Bad SEO Advice & Blogging for Money...

As you should very well know, the world wide web is full of useless crap, incorrect info, bad advice, spam, scams, etc. The internet is also full of useful information, various forms of entertainment, social networks, and so on. However, if you're one of the many people out there that's taking part in this latest "blogging for money" craze, then you're likely to run into the world of SEO (search engine optimization) hogwash, sooner or later.

I know, many people have their own personal websites and blogs set up just to have a voice or a say, to share with family and friends, interact with other cyber junkies, get into heated debates on forums and on comment fields, or perhaps to simply talk to their own self (haven't we all did that before), etc.

But what really gets on my nerves, even more than the people typing poppycock for pennies, is the supposed "SEO Gurus" out there with their own "how-to" and "professional advice" sites, who just don't seem to really know anything about any one thing in particular. They often spout the same old cookie-cutter responses and useless tidbits of "advice," and more times than not, they ain't even successful with their own silly little websites and blogs to begin with. Sure, I can claim to be a lot of things, give myself fancy titles and tall tales of cyber-based financial achievement, ask you to buy my e-books and/or visit my websites, hope that you click on my advertisements, make a quick buck from knowing nothing or from actually being knowledgeable, and whatnot. But I refuse to go around acting like a fool and/or pretending I have unraveled the mysterious properties of Google's Search Engine's algorithms or that I have decoded the "secret technique for success" from an epiphany that I recently had, and blah, blah, blah.

By the way, I have a question for anyone that wants to answer:

What exactly is a professional blogger?

This is a common title that I'm seeing more and more of, from some of these self-professed SEO Sensations. So, what is your profession again? Blogging? Really? Okay, well let's look at the dictionary for a moment...

Profession, definition #2 per Merriam-Webster: a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long academic preparation.

So, to all the "professional bloggers" out there: You're telling me that you are answering to a calling that requires specialized knowledge in the ability to blog/type on an automated platform in such a professional manner and that you most likely have went through intense schooling and training just to operate a blog that most 9-year-olds can run without adults even noticing they are a kid. I find your boastful title to be quite interesting, in a humorous sort of fashion, dear "blogging professionals." However, if you're referring to the 3rd definition for the adjective version of the term 'professional', which is: "participating for gain in an activity often engaged in by amateurs," then it at least makes a little sense, but I mean really, blogging shouldn't be called a profession - due to the enormous amounts of blogs on the web that are created by people from all age groups. It's hardly professional if, uh, everybody is doing it! LOL! Okay, I've got to get off this particular subject. Anyway...

You know, all this "I'm an SEO expert" chatter on the web today, reminds me of the old get-rich-quick scams, where the only ones getting rich is the ones claiming to know how to get rich but yet, all they are doing is selling senseless baloney in their "informative packets" that tell you nothing about getting rich; ha! The next thing you know, we have the basis for a new religion, and you know how much money can be made off of religion! Arghh..., maybe I'm in the wrong profession! I may resort to selling pamphlets after all. Ha-ha! Just kidding, of course...

Anyway, I've almost come to the conclusion that anyone who has made 5 cents or more off an advert click, had more than 5 random visitors to their site that found them via an internet search, can call themselves an "SEO Guru." My god! That means I was an internet savvy "search engine optimizing guru," years ago when I first got a website and fumbled around clueless until I slowly learned a couple things about getting traffic and achieving search rank. Wow! There must be millions of SEO gurus out there by now! Damn, maybe I need to write an e-book called "Getting your first 5 visitors to your website" and join the rest of the overly promotional clowns with empty wallets while claiming greatness... ha-ha!

The point is, if you're new to this "blogging for money" stuff, then chances are you'll be reading bad advice on what not to do and what you should do, theories about black-hat seo vs. white-hat seo, newly released "methods for success," how to get on the front page of Google for the keywords you want, and so many other loaded topics fueled by morons. Sure, there are some knowledgeable people out there amid the masses, but in the long run, you'll be better off learning through your own personal experience and hard work. Besides, no matter what people tell ya, only Google's engineers and certain employees know about the inner workings of their Search Engine and the algorithm therein... AND, it is always changing, getting tweaked, etc., so what works today, may not tomorrow. It's a guessing game, but the best advice is to be original and generate high-quality content as much as possible.

Now of course, none of this really matters if you're not "blogging for money" or building websites for cash return, affiliate sales, etc. For example, I have several websites and blogs over various niches, and so on. They are not all commercial, and some of 'em I just do for fun. Take this blog, for yet another example: I'm not worried about making money off this free blog, especially since some of my other sites earn me a little extra money each month (not much, but it all adds up). I started this blog a few days ago, mainly because I wanted a blogspot to occasionally type about random subjects without the feeling that I needed to stay within a certain genre, category, or that I had to maintain a certain level of creativity - all without having to worry about how a certain post is going to perform in the search engines, if this or that will make money, etc.

Here, I can talk about stupid shit or informative stuff, interesting subjects or nonsensical topics, have short posts or long posts, whatever, it doesn't matter.

Whether any 'Mun' (money) gets pumped through to this 'Mundane Blog'... only time will tell; ha-ha!

---End of Post "Bad SEO Advice & Blogging for Money..."