Real

I loved reading this post from Seth Godin because just this week I had been discussing natural search results for a really nifty project. The folks behind the brand hadn’t mentioned traditional search engine optimization at all and I wanted to make sure they understood that their rankings could be much better, much more reliable, if we took the whole path and provided visitors with excellent, continuous content. It didn’t take them any time at all to understand me, and we had already been thinking the same thing. People like this are awesome to work with.

When the sales rep started talking about natural search results, I knew I had a core of kindred spirits here. Many people look at the web and try to find the magic pill that will give them exactly what they want, but do not so often look to the web to develop a plan to give others what they need. They want to know who they can throw money at so that all their problems will be solved—without honesty or effort, in so many cases. Providing a service, selling a product, this isn’t just about us. It’s about those who need what we can give them, about helping those people because we can, an exchange of value that benefits both parties. It’s not about tricking them into buying our stuff. It’s about showing them how very well we can help each other. Suddenly, the world has forgotten this wonderful, wonderful thing—and Google is upsetting its search algorithms apple cart over and over, screwing up the magic pills and shortcuts that we use because we’ve forgotten. It makes you just want to hug them.

From Google Keeps Tweaking Its Search Engine, NYT…

“Even more daunting, many of those pages are shams created by hucksters trying to lure Web surfers to their sites filled with ads, pornography or financial scams. At the same time, users have come to expect that Google can sift through all that data and find what they are seeking, with just a few words as clues.”

Beyond the Hansell piece being an awesome article about a complex and wonderful system and the new exchange of information via intertubes, Seth saw the same thing I saw. He saw that what they’re doing is going to change everything in an excellent way. Oh, I bought Web Position Gold in the old days—we are all growing and learning and changing. (Well gosh, that’s what I’m all about these days!) But that’s sneaking around in the bushes when I can come right out into the open road and show you what I am, what I stand for, and how I can help you. How we can help each other!

For once, it’s obvious that being honest and true can give everyone what they want. Why was that so hard?

In any case, thanks Seth, and Saul—and Google!

Tagged as: google, realness, Seth Godin