SEO … Quality or Quantity is a Hammer

SEO …Quality or Quantity is a Hammer:

The answer is yes, they are. The SEO path is long and requires consistency and passionate attention. However the pathway diverges quickly when it comes to the Quality vs. Quantity issue. There are several wildly differing points of view when it comes to these two important SEO issues.

Quality:

This is the path that is by far the most difficult to follow.  But as with anything, it has its rewards. It is tough, therefore it is more gratifying when done correctly. If you think about any successful SEO campaign, it demands high-quality links, and valuable content. The sources of these link and content are quickly becoming more of a consideration to Google and the other search engines.

Quality makes complete sence if you thoroughly consider it. The search engines hate automation, or anything that is non-human. They love the personal touch of human consideration and thought. This by nature increases the aspect of relevancy and improves the probability that the search based on any keyword phrase and content delivers the results the consumer wanted, or expected. However, there is a risk with high-quality specificity. It is very narrow in scope. The target may be missed if the consumers aim is not precise.

Quantity:

This is by far the simplest and easiest path to follow. It may be automated which means that Google and the other search engines by nature HATE it. Still it can be effective. If you have an overwhelming quantity of keywords and content, it cannot be ignored when a site is crawled. The very search engines that dislike any automation must use automation to crawl and index the enormous volume of sites and content. It is ironic that they use robotics. However, they must consider any site with a large volumes of keywords and a large quantity of both links, and content.

The Hammer:

Quality is very much like a surgeon’s scalpel. Quantity is very much like a sledge hammer. Quality requires a thoughtful well thought out approach. Quantity is sheer brute force. Quality requires specificity, and if you are not pricilesy on target, you will be missed. Quantity is nothing more than overwhelming and runs the risk of dilution usually by its vagueness.  If you combine them both you can hit the nail on the head. The Hammer method is an arduous balancing act.

In Conclusion:

The simplest analogy is printing. If you run a “mass marketing” campaign and send thousands of mailers and are willing to accept a low response rate (i.e. generally less than 1%) I guess Quantity is for you.

I prefer the “personalized” print marketing model which in some extreme cases delivers as much as a 50% return rate. I know Quality is difficult, painful and hard. But it is far more rewarding when you hit the mark and win.

I know which of these methodologies I prefer, you must decide for yourself which method works for you and your clients.