An interesting thread for in-house SEOs appeared at the IHelpYou Forums this morning. “In-house SEO” is a term refering to an SEO who is employed by a non-search related company as a staff member in charge of website promotions.
In the JohnC, an IHY moderator, notes his job has shifted subtly from website promoter to website protector.
“An SEOs primary responsibility is typically seen as “promoting” a web site. However, more and more I find myself in the role of “Protector”. Someone will have an idea for a site feature or technology change and it is up to me to make sure this change will not hurt the web site in anyway, search wise. Inevitably, someone will read about a “cool” new technique to get better search placement. I find I must be on constant guard against these “Monday Morning Optimizers”. Usually, they don’t see the whole picture or understand that the information they found is years out of date.” (JohnC)
With organic search again becoming a more important componant of website promotion, SEOs of all stripes are seeing more “Monday Morning Optimizers”. They are also dealing with the damage those well-meaning but ill-informed extra efforts can bring. Whatever his motives for addressing the topic this morning, JohnC has performed a public service for frustrated SEOs.
“I think every person involved with a website has the potential to get it banned from the search engines. As the SEO it’s my job to see that they don’t.” (JohnC)
“Recently i helped a client with their in-house design and seo guidelines. The list of warning/dont’s has become larger than the list of “do’s”. More than ever, it has become important to know what to avoid.” (Danny)
Anyone with similar experiences or tips on dealing with armchair optimizers should read and add to the thread.