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Defining Meta SEO Theory

Posted by Michael Martinez on April 23, 2007 in Intermediate SEO, SEO Theory

There are several different types of search engine optimization. You can classify search engine optimizers by more than one standard, so figuring out what the true “core” classes of SEO may be is quite challenging.

On the ethical level you have the so-called White Hat SEOs, Grey Hat SEOs, and Black Hat SEOs. The imagery is lifted from old American western movies where the good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats. The problem with this imagery, however, is that not all spammers are Black Hat SEOs, and not all Black Hat SEOs are spammers.

Some self-proclaimed SEOs hold the point of view that anyone who does anything in contravention of a search engine’s guidelines is a Black Hat. My problem with that position is simple: search engines have no right to dictate to me what I will do with my Web sites. I’ll make my choices and then after I am finished they are free to make theirs.

Some people argue that White Hat SEOs won’t knowingly or intentionally do anything to draw down a search engine’s ire on a Web site. However, most White Hat SEOs continue to engage in both unproductive and unethical linking practices. Just this evening I received yet another email from someone who can’t read the BOLD print on my Web site contact form that says “link requests will be ignored”. I had to update my link request filter once again.

What’s wrong with asking for links? What’s wrong with asking for an exchange of links? Well, if you want to spend your days sending out the same email again and again (regardless of how many different ways you word the request), that’s your business but it does make you an email spammer. Many self-styled White Hat SEOs think this is okay.

Of course, some link requesters proudly claim they only contact sites that invite such requests. Yeah, that’s where I want my links to come from: sites that will swap links with anyone. Your search rankings may suck, but mine don’t. Ask me why.

So enough about ethics. Let’s get down to brass tacks. The one type of SEO you have seldom heard about is the Meta SEO. A meta optimizer looks at the big picture. You could reasonably ask if meta SEO isn’t more aptly used of people who optimize for meta search engines, but I would rather call those nich specialists meta search engine SEOs, which is a bit redundant but it draws the line.

If search engine optimization is the art of designing or modifying Web pages so that they rank well in search results and drive converting taffic to sites, then meta search engine optimization is the art of designing Web sites that incorporate more than one aspect of search engine marketing into their promotional models.

If you’re going to practice meta SEO, then you have to pay attention to things like:

• Content growth
• Content mapping
• Query trend analysis
• Page function performance
• Search reach
• Keyword composition
• Influence mapping
• User market analysis

This is advanced stuff. You’re not going to learn about this at the next SEO conference.

Content growth is the most important aspect of meta search engine optimization. If you don’t know how fast you can create unique, rankable content that appeals to an existing or emerging market, you’re dead in the water. Managing content growth includes looking down the road 6-12 months so that you know well in advance when you have to redesign your Web site(s).

Your navigation system is not scalable. Even if you navigate by search box, your navigation system is not scalable. If you have been telling yourself (and others) that your navigation system is scalable, you’re cutting your own throat. You’re not ready for meta SEO until you accept the fact that no current Web site navigation model is scalable.

Content mapping follows on content growth and segues into query trend analysis. Think of content growth as the ship you are guiding. Think of query trend analysis as the seas you are steering your ship across. Content mapping is the navigational system you use to chart your course. It has nothing to do with your Web site’s internal navigation, not directly.

You’re most likely familiar with the 80/20 and 90/10 rules that are applied throughout business analysis. Let me give you a little insight into the meta SEO equivalent: Out of Xenite.Org’s 1800+ indexed pages, 4 URLs receive more than 90% of our entry traffic. I actively manage more than 100 SEO campaigns from Xenite’s content alone (many more across my entire personal network). So let’s agree for the sake of discussion that 90% of my traffic is driven by 4% of my content.

That percentage varies by domain but you could call it the 90/5 Rule: 90% of your traffic comes looking for 5% of your content.

Query trend analysis explains, in part, why yesterday’s hot page is today’s dud. Xenite.Org is littered with once-popular pages that still rank well for queries hardly anyone uses any more. Some topics are cyclical. Some topics are one-shots. Can you tell the difference? If you sell radio parts, what is the lifespan of queries for Germanium diodes? If you think there will always be demand for them, you’re not ready for meta SEO.

Query trend analysis is what sets you apart from all the other SEOs in the world. They’re out there chasing verticals, brushing the long tail of search, or just hoping they get lucky with a few currently popular keywords. But why do people search for “church furniture” and not “furniture for churches”? What is the difference? If it’s simply the convenience of typing in a shorter query, then why does “auto repair” get more searches than “car repair”?

You cannot understand every query, but you can learn about the queries for the market you’re interested in. You have to become expert in them. Many business site operators who have been around for at least 2 years can tell you which of their pages peak during which seasons. If you offer your SEO services without asking for that information as soon as possible, you’re not ready for meta SEO.

Page function performance is closely akin to usability. You need to understand why your calls to action work better here rather than there. A call to action may itself be “indexed” in the sense that it could appear in a search results page snippet. Someone may click through on your listing just because of the call to action. Does your page show them what they are looking for? This is not about matching heat map performance. If you’re thinking about heat maps as you read this sentence, you’re not ready for meta SEO.

Search reach is just what it sounds like. You need to know which search engines you’re indexed on, which search engines you rank on, and which search engines drive traffic to your site. Can you improve your performance on any given search engine? So many people focus on Google their business models just shrivel up and die whenever Google implements a new filter. You should never put all your faith into one search engine no matter how much traffic it sends you. The other search engines still resolve milions of queries every day.

Keyword composition is not about research. It’s not exactly about branding. It’s what falls between the research and the branding. You compose keywords for a variety of reasons. Some keywords act like meta keywords. Some keywords are better alternatives to highly competitive keywords. Have you ever tried running a banner ad that tells people to search on “querymosis” when they are looking for “red prom shoes”? It works, as long as you get the message across to the right people.

Influence mapping draws upon market analysis and competitive research. But what you’re doing is laying out a game plan for where you intend to get your endorsements and major referrals. They don’t have to be overt endorsements. An “endorsement” in this context is any authoritative reference to your content — even if it comes from you. But you’re not ready for meta SEO if you’re thinking, “Yeah, I tell people about my Web site in forums, blogs, and press releases already.”

Influence mapping does not mean you run around the Web telling people to come visit your site. It means you build relationships with key Web sites whose communities fall into your market. Those relationships can be very powerful. Don’t underestimate the value of influence mapping. It’s not about link dropping. It’s not about links at all.

User market analysis is an ongoing endeavor. I have had markets completely change profiles almost overnight. Why? Because someone popularized a concept with a new group of people who, when they went looking for content, found me.

If you’re good, or maybe just very lucky, you’ll see a market profile before it forms. Query trend analysis can help you identify proto-markets as they begin to form. People go through a very brief period where they struggle to find queries that help them find the content they want. Once those queries start producing the results those people want, they get locked in.

If you have done your work, you have composed keywords that anticipate the emerging market and present the right content to the first generation of searchers. They’ll spread the word and in doing so will help brand your keywords.

Just understand that being first in the market doesn’t guarantee you long-term results. As soon as other people see that you have hit pay dirt — or maybe before you have fine-tuned your campaign well enough to hit pay dirt — you’ll have competition and there is always someone out there who has the resources to do something better than you.

Meta SEO only gives you an advantage over the people who are playing catchup. It levels the playing field for you when you’re dabbling in the interests of other people. It opens up new vistas of opportunity for you if you understand how to work the fringe of popular interest.

You won’t hit home every time but you’ll definitely be able to sit back and smile more often when people hit the SEO forums and ask why their traffic sucks despite their number 1 rankings — for the obviously wrong keywords.