Ranking SEO Knowledge: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced

One comment I heard frequently at SMX Advanced 2007 (on Monday) was that the presentations were not really covering advanced material. In fact, several bloggers have said as much in their reviews of the conference, too.

The challenge for SEO presenters and conference organizers is determining what is basic and what is advanced. Many of the presentations at SMX Advanced struck me (and other people) as being a more intermediate-level quality.

There are not that many truly advanced knowledge SEOs, in my opinion. The most advanced people tend to think on a very theoretical level, looking at things in terms of scale. Advanced SEO Theory is concerned with patterns of behavior and trend analysis.

Many SEOs practice some advanced SEO techniques. It’s not like there is an elite SEO Advanced Club (in fact, most of the so-called “elite” SEOs have been doing SEO for so short a time they don’t really know much).

The industry has no standards, and it’s not even close to establishing standards. One reason is that there are so many different ways to manipulate search results that you can easily have people yelling “tastes great!” and “less filling!” at each other without either side being able to prove the other wrong.

In my opinion, basic SEO begins with the fundamentals: the four points I have occasionally spoken of:

1. Visibility
2. Content organization
3. Keyword research
4. Links

You can safely extend some respect to anyone who talks reasonably well about these four topics. They don’t have to have know everything, they don’t even have to know a great deal. The difference between an Apprentice-level SEO and a Newbie or Beginner is that the Apprentice at least knows what the fundamental principles are

Is there more that a Beginner should know? Absolutely. Before you advance from Apprentice SEO to Journeyman SEO (in my book) you have to at least have mastered the SEO Theory For Beginners principles. There are not many of them but a lot of SEOs seem to get stuck in the Apprentice SEO Zone because they never learn all the basics.

If all you can discuss is links, where you get links, and how you evaluate links, you’re not ready for more advanced SEO. You need to stay in the Apprentice Zone where you will do as little harm as possible.

If I had to design a test to pass someone from Apprentice SEO to Journeyman SEO, I would ask them to write about the basic principles and then I would require that they show me five sites in five different verticals that are ranked in the top ten results for at least 3 expressions. The rankings would have to be achieved in 3 months or less. The rankings should be achieved through a variety of factors, not just through link anchor text. In fact, I would disqualify any site that ranks only through link anchor text (it’s too vulnerable to search engine algorithm adjustments, filters, and penalties).

Intermediate SEOs are less likely to use industry buzzwords and expressions, but they still tend to foam at the mouth if you disagree with their favorite bloggers and forum admins. Intermediate SEOs can be trusted to go out and do some research and optimization on their own. They’re able to handle slightly problematic clients.

An Intermediate SEO will stay at the Journeyman SEO level for maybe 3-5 years (so, yes, most of your SEO heroes are probably no better than Journeyman SEOs). You need solid experience to become a Master SEO. You need to have handled a lot of different situations. You need to have written a lot of copy, a lot of link anchors, a lot of directory-style descriptions — you just need to have done a lot of different projects.

I would not even think about evaluating a Journeyman SEO for Master status before that SEO has completed at least 30 projects (10 projects per year). A project is complete when you rank a site for 3 competitive expressions or more. You should be able to do this in 3-6 months. If you cannot take a brand new domain and rank it competitively within 3-6 months, you’re not ready for Master SEO status.

A lot of SEO business owners are still only Journeyman SEOs. They do capable work, they may employ a lot of people, but they are not advanced enough to be considered Masters in the craft.

A Journeyman SEO should understand some of the broader concepts. For example, before becoming a Master SEO, the Journeyman should be able to tell you in his or her own words what the strengths and weaknesses of the major search engines are. The accomplished, experienced Journeyman should be able to discuss market demographics in both a technical and marketing dialogue.

As Journeyman SEO, you should come to the realization that Google isn’t everything. Until you can comfortably say that without feeling like you’re lying, you’re not ready to become a Master SEO. To a Master in the craft, the search engine is irrelevant. They all have algorithms. They all have vulnerabilities. They can all be manipulated.

Some people might argue that a lot of so-called Black Hat SEOs are probably Masters. Not from what I have seen. Certainly not the most vocal Black Hats. A great number of them are pretty much clueless. If you’re still babbling on about PageRank (and if you’re still saying “PR” instead of “Internal PageRank”), you’re not ready for Advanced SEO. You just don’t know enough to be able to comprehend the complexities of the advanced stuff if you think in terms of PR.

You don’t have to be a Master SEO to travel the Dark Side of search engine optimization. Many Black Hats do know some sneaky tricks, but those are tricks. They buy software off each other, they trade links with each other, they babble on in the forums about PR. Think of Black Hat SEOs as the guys who cheat on the Apprentice SEO Exams and slip into the Journeyman category without really proving they know much. They are mechanics who rely on devices.

White Hat, Black Hat, Grey Hat — you don’t become a Master until you transcend tricks and techniques. You should have reached the point where you can develop your own trends and techniques. You should be able to create a masterpiece SEO campaign, design it from start to finish, without having to rely solely upon tried-and-true SEO ideas. A true Master of the Craft understands that manipulation can be subtle.

But the true SEO Masters also understand the need for value content, how to shape valuable content, how to make it work for multiple search engines. There are probably no more than a few hundred Master SEOs in the world today. They don’t have “belts” (ala Martial Arts). It’s a disorganized group who move around quietly (for the most part).

How do you recognize an SEO Master? There are two tests I would apply: What does the SEO omit in conversation? What does the SEO share in dynamic quality?

Remember, a Master SEO doesn’t care about PageRank — certainly not about PR. If you really admire someone who constantly talks about PageRank and PR, you’re not doing anything wrong. But you’re not following a true Master SEO. Advanced SEO understands how PageRank works. Advanced SEO doesn’t depend on PageRank (because PageRank does not determine rankings in search results).

A Master SEO can look at a situation and suggest a breakthrough method of beating the tough competition. It may be an old trick. It may be something new. The Master SEO understands what works and what doesn’t work in most situations. The Master SEO sees the bottlenecks on a more conceptual level. The Master SEO has learned to think about the process in the abstract.

Abstraction is to the Master SEO what methodical application is to the Journeyman SEO. The Apprentice SEO is not ready to design campaigns. The Journeyman SEO is not ready to design methodologies. The Master SEO helps launch the next trend in SEO techniques and methodologies.

A Journeyman SEO may try to be secretive. The Master SEO reads the SERPs and knows there are no secrets.

A Journeyman SEO looks for backlink profiles. The Master SEO is not impressed or intimidated by backlinks.

A Journeyman SEO defends an idea vigorously. The Master SEO knows that every dog has his day. The Master SEO has seen it all (at least once) before. Most of today’s most well-known, popular SEO bloggers and “gurus” have NOT seen it all before.

We could argue all month long about who the Masters of SEO really are. Frankly, without any commonly accepted standards, I don’t think anyone’s opinion really matters. The Master SEO will always strive to improve his/her craft because that is what must be done. The Apprentice SEO and the Journeyman SEO may or may not strive to improve their craft.

If you are satisfied with what you know about SEO today, you’ll never be a Master.

If you think you know enough about SEO today to see where it’s going, you’ll never be a Master.