I have seen a few comments around and about lately stating that there is no point starting a blog unless you have something to new/interesting to contribute, and that the SEO blog “market” is saturated with blogs, making it pointless for new SEO bloggers to start.
These comments irked me, and it took me a while to figure out just what it was that I disagreed with, then it struck me, it’s all a matter of audience.
There are a lot of SEO bloggers, thousands I would imagine, but it seems to me that they fall into two camps
Camp 1 – SEO Superstars & Superstar Wannabes
These people are targeting other SEOs as their audience. They are vying to be the first to blog about any new innovation, to create the next big thing and make it onto the most influential people in marketing list sometime in the near future. These are the X Factor candidates of the SEO world. Are there too many of them? Probably. Will many of them be disappointed? You betcha. Are a few of them worth watching for comedy value alone? I think so. But some, a selected few, will go on to be the superstars of the future.
Camp 2 – Local Heroes
These guys aren’t targeting other SEOs, they are blogging to drive sales and revenue. Their blog posts are simpler, written for people who have never heard of SEOmoz or Sphinn. They may never receive international acclaim, or be the best known name in the industry, but they are making a good living from knowing the industry and being able to communicate that through the least web savvy people they know. These are the equivalent of your local drama club: they’re more interested in bringing great service to people then they are in international acclaim.
The two groups do sometimes meet. There are some who manage to blog for their customers and for the SEO community, but I think they are the exception. No one should be discouraged from starting their own blog, but everyone should ask themselves the following questions:
- Why they are blogging
- Who they are blogging for
- If they have the time to commit to the kind of blog they want to write.
As long as you define your audience and write for them, the kind of people you are targeting will be the kind of people who come.
Perhaps that is one of the joys of having YOUmoz here. I couldn’t put this on my own blog because the people that blog is aimed at wouldn’t get it. So when I have something to say that I think the SEO community would be interested in, YOUmoz gives me the opportunity to post it. For the most part though, I like being able to write for a less sophisticated audience — there is less pressure to be new and innovative all the time, and yet I know that the information I am providing will still be useful to my readers.
Oh, and in case you’re interested, here is my little blog.
