Over at SEOmoz, Duncan Morris wrote a great article covering How to Turn Yourself From a Great Developer to a Great SEO. In his piece Duncan goes through 7 ways developers can use their strengths to become great SEOs.
- Realize that you can get a long way with a great site
- Develop stuff
- Test, tweak, rinse, repeat
- Reverse engineering other sites
- Become a blackhat
- Don't be afraid to learn
- Break the stereotype
By nature developers are more detail orientated and therefore have an easier time handling some of the more technical aspects of website creation and promotion. Developers who are initially getting into SEO will undoubtedly have an easier time than some other professionals because of their overall understanding of the internet, as well as the problem solving nature of their work. Personally I believe #6 “Don't Be Afraid to Learn” is one of the most important tips he gives. Even after you can consider yourself an SEO it is still the key to remaining successful.
In Ron Jones' latest post, SEM Going Legit - Literally EDU, he takes a look at the road to an accredited SEM course. One of Ron's readers wrote him concerned about the collegiate options for someone looking to get into the internet marketing industry. A growing number of college students are asking for classes in search marketing, but the process for accrediting a college course is lengthy and is causing the industry to loss potential professionals due to its lack of standards and training. Fortunately several schools are beginning to incorporate search marketing lessons into various course modules. Many colleges are also beginning to offer full SEM courses in the continuing education branches of their schools. These courses aren't accredited but offer a starting point to an accredited course in the future as well as an SEM major some day.
Aaron Wall, of SEO Book, wrote a great piece this week about Why Traditional SEO Consulting Usually Sucks. Through Aaron's many years of SEO experience he has developed good sense as why SEO campaigns are carried out ineffectively and questions the long-term value of SEO consulting to the consultant. Although Aaron questions the value there are still four instances when he still considers performing SEO consulting.
- Projects where I feel I can learn
- Projects where I feel I can have fun
- Ego and validation
- Diversity
With all the factors that go into SEO consulting how you structure your offerings can really affect your success. Aaron suggests three consulting models to provide long term success, Quasi Publishing, Paid SEO Tools, and In-House SEO Training. If none of these options appeal to you, Aaron also suggests PPC consulting as a good avenue to take. Many companies are comfortable spending a lot of money on PPC because they can see the results immediately, and if you can provide proper consulting services to help boost savings you will be able to maintain a full workload.
Thats it for this week, check back next week for another update.
