Q & A With SEO Expert - Dave Cain

[JPM]

Hi guys - I hope this is ok to post, i'm not sure. Anyway, let me know if it needs editing or removing (I guess that'll be done for me).

Below is an excerpt from a Q & A with SEO and PPC expert, Dave Cain. Based in Nottingham, Dave has been in the industry for over 10 years and have a great record. The questions below and more are from the original post here on the blog at Social Colleague.

What are the three biggest made by webmasters in trying to rank their websites for their chosen keywords?

Great question;
1) Stuffing the META keywords tag with more and more keywords – come on this is so 2001!
2) Adding the primary keyword more within the content, so keyword stuffing in a nutshell.
3) Buying links – in 10 years of being in search I have never purchased a link, saying that… if you do want to buy a worthwhile link, get it from the Yahoo Directory, it will cost $299 a year, but Google sees this as trusted and authoritative link.

Where do you see SEO as an industry in the next 5 years. What do you believe will form the basis of search rankings?

Personally I believe there will always be a need and demand for a search engine and in-turn SEO. Whilst getting recommendations from friends and colleagues on social networks is great, there’s nothing better than looking for yourself and ‘Googling it’. What search engines will look like in 5 years, I’m not sure, possibly more social and personalisation but I believe the 10 blue links we see today will remain. In terms of rankings factors, I think social will be the driving force, hopefully video will play a bigger part some how and the more traditional link building methods we use today will be gone.

There has been a lot of talk of Facebook launching their own search engine, and with recent rumors that Microsoft may be willing to swap Bing in return for shares in the social network once the IPO has taken place next week, could Facebook genuinely challenge the dominance of Google?

Another great question, its difficult to see what Facebook will do next to be honest, like Google, they will have shareholders to please and more money to make. You’ve then got to ask yourself how are they going to do this without ruining the whole Facebook experience and cramming it with paid adverts. I really can’t see Facebook creating there own search engine, it will be more based around likes, shares, friends, recommendations, location, relationships and so on. It will probably be a different animal to a typical search engine as we know it, and with all this in mind I struggle to see how anyone could take on Google, especially with their search dominance.

[seo-bod]

Was this Q & A from 2001?

[JPM]

Originally Posted by seo-bod

Was this Q & A from 2001?

Assuming you're sarcastically attempting to paint him as 'out-of-date' I'm not going to answer that because as an SEO pro' yourself, you're not really painting a great picture of the attitude you have to those in your industry.

Dave is one of of the few people in the industry I feel is completely honest and whom I can trust implicitly.

[seo-bod]

I'm fortunate enough to work within the ethical SEO industry but like most swam through the darker areas to start. I'm not saying he's out of date but it's hardly insightful just my opinion though. And I'm sure he's a great guy.

I was fortunate enough to attend a SASCON event recently and the excitement regarding the future of SE's was stimulating. Augmented search patterns, wi-fi manipulation and how the social factor is already impacting on the serps....

The part about never buying a link in 10 years????? Never worked with a link budget then. Yahoo directory?? Maybe the 2001! is just a typo, but I was honestly unsure. OnPage SEO is quite granular, but that does depend a lot on who your clients are.

[JPM]

He used the phrase 'come on this is so 2001' which isn't hard to work out it's a reference to something being outdated.

Anyway - sorry if I was a little harsh, i've met far too many idiots working in SEO.

As for the interview, there is obviously more than just the 3 answers you see above.

[cheaper accountant]

Thanks for sharing this JPM. I always find it useful and interesting to read the views of a trusted SEO expert. I read so much conflicting SEO advice and it can be difficult to formulate a strategy for SEO ..... especially since I'm an accountant!

[seo-bod]

Originally Posted by cheaper accountant

Thanks for sharing this JPM. I always find it useful and interesting to read the views of a trusted SEO expert. I read so much conflicting SEO advice and it can be difficult to formulate a strategy for SEO ..... especially since I'm an accountant!

What can you take from the above interview to aid an SEO strategy? Don't take this question the wrong way, I am extremely interested just in case I'm overlooking something.

[JPM]

Originally Posted by cheaper accountant

Thanks for sharing this JPM. I always find it useful and interesting to read the views of a trusted SEO expert. I read so much conflicting SEO advice and it can be difficult to formulate a strategy for SEO ..... especially since I'm an accountant!

No problem at all, you're welcome.

By the way i'm just about to drop you an email from the contact at your site as you don't have PM set up.

[seo-bod]

Here's some free advice JPM, work on your backlink profile. That's me assuming you want to perform in the serps and if you're UK based you should look at changing your hosting company. Good luck! PM me if you need some professional advice.

[JPM]

Originally Posted by seo-bod

Here's some free advice JPM, work on your backlink profile. That's me assuming you want to perform in the serps and if you're UK based you should look at changing your hosting company. Good luck! PM me if you need some professional advice.

I should probably note that having spoke with him via PM that wasn't for me - that was for 'cheaper accountant'.