Going to the Dogs: SEO Out of Control
Don’t take this the wrong way. Search engine optimization is a useful tool. It helps businesses get their message out and stay one step ahead of the competition. For someone shopping online, it usually brings what they’re looking for right to the head of the queue and saves a lot of time. SEO is an important part of the internet and it’s here to stay. You’ll get no argument from me on any of that.
BUT there’s a downside. Earlier this evening, I wanted to tell someone about Edmund Osthaus, a Toledo painter who specialized in dogs. Couldn’t remember the man’s name. I knew I could find it in a book, but I figured Google would be faster. Years ago, in those benighted times before SEO had been invented, it probably would have been faster. Not now.
I did several Google searches, using variations on “Toledo painter, dogs” and “Ohio painter, dogs”. The whole thing was doomed from the start. I might have been able to spot the name Osthaus if I’d been willing to sort through a few pages, but I gave up and grabbed the book. Figured it was easier than getting past sites offering dog-friendly apartments in Cleveland ( Not a chance. ), promising to paint a lifelike portrait of my dog ( I don’t have a dog ), and peddling “fine art prints” of dogs playing poker ( When pigs fly ).
SEO is a wonderful thing. But, sometimes when all you want is a bit of information, it can slow things down.
About the author
A loose cannon by right of descent, Jeffrey developed a fascination with figuring out anything related to computers precisely because he never even saw one in school. He's been writing for thirty years and blogging for four, primarily on local history, medieval history, church architecture, and religious art. Jeffrey describes his interests as, "too confounded many for a well-ordered life."
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