SEO "Best Practices" Are Bunk

In an article on Search Engine Land, Adam Audette describes how the Best Practices model is not worth using in search engine optimization (SEO). Audette gives a brief background as to how Best Practices was started in the mid 1990's, and then begins to discuss how the methodology fails when being used for SEOs. Audette claims specifically that the entire basis of Best Practices, which is based on using a specific rule set, used throughout an organization to follow a certain procedure to achieve the "best" practice, is incompatible with how SEO is currently being used.

Aduette then explains the negatives of Best Practices for SEOs;
"By their very nature, best practices are rule-sets that are standardized and formalized procedures. There is no competitive advantage in having best practices, at least in SEO. There is only a summation of basic webmastering (e.g., place relevant keywords in the title tag, make pages semantic and relevant, etc). That’s simply not cutting it anymore, because frankly, that stuff represents the basic price of admission. Best practices are neutered, stale and massively reproduced conventions that have been used (and sometimes abused) to the point of ubiquity. SEO and ubiquity don’t mix. By definition, a best practice:
1-Is a static rule-set
2-Is a standard to be followed has worked in the past (read: is old)
3-Has been popularized (read: is average)
4-Limits judgement, evaluation, and strategy (cornerstones of quality search marketing)."


Strengths:

• Is a set of rules that can be taught

• Can be employed throughout an organization to improve multiple areas

Weaknesses:

• Not dynamic

• Doesn't work in overly competitive constantly changing industries

Using Search Engine Optimization For Intelligence Analysis

SEO Analysis Now - A Site For Using SEO in Intelligence Analysis
Rated: 4 Stars out of 5

As a final requirement of this course, I had to research and report findings on an analytical technique of my choosing. In addition, I had to test-out and apply the technique in order to reveal its true strengths and shortcomings; as well as come up with a how-to guide to use the technique. For my project, I chose to conduct a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Analysis on the Websites of two popular coffee shops, Starbucks (which is well established) and Caribou Coffee (which is slowly gaining popularity) and reflect on how this process can be applied to Competitive Intelligence (CI), to Law Enforcement Intelligence (LEI), or to the National Security sector. I chose SEO not only because it is an emerging analytical process and can be useful to intelligence analysts, but also because I found it quite intriguing and fun.

SEO provides a way to gain insight into a Website’s audience.

If we know who an audience is (age, gender, ethnicity, education, affluence, etc), how they behave (what other Websites, or types of Websites, they visit), from where they log on, when they visit, and what other sites direct their traffic (as well as what their general interests are), then we can make assessments and predictions about how to either promote their behavior (steering them toward a particular site – useful for CI & marketing purposes) or how to counter that behavior (keeping them away from sites – useful for LEI & N’tl Sec purposes).

For more detailed information about how SEO can be used for Intel analysis, please check out my project:

SEO Analysis Now - A Site For Using SEO in Intelligence Analysis

(The image below is a geographical search index comparison of online users searching for Caribou Coffee [left] and Starbucks [right]. Images provided by Google Insights for Search)