Firstly, it’s a Trustbox, not a Sandbox. “Trust filters” seem to be a large portion of what has most SEO’s in a frenzy over search engine’s currently. There are pros and cons to the trustbox for folks on both sides of the fence, and the best thing you can do no matter which side of the game you are on is understand what the filters mean and the reprocussions that they will create in the future.
We’ve already discussed SEO generations, how some folks entered the industry at different times and learned from others. Outside of the SEO sphere, however, SEO seems to elicit a much different response from folks based on their different (often negative) experiences with those claiming to be an SEO.
10. You can say you know Aaron Wall and Rand.
9. Because most people will never “get it” and that’s a good thing.
8. Everybody’s an expert because even the most experienced have only done it about 10 years.
7. You get to read Matt’s “seo blog”
6. You’ve experienced a “google dance”
5. Top 10 listings
4. You travel on a national or world tour “for work”.
3. This is not a bubble.
2. Everyone loves web 2.0 and it’s impossible to not make money with even a little SEO knowledge
1. It’s fun to be the hero!
I’m pretty sure Nick Wilson gets credit for the idea of bringing linkbaiting mainstream. While Nick is certainly now well known in blogger circles, he’s got a background in the SEO community. Linkbaiting is a viral marketing idea created by someone with the mind of an SEO in my opinion. As I thought more about the ideas behind link baiting, I was suddenly hit with a simple ephiphany…”Finally, an SEO idea that Seth might be able to get on board with!” I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been pretty shameless over the course of a few years in trying to get a link from Seth (as of yet to no avail). I think that he may be partly reluctant due to having a sour taste in his mouth for anyone after his “googlejuice”. While the thought certainly has crossed my mind, I am much more excited about spreading Seth’s thought provoking ideas, and applying my own ideas and twists to them. Maybe if it’s about him spreading the juice to a “bad SEO neighborhood”, I’ll just get a rel=nofollow one day with a little help from my friends. 
The best long-term SEO strategy is well researched website project management that maintains users and search engines as co-existing priorities by utilizing a combined understanding of search engines, consumers, and web technology. I am mind boggled by the garbage that passes as SEO and makes anyone claiming to practice SEO look like a dolt. Yes, SEO moves fast. Yes, the strategies change periodically, but the essence of SEO basically stays the same.
This post started just picking on BAD SEO companies, but I figured I’d keep with the theme of picking on ad agencies a little bit instead (mainly because I couldn’t think of any good reasons not to). These same lies are told by clueless account executives at ineffective SEO companies as well as ad agencies. If you hear one…run for cover.
*Note to new readers…this post may contain heavy doses of sarcasm.
“Whole areas of knowledge and information have been defined into nonexistence because the system cannot know, understand, control, or measure them.”
- Anne Wilson Schaef
SEO/ Internet Marketing Training
