The Hunt for the SEO Sasquatch |
30 06 2009 |
Recently, some of us at the office have been discussing one of the most popular American folklores of all time, the legend of Bigfoot or Sasquatch. In fact, there was a recent headline in the news about a famous Bigfoot hunter who claimed he found an actual Sasquatch carcass in the backwoods of Georgia. The claim generated so much excitement for Bigfoot believers, that the quest for Bigfoot has since recaptured the interest of hunters who abdandoned their search many years ago. Unfortunately for them, the case turned out to be another classic Sasquatch hoax. Still, many Bigfoot fanatics are doing all they can to keep the myth alive (or are just having fun with the myth). My favorite example of this can be found in the form of this sweet Bigfoot watch – also known as the “Sasqwatch.”
It’s interesting that people can become so engulfed in this old tale, that they spend considerable time looking for this monster, when there has never been any solid evidence. Sure, there are plenty of blurry photos of dark objects in the woods, and several audio recordings of unidentified howlings in the mountains, but there is no tangible proof of Bigfoot’s existence.
The same can be said about SEO practices. There are some common SEO myths that generate lots of excitement, but shouldn’t be given as much attention.
One of these is page rank. For some reason, many SEO consultants persuade their clients to use the page rank estimation of their site, as a primary means for assessing ranking potential and progress. The Google page rank estimator is fun to watch, and it gives an idea of how a site might be perceived, but in reality, it shouldn’t be given much weight when evaluating the success of a given SEO project.
The actual site page rank cannot be known by anyone except Google. We are only given an outdated version of page rank and cannot know the current status of any given site. We know that page rank does help sites pass link juice to other pages within the site and other sites that it links to. However, sites with a high page rank may not rank well in the SERPS, while sites with a lower page rank may show up really well.
My point is this: like all the excitement over a potential Bigfoot sighting, some SEO page rankings should not be given undeserved momentum. There are many who fabricate Bigfoot stories just to generate attention and make money. This is, of course, unethical. In the same way, SEOs should not lead people to believe SEO services are working, based on single tactics like an upgrade in estimated page rank. A true SEO company will help increase the site’s conversion, not sell clients individual tactics that don’t provide results.
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