As an SEO Practitioner for over 14 years, now is the time to explain the relationship between my trade, Search Engine Optimisation and Quantum Physics. You’ve probably read numerous articles over the years explaining the science of SEO and the numerous permutations and algorithms that help, in some way, to explain the complexities of optimisation.
To compare;
Quantum physics is a branch of science that deals with discrete, indivisible units of energy called quanta as described by the Quantum Theory. There are five main ideas represented in Quantum Theory:
- Energy is not continuous, but comes in small but discrete units.
- The elementary particles behave both like particles and like waves.
- The movement of these particles is inherently random.
- It is physically impossible to know both the position and the momentum of a particle at the same time. The more precisely one is known, the less precise the measurement of the other is.
- The atomic world is nothing like the world we live in
and…
Search Engine Optimisation is the science of providing pre-qualified Internet Users with easy access to your website.
Sense the irony? SEO isn’t the complex mind-boggling process many may have you thinking… the relationship between complex science and SEO is null and void.
I’m going to stick my head on a block here and let you into a little secret…. SEO is a behavioural science… it isn’t rocket science, it isn’t some magical art nor is it particularly scientific… put simply, it’s giving people what they want… what they’re searching for and making life easy for the end user… for this, Google shall reward you with listings above your competitors within the search results.
The business case is relatively simple too…. if you can generate the necessary ROI off of the back of your online marketing efforts, then HEY PRESTO! Search Engine Optimisation works for you.
The main aim of this particular article is to dilute the plethora of messages any business owner, wearing a ‘Skeptical’ or ‘Fearful’ hat whenever the term SEO is mentioned around the boardroom table, may encounter. There are those within any industry who wish to retain competitive advantage by overcomplicating their particular field of expertise. Conversely, there are those, much like myself, who like to look at industry matters from a hands-on & practical perspective.
Here lies the difference between the SEO Practitioner and the SEO Academic.
… a typical view inside any SEO office as we use any means necessary to develop a keyword strategy for your business 
The academic is required to turn the art of SEO into a science by delving through 1000s upon 1000s of keywords to deliver a legion of reports which will, more than likely, make little sense or make even smaller impact, upon a business’ overall goals.
The practitioner is required to turn a business’ objectives into a workable long-term revenue or lead generating opportunity for their client.
Both avenues of expertise work from the same rules, however, both have very different means in expressing the qualifiable deliverables off of the back of any SEO campaign. The academic will highlight the Search Ranking presence, the practitioner will highlight the financial rewards.
Search Optimisation is a selling business. A business whereby a qualified Search Specialist ‘pitches’ the website to google in return for higher Search Ranking. Secondly, the website ‘pitches’ it’s product or service listings in return for a potential buyer’s trust and future business. The ‘pitching’ process requires a tremendous level of ‘human understanding’;
- to understand the needs of the end user
- to understand the methods undertaken by the end user to find their destination
- to understand the search terminology utilised by the end user
Search Engine Optimisation takes a large proportion of it’s methods from real world human interaction. This, again, is where SEO Academics and SEO Practitioners may differ in their expertise and their recommendations.
SEO delivers two strands of communication;
- The information needed to optimise placement within Google (technical)
- The information needed to earn user trust and expectation (human)
One aspect, that of the information provided to Google, is essentially “Under The Bonnet” methods which are incorporated into the SEO framework of a website (little of which is seen by either the client or the end user).
The second is through the strategy developed between the SEO Practitioner and the business client. If you’re currently outsourcing your SEO work to an agency or consultant who you just leave “to get on with the job” … be worried… they don’t know your industry as well as you do. That information is key to a successful SEO Strategy.
The science of SEO is fascinating, but it’s a FEATURE of SEO, not necessarily a BENEFIT. If I was looking to buy a car, the last thing I want, or need, is to find a website explaining the viscosity of engine oil. I want to find out what the car will do for me, the experience for which I’m paying out £x amount of money for. A lot of what you’ll read online will relate to the ‘oil’ of the SEO industry, not the pleasure gained of managing a highly successful campaign.
To summarise, don’t let the depth of information found on the web regarding SEO strike fear into you. All SEO Practitioners and Academics have a slightly ‘geeky’ aspect to our roles (hell, try spending hours a day delving through spreadsheets filled with 1000s of keywords and research analysis and show me how to make that look ‘cool’ and I’ll buy you a beer). If you and your business are looking at employing a successful Search Optimisation Strategy leave the ‘features’ of the industry to those of us that it matters to… and you focus on the benefits it can bring your business.
