GPWA Times Magaine - Issue 23 - February 2013

must be done by humans: negotiations and quality control are the key areas as well as strategy. This is the Internet age. Automation and scalability are absolutely key. I would go so far as to say, “If you can apply Henry Ford thinking to your SEO, you’re on the right track.” DoIpayforit?Isitwisetobuylinks?Doesev- erybody buy links? What about bought links over earned links? How can I use bought and earned together for maximum effect? Bomb disposal is dangerous, brain sur- gery is dangerous and buying links is dangerous, but there are always situa- tions where all three activities have to be carried out, carefully and by experts with training and experience. Everybody in the markets in which I oper- ate buys links. Wait, let me qualify that: Everyone who ranks in the SERPs in which I operate buys links. There are many practitioners of whitehat in all markets, but many of them never achieve success. Links are rarely earned in pharma, porn or casino unless you have erectile dysfunction and want to tell the world, want to share your dark- est sexual desires, or, for that matter, feel a sudden urge to share how you lost 10 grand playing roulette. Never believe the hype! Yes, of course, online PR is a great way to shroud ag- gressive activity but NEVER take a knife to a gunfight! Do I play well with others? Should I work alongside PR or social agencies and leverage their work for SEO ben- efit? Do campaigns benefit from my working well with and understanding other agencies? Or could other agen- cies have (intentionally or otherwise) a negative effect on a campaign? This is, in my personal view, a massive flaw in the traditional agency model. Department heads rarely talk to each other about specific campaigns. They have too many clients to worry about and cannot afford the time to get bogged down in the specifics. Cross-agency collaboration is even worse. At best the cultural “them and us” dynamic is too strong to foster collabora- tion; at worst the agency may have devel- oped an irrational phobia or even hatred toward a competing agency. Either way, you can be sure that your SEO isn’t talk- ing to your PR guy and your campaign 53