Thoughts on Raising the Barrier to Thrive in SEO

By Michael Smith On April 26, 2012 · 3 Comments

The gift and the curse of SEO is its low barrier to entry.

On one hand, it encourages people with a diverse range of backgrounds into the profession, which contributes to a lot of the creative thought in the industry.

On the other, it paves the road for both advanced beginners and charlatans who can liberally apply themselves with the label of ‘expert’ and exploit people who are certain they ‘need’ an SEO service.

Aside from the hypocricy that swirls around a lot of what Google says and does, in general, any of the changes that it makes that increase the difficulty to game the algorithms should be embraced.

For there to be value in any industry there needs to be skill and expertise required for whatever task needs completing. (As well as demand for this knowledge.)

To get to this standard, you need to toil through what Seth Godin calls ‘the Dip’. The dip is the part where you are learning a skill where it feels like you’re getting nowhere fast.

In the words of Seth Godin:

“The Dip is the long stretch between beginner’s luck and real accomplishment. The Dip is the set of artificial screens set up to keep people like you out.”

It’s a place all have to get through to become accomplished in any skill. It’s the place where most people quit.

As search engines become harder to game, the dip you need to toil through to excel online widens. The screening process becomes more intense, the wheat is sorted from the chaff.

This can only be a good thing for those who are serious about online marketing. The Dip creates scarcity and scarcity creates value.

The more refined the specialism of SEO is, the more demand there will be for those who perform it.

The thing with article marketing is, it’s easy. It’s easy to measure, it’s easy to churn out content. It used to be easy to make it work.

The same with link networks. They’re not that difficult to find and they’re not that difficult to join.

It’s probable that a lot of SEO companies will soon be stood at the cusp of the dip. It stands to reason that they won’t all toil through it.

This is why we should relish the updates that are going to make life trickier.

There is going to be a huge demand for SEOs who can thrive at growing businesses online in the new climate and a shortage of what can be supplied.

If you can thrive and know how to help others thrive, your knowledge becomes a lot more valuable.

How you decide to manipulate the rankings is irrelevant, be it what is labelled ‘black’ or ‘white’.

The point is that the scarcer the skill needed, the richer the pickings for those talented and hard working enough to possess it.

So the barrier to entry won’t change in the sense that anyone can call themselves an SEO and do business.

However, in the sense that the skill level needed to grow websites online is going to be higher than ever, the barrier to thriving as an SEO agency or consultant will be even harder to get past.

Do I fall into the category of those who possess the skill required to excel in a climate that needs more advanced skills? Probably not, but I’m going to work through the dip to get there.