Can You Fool the Search Engines? Or Are They Just Foolish? by Bill Goldschein
During a recent keyword search, I came upon an article in the #2 spot on a Google SERP page. The article was carefully crafted to satisfy the search engines. It was 550 words long, as specified by the Search Engine Gods. Keywords were strategically placed and keyword density was within optimal limits. The keywords were well integrated and did not intrude upon or interrupt the text. There were numerous keywords in the first and last paragraphs. The keywords were included in significant headings and subheadings. There were numerous text links. It was SEO perfect. It was published on a reputable site with a high Page Rank less than a week before. A Coup; a perfect Search Engine Publishing Coup.
However, there were a few small problems. The article lacked any semblance of substance; it said nothing. It was nothing but empty blather. Nothing new or noteworthy. No dramatic utterences or profound insights; NOTHING AT ALL! Aside from a few errors and typos, one mistake had slipped by the proofing: a paragraph was missing. The catchy heading with the integrated keyword was there but beneath it was nothing but unintentional white space. One other minor problem surfaced (by my personal standards not SEO standards) when I tried to drill down; the links were self serving and lacked value. Linked to other articles in the same and similar directories with high Page Ranks, all by the same writer, all without meat and potatoes. All in all, it left me hungry. And angry!
There were no tricks or sleight of hand. The author (and I am reluctant to use the word) had constructed the article perfectly and played by all the rules, which he knew well. (His website was listed at #4 on the same SERP page.) I could almost see the glare of his white hat. In his brief bio, he listed himself as a content developer and SEO copywriter but by all standards of good writing, he could not write a lick. The article was worthless; a waste of time. He didn't have enough respect for the work to finish it, enough respect for his readers to proof it or enough respect for himself to do it right. Yet he was rewarded by Google with an unsuitably high ranking. Nobody ever said life was fair. That much is obvious. I have heard it said the search engines aren't stupid. I'm not so sure about that. They set themselves up by issuing guidelines that serve their own needs. We take their guidelines and public utterances (and sly slips of their not-so-public tongues) as manna from heaven. They're waiting to be fooled just like the rest of us.
Did the writer fool the search engines? Was it so called Black Hat tactics? Does it mean the search engine didn't get it right? Is the algorithm wrong? Is the Search Engine faulty or broken? Does that mean the search engines can't be trusted?
Yes!
I trust Google (et al) and use search engines automatically. On the whole, they take me where I want to go, sometimes quite unexpectedly; other times to places I could not imagine and I'm glad they do. I'll continue to use the engines; warily. And I'll continue to write for them; carefully.
And I'm still hungry.
About the Author
Bill Goldschein is a writer and web content provider positioned in New York. Take in his site at http://nytechwriter.com
Bill doesn't wear a Black or White Hat. He just doesn't like hats.
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