to update or they sign on for my SEO and SEM services!

Let's apply this to SEO. Sure there are a plethora of free tools (we will be offering them on our site if you can't find them) that can be used to do everything from picking the best keywords to writing dynamic pages as static html links. The learning curve is up there though. For the self motivated person, there is an amazing site that is packed with info and tools. They really have their stuff together. No, I don't work for them but I have to say, I definitely turned to seobook.com more than a few times when I was stuck.

On top of that, SEO is just a small part of marketing. The search engines will ALWAYS be changing their algorithms, the Black Hats will always screw it up for those of us who try to do it the right way and most of all, most people just don't want to invest the time it takes to do it right or even to learn the basics.

Those who can do it quickly, with the free tools they can get - along with experience and knowledge - and those who can handle multiple clients at the same time will win. If you can take advantage of all those things that others may deem as the downfall of the profession, then you will shape your own future in the industry.

In conclusion, as long as you morph with the technology and change with the times, you'll have a career. SEO is no different. There will always be open spots for those who can help a company get more sales or higher profits at low or no cost to them. By the time the SEO industry is flooded with new people and less jobs, the industry will mutate and those who expand and change with it will always be successful.

By the way, although the buffalo died out we now have BEEFALO - know what I'm saying?

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If you're considering a career in SEM, want to train your in-house web designers on the finer points of SEO or want to just boost your rankings, and you're in the NY area, come to a "Can You SEO?" seminar. www.gorbs.com - come and sign up for our newsletter and get updates on tools, tips and products or check out www.canyouseo.com (after October 1st).

Gorbs Corp. Opens Its New York City Office

A brand new location in the theater district of NYC is just the beginning. Gorbs Corp., a full concept to finished product design company, is expanding. It looks as if the new address will be on Broadway in mid-town Mahattan - the perfect spot for the corporate office of a design and development company.


Gorbs is now focusing on search engine optimization consulting and promoting its Seminar Series entitled "Can You SEO?" Seminars will be booked throughout Long Island as well as in the NYC office. Check out www.gorbs.com, this blog, or www.canyouseo.com and get on the mailing list for more information.

Gorbs Finally Launches Its Corporate Website!

After developing websites for everyone else, Gorbs finally gets its own site! Man, it's funny how graphic artists and the like do so many projects for other people that they totally disregard their own sites! "I have been working at different companies while building Gorbs Corp. since 2000 and, although I would dump hour upon hour into THEIR work, I was lucky if I changed the one email page on my site once a year!" Ron Smith said. "It was never any good, never placed in the search engines and didn't show anything about the company. Luckily word of mouth is an amazing thing!"

That's all finally changed with a new site coming September 3, 2009. With the recent and large expansion of Gorbs Corp. and the "Can You SEO?" Seminar Series, something had to be done!

"How can you do a seminar when your own company's website doesn't exist on the search engines? No matter how many clients' sites I've helped up there, it doesn't really matter." Ron said. "They won't take you seriously unless YOURS is there too."

But they do. The calls for an experienced SEO keep rolling in.

Ron's record speaks for itself. He has worked alongside some amazing talent in the field and helped rank Mortgage Expo, AllQuotes Insurance, Anderson Kent, IMTV, Noreast.com and many others. Some of these companies came and went but that just goes to show that if you are serious about SEO, it doesn't matter - Ron says "It's all about ranking and sales for your client. It's not your company so you can't really emotionally invest in it. It's a bad economy and not everyone can deal with that. Just do the job you're paid to do. If they go out of business, you have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and know that you did your job and did it right."

Check out the new site some time next week and the www.canyouseo.com the following week.

~SE

New SEO Seminar Series and Classes

The "Can You SEO?" Seminar Series is blasting off with 2 beginners’ dates to be announced as soon as the rooms are booked and the dates are solidified. They will touch on basic stratagies to get anyone interested in getting a better ranking for their website. You will leave with a much better understanding of what you need to do to get your site SEO-friendly, the 10 most important things NOT to do, the 5 most misunderstood search engine optimization myths and much, much more.

That's just the beginning. Ron Scott Smith, a web designer and developer for almost a decade, will be speaking and teaching classes on the advanced techniques used by big business and super affiliate marketers to rank high and stay there. These appearances will be posted here as well as on www.gorbs.com and www.canyouseo.com as the dates are written in stone.

Also, check out the Can You SEO? group on facebook here. Tips, optimization techniques, ethics, fun stuff!

SEO DVDs and VOD Titles for the Holidays

The "Can You SEO? for Beginners" Series, as well as the more advanced SEO, PPC advertising and SEM classes should be available for purchase and/or download right before the holidays. Perfect for anyone with an interest in search engine optimization. That would include website designers and developers, small and large business owners, internal seo people and especially affiliate marketers. 


Affiliate marketers are some of the most web savvy people out there. The ones making even the slightest profit have so much talent in the area it's scary. That's not to say there's not more to learn. Many of the techniques - the "white hat" ones anyway, that are utilized by these guys are also used in multinational companies pulling in millions of dollars by major SEO professionals. The SEO for affiliates VOD and DVD will cover many of these strategies as well as the "black hat" ones that should be avoided. Go to www.gorbs.com or www.canyouseo.com (after Sept 3 and 10th respectively) to get on the mailing list and be the first to get these seo training videos - hey, you may even get sent special free bonuses and pricing! You never know! Oh, and if you're in NY make sure you catch a seminar or two!