I attended my first search engine strategies conference in 2003 and I really took to it. I enjoyed modifying sites and seeing the results in search engines. You really feel and see a positive impact being made in the company.

The most unfortunate thing that I see in SEO today is the wild goose chases that are discrediting the entire industry. What’s worse is that for the most part the SEO industry is doing this to its self. 

Let me state it load and clear, your super secret ultimate google hack is not real and you have not found the path to SEO GOLD.

Here’s why

• First off it is a hack.
• Second it’s not supported by any search engine
• Third. Search engines make changes constantly without any warning. So even if your trick/hack does work it likely won’t work for long.
• Fourth: Even if you are an avid tester of your techniques it doesn’t matter because your technique could be destroyed with one  algorithm change
• Fifth: Even if your hack does work, by the time you actually get it in place it will no loger work and you are going to look like a fool contradicting your self to a client in a month when your super hack doesn’t actually work
• Sixth: Your making your self look like you don’t know what you are doing.
• Seventh: You are lying. you are selling something that does not exist. Another word for this is fraud.  In three months your client will see through you and you will lose the work. Try this, set realistic expectations, embrace a testing method and include the client in the testing process.
• You are hurting your self and tarnishing the industry
   

I am not saying that you should stop trying to innovate and find a way to get ahead but I am saying you should stop selling it. Many of these theories likely came to be through some sort of observation and good intentions but since we, the mareketers, are at the mercy of the search engines, we can not establish any of these threroies as laws.

REAL SEO experts, enthusiasts etc… know better. For long term strategy success follow the basics and don’t fall for wild goose chase hacks or you will spend all your time cleaning up the mistakes from your 

Here are some great posts covering SEO Goose Chases. I’ll admit that I ave fallen for a few of these myself. Some I still do just out of habit.

•  Top Ten Organic SEO Myths
• Destroying the Myths of SEO and PPC
• Three SEO Myths Debunked

The real question now is how do we reeducate the average business on white hat SEO that establishes a long term strategy and follows the basics supported by the major search engines.