In the most recent episode of This Week In Law (TWIL), part of Leo Laportes TWIT network host Denise Howell openly questions the effectiveness of Search Engine Optimization. That’s an interesting statement to make especially since TWIL is part of the TWIT network. I’ll also go on the record as a huge fan of TWIL and the entire TWIT network which is why I was so surprised by these statements.
Let’s take a step back and see how she got to make these statements. The episode – one of the more interesting in recent times is an interview with AVVO CEO Mark Britton who recently hit the news because of a Class Action Law Suit against his new site www.avvo.com which is a social media site for rating Lawyers. If you’ve not heard about it yet, I suggest you all take a look.
During the interview Denise appeared to take quite a strong stance against AVVO and the need for individual lawyers to actively participate in the system to ensure their ratings are accurate and their profiles current. Instead she argued for a more passive system where the community alone is responsible for rating the Lawyers profile thereby eliminating the need for Lawyers to actively participate. At the same time Denise acknowledged the power of blogging and the need to participate in the active conversation on the Internet. I think it’s imperative that individuals take control of the online profiles and actively participate at maximizing the quality and reach of their presence online vs. sitting back and letting others do it for them.
Social sites like Digg, AVVO, LinkedIn, Twitter, Jaiku, MySpace etc. are “the active” conversation on the Internet and if you’re not participating then you’re really losing out on a lot of opportunities to grow your business. The added benefit of participating is that it raises your overall profile online which has a positive impact on your overall internet marketing efforts including SEO.
I sincerely hope that TWIL takes this as an opportunity to take a closer look at the SEO industry. Thanks to the efforts of all of the SEO firms out there, organizatios such as SEMPO, shows like SES and SMX – Search Engine Optimization works and it’s an established practice with true measurable results!