I enjoy being a Christian SEO; but when I am reminded of the high standards of being an heir and son of God (that all of life is worship, that we are all priests of a holy nation, and that we are to do all things as unto the Lord) it makes me wonder if I have created my own version of a "Milton World." It is the Christian search for meaning in all things.

So this article is the beginning of what I hope becomes a larger discussion between Christian Internet Marketing firms, Christian SEMs, and other Christian advertising agencies and executives. To that end, I offer two suggestions of what I believe it means to be a Christian search engine guru and two suggestions of what it does not mean.

Two Misconceptions of What it Means to Be a Christian SEO

First, I want to dispel any myth that the Christian search for value or meaning in their work requires them to give away their work or services for free--even to churches. We are free do that--and often times I do offer to help out churches and causes for free--however, Scripture says that you should not muzzle an ox (Deut. 25:4) and a worker is worthy of his wages (Luke 10:7)--yes, even for a lowly Christian advertising specialists like me. I have to remind myself of that. I have to remind myself that I have no reason to feel guilty for earning a living.

This leads in to the second point. Living in the reality of the gospel reminds me that I am not living a life of obligation--a life of having to prove my worth or offer works worthy of heaven. Christ has paid it all--and thank goodness He has, because the treadmill of obligation never allows for us to be able to say that we have done enough. So the second point, of which I remind myself, is that the world of Christian search engine optimization is no different from the rest of my world--it is all God breathed and full of grace. I can lay down obligation, so that I can pick up the fruit of God's will for my life; which brings us to the next point.

Two Truths of What it means to be a Christian SEO

So how does being a Christian search engine guru differ for me, than for someone who is not a Christ follower? It differs in that I have a relationship with a God who loves me and desires to use my small talents to create great works of value that reach far beyond what I could do without Him.

Scripture is an amazing piece of work. It is a collection of the critical history, philosophy, psychology, science, poetry, and legal codes that span 6,000 of the history of God's people--all in less than a thousand pages! Every word is very carefully chosen; which is why Exodus was mind-boggling to me, the first time I read it. Chapters 25-30 go in to tedious detail on how to build a tabernacle. Then to my astonishment, it says, "and they built it," repeating the same information, almost word for word, from chapters 35-40!

Why would such precious space be wasted on this repetition? I do not even allow that much repetitive code in the Christian Internet sites I build. I now believe the reason to be God's desire to draw our attention to something very significant: our talents, in God's hands, allow us to take part in building things greater than we could begin to imagine.

The talents of Ancient Israel, in obedience to the voice of God, produced something greater than they could have ever built on their own: a place of sacred space and communion, between God and His people.

On my own, I can use my Christian based search engine optimization talents to lift churches in the SERP rankings; but if I am willing to wait and act out of direction from God, I may be led to build Christian Internet sites that deepen my communion with the Almighty--who knows. All I do know, is that my talents do not add obligation to my life; instead, they are simply tools for God to welcome me in to joining Him in His work. That is a thought which gives me great joy and anticipation, wondering about the possibilities.

The final point I would like to offer stems from the Scriptural principles of honoring your word (Pr. 12:17) and doing your work, "as unto the Lord." (Col. 3:23-24) Since most of the work is done behind the scenes with no one watching, and since there little more to go by than the rankings achieved, the majority of the Link Portfolio building process requires the word of the SEO being hired to complete the necessary work. So the value of honoring one's word becomes very important for the Christian SEO, as well as for any potential client desiring to hire a Christian search engine optimization expert.

So to summarize, being a Christian SEO is not just another obligatio