An Anti-SEO Manifesto

This whole SEO business is getting on my nerves.

Or perhaps I am old-fashioned. But try as I may, I am unable to get into an SEO mode for my blog. When I first started blogging, I methodically searched the Net for tips to increase visibility of my blog. After all, I want others to read what I publish. But most of ideas seem to be bordering on the unethical. Let's see what it is all about ...

As per Wikipedia,

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.

The idea is to get you site in the first couple of pages in a search engine results. However, it seems to be that while blogging to get my blog noticed I have to focus more on SEO than the content itself. First get the SEO thingy done, and then the content.

But are the SEO techniques suggested by blogs natural? Let's take some examples that I find detestable ...

• Labels: I am supposed to add all the relevant labels so that the search engine can pick them up. Why? Why can't the Search Engines pick up relevant contents.
• Title: Wordpress helps in generating SE Optimized title. Blogger doesn't. So I saw in a blog a work around. First give all the key words in the title. Then save. And then modify the title to a normal one. Seems like cheating. And why can't I use punctuation marks in the title, if it makes sense?
  
• Building links: Since link farming is a bad thing, I am supposed to exchange links with other bloggers. You scratch my back and I will scratch yours. My question: would I do that if Google did not place importance on links? Would I still exchange links. I understand the importance of links. I believe Larry Page got this idea of ascertaining the importance of a website by the number of references to it. Similar to the references in a paper of a scientific journal. His parents are physicists (I need to confirm this, I remember having read this in Google, The True Story). But links should have meaning and relevance. The links should be built in the content of the blog. A list of blogs in the blogroll is no value addition to the content. Again I find reciprocal links bordering on fraud.
• Keyword Stuffing: Search Engines look down upon Keyword stuffing. In spite of that I saw on one very famous site that pays you for writing articles insisting on using keywords at at least 5 places. It goes on to mention where exactly the keywords should be. This obviously is a good SEO technique. What happens to the content of I have to twist and turn the words to fit keywords at 5 points. Also, if I have to use a keyword multiple times because of what I am writing, and it comes naturally, why should that be rejected as being keyword stuffing.

I could go on and on ...

So here is my personal manifesto. For what it is worth.

While blogging my focus will be on content; not search engine optimization. If the search engines do not find me and list me on the first two pages of a relevant search, it is just too bad - perhaps my contents are not up to the mark. But submitting to the dictates of SEO is akin to man bowing down to machine. Search Engines have to accommodate me. Not vice-versa. The future of search engines is in developing (neural?) algorithms that crawl and analyze contents. This manifesto is in anticipation of that.

So will my blog continue to languish at the bottom of the heap? Perhaps. Perhahs not. But I refuse to sacrifice the joy of unfettered writing. I will be active particiant in blogosphere. Will continue giving outbound links if it makes sense. Will comment on good blog entries and leave my signature behind. Will participate in forum discussions. Will blog regularly and hope for the best.

Content shall be the king.