The Occult Bot

If you study search engine optimization you have most likely read about the debate concerning the Pagerank sculpting technique. Pagerank sculpting calls for hiding internal navigation links from search engines so as to make certain pages seem less important to the search engines. The thinking behind this method assumes that if more Pagerank is channeled to other pages, those pages will rise higher in search results. Pagerank, of course, is only one of several hundred factors that Google and other search engines use to determine rankings. Google suggests that Pagerank has always had a secondary impact on search rankings anyway, but many people in the SEO industry act as if they know better than Google.

First proposed in the summer of 2007, Pagerank sculpting was supposed to fix Website navigation issues that critics of the technique said were not only preventable but easily resolved by more traditional methods. One SEO commenter even predicted that Pagerank sculpting would be abused by the SEO community and subsequently devalued. As it turns out, she was completely right. Google announced in the summer of 2009 that it had taken steps more than a year previous to defuse the Pagerank sculpting train wreck.

Instead of helping “more important” pages rise to the top of search results Pagerank sculpting had led many sites to lose much of their search visibility. Many, in some cases most or all the pages of sites that used Pagerank sculpting simply vanished from search indexes. The Pagerank sculpting SEOs published articles claiming their tests showed that their technique was working and helping clients. Oblivious to the facts, they led more people down the golden path to disaster.

When Google employee Matt Cutts revealed what Google had done at a summer 2009 SEO conference, some people tried to dismiss Google’s statements and warnings. Throughout the previous two years some SEOs had falsely asserted that Cutts supported Pagerank sculpting. A careful review of his comments on various Websites shows that he consistently discouraged the practice, advising readers to pursue more productive SEO strategies. The debate raged around him as few people actually paid attention to what Cutts was saying.

The original Pagerank sculpting method of choice used the “rel=’nofollow’” link attribute to hide navigation links from search engines. Google’s intervention addressed the nofollow attribute itself. Failing to grasp the significane of their strategic and theoretical failures, Pagerank sculpting SEOs have since begun promoting new methods for hiding navigation links from search engines. This new generation of Pagerank sculpting techniques may not be so easy for the search engines to devalue. It may be that the SEO industry has committed itself and its clients to a period of de-optimization.

The Pagerank sculpting debacle has unquestionably hurt the SEO industry’s reputation. Some observers are amazed that in the wake of such a public relations disaster anyone in the industry would want to go down that road again. This time around, it may take some client-vs-SEO provider lawsuits to put a stop to the self-destructive fad.

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A modern job search campaign is by nature very involved. While the web has offered a variety of new channels, it also creates increased competition for choice jobs and potential challenges for job hunters.

Job search needs to be thought of as a personalized, highly aimed marketing process where you are the product. Your resume is an advertisement. Your extended network of contacts is your source for information and opportunities.

So where does the net fit in? At AA-Careers, we just posted a job on a popular job site and got over 650 applications in a week. For one position. That’s increased competition for jobs.

Had a strong person called us ahead of our posting that ad, they could have landed the job before having all that competition. How? By knowing someone at our office who became aware of the job prior to posting. Everyone was aware of the job for at least 14 days before it was posted. Who in your network might know of a job that’s coming available soon?

Be careful how you submit your application as well. When we did an analysis of the 650 resumes, we found a large number of errors. 63% of the applicants were easily eliminated with a fast triage process. How? The same way any employer would. By passing over resumes where the objective didn’t match our job. By eliminating candidates whose cover letters gave us causes not to engage them, like "I know I’m overqualified but I really need a job". By eliminating candidates whose documents that didn’t open properly. And by eliminating job hunters who didn’t bother to spell check their cover letter and/or resume.

So the great news is that job sites give you a feel of what companies are hiring, and for what kinds of jobs. But once those positions are posted, the competition is intense. You can still compete, if you have a well thought out resume, designed to appeal directly and clearly to the recruiter. And if you have practiced interviewing – so you don’t stumble at a critical point.

Another downside to be aware of is how quickly you can be looked up on the web. As we Googled several candidates, we ran into some personal web pages that were in questionable taste. Nothing insane, but enough to swing our thinking about who to hire.

AA-Careers provides a comprehensive set of services for Bay Area job seekers, providing our clients a personal career consultant, a managed job hunting campaign, modern tools like a personal website, video, highly targeted resume, and much more. Let us know if we can help you.

Be careful out there, and good hunting!

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