Posted on 8/7/2015 by Rosalea Peters, WEO Media Staff
Earlier this week, the SEO world was a-twitter (literally - did you see Twitter that day?) about an article on Entrepreneur.com explaining to the world Why Modern SEO Requires Almost No Technical Expertise. The demagogues of search engine optimization railed against such a foolish article, while you could hear the collective sighs of relief from many small business owners looking to find a way to compete in our increasingly online world. What was it about this article that was so inflammatory?
Mostly because it was both right and wrong. There were elements of truth in his article, to be sure; but many times the author inserted parenthetical statements like "Make your site fast, and optimized for any device (this one you may need a coder’s help for, admittedly)". The principles of modern SEO really do not require technical expertise. Research enough and use your own digital experience and you'll learn that it is (as always) about beautifully relevant content that is engaging, meaningful, and unique and displayed on a website that has optimal user experience and interface. Push your content to social media, but beware of only trying to sell your brand - social media is all about community and enhancing the conversation around your content. But to excel at SEO today does require professional assistance in many areas.
Here's our view of Jayson Demers' 5 points:
Offering a good onsite experience There are many website templates today that allow for a quick and easy setup for your site. However, they are generic, and if you want a custom professional look you will need to hire, well...a professional.
Writing good content Anyone can write unique content. Is the content useful and relevant? How do you target that content in a way that generates traffic? Search optimization specialists know how to do this.
Getting others to acknowledge you as an authority The way most websites establish themselves as an authority is by having incoming links from other websites. You need them, but how do you get them? Just linking to other people's sites does not get links. A marketing strategy team would know how to garner the right links.
Rising in social popularity Social media is definitely a ranking factor, but you need to understand why and how you intend to use it. Not all businesses lend themselves well to Pinterest, LinkedIn or Twitter. A social media team would help you make these decisions, and understand how to build community around your brand.
Earning local relevance Claiming directories is easy. Setting up schema, publisher tags, and bulk directories is not, and it's helpful to have someone in the driver's seat that can handle those technical aspects.
There are more and more systems being made to handle the parts of SEO that are easily automated, however, this does not make the job of inbound marketing professionals obsolete. If everyone can do it, everyone will do it, and your competition will have the same level of online value you do. SEO can sometimes feel like a three-ring circus, with you left to wrangle the sideshow acts and still put on the best show in town. Hiring a professional can give you the edge that will push you ahead of your competition, while you focus on providing impeccable service and expertise to your customers.
Earlier this week, the SEO world was a-twitter (literally - did you see Twitter that day?) about an article on Entrepreneur.com explaining to the world 
