Accept No SEO Substitutes

If I told you that you could have the body of your dreams in five minutes and all you’d feel is a pinch, would you do it? Would you believe it? Or would you recognize it’s too good to be true?

This guy was willing to go for the fast fix:

Epic Synthol Fail – Watch more Funny Videos

Too bad no one’s buying it. The guy looks like a plastic Ken doll that’s been zapped in a microwave. And it’s all thanks to synthol, a substance injected directly into the muscle to give the appearance of a lifetime of pumping iron. Synthol is a site enhancement oil, or SEO.

Our brand of SEO, search engine optimization, has gotten a bad wrap as oil in the past — in this case, snake oil. Certainly businesses must protect themselves against alleged SEOs who obscure their value with technical jargon and tactics only suited for the short-term, but not at the expense of legitimate Internet marketing. So when claims start flying around like SEO is dying, it kills me because SEO done right will never be obsolete. That’s like saying quality content, logical site architecture, knowing your customers and being relevant to their needs aren’t necessary.

However, if you’re arguing for the end of cheap tricks and shortcuts, count me in. The risks inherent in less-than-white-hat SEO aren’t worth the effort and money that will be washed away in time. At best, you look bogus and deformed, and at worst, you explode and deflate. If it’s a search engine evaluating you, the former is decreased rankings and the latter can be penalties or banishment. And that sticky snake oil is a pain to clean up.

So forget the fast fix and the SEO steroids and put some real muscle into it. Your site and your business are worth it.

Virginia Nussey is the director of content marketing at MobileMonkey. Prior to joining this startup in 2018, Virginia was the operations and content manager at Bruce Clay Inc., having joined the company in 2008 as a writer and blogger.

See Virginia's author page for links to connect on social media.