Most people venture onto the Internet to solve a "search problem." If the Web site that would best satisfy the intent of their query does not contain any targeted keywords in any of the places where search engines would look for them, that document will not be presented to that searcher. Therefore, the activity of search engine positioning benefits the searchers, the search engines, and the Web site itself. In fact, the reason the SEO industry exists at all is that a Web site will gain little ground in being found in a search engine by simply following the tips that the search engine posts on its submission pages. Why is this? The search engines do not want to reveal their proprietary ranking methodologies for fear that the unscrupulous will abuse that knowledge. That's their right, as it is our right to include relevant keyword phrases in the metadata and on the viewable page of our clients' Web sites so that they will produce higher search engine results.

It is not, as articles in the trade and business press have attempted to characterize it, an "escalating online arms race." This is not "Spy vs. Spy." It is one industry responding to the realities created by another, and responding, usually in such a way that benefits all involved. However, reporters have controversy and controversy sells newspapers and magazines. On many occasions, I've been asked to discuss search engine positioning in terms of "us against them." In each instances, I simply refuse to sling mug. We are fighting every day to communicate to the world the legitimacy of our industry, and I will not contribute to an article that seeks to marginalize what we do. Search engine positioning has emerged as a legitimate, highly valuable, and, dare I say, necessary, component of every online marketing campaign. There is no need to resort to sensationalism to attract attention, especially since most search engines positioning service companies have more business inquiries than they can answer.

Search engine positioning was "home-grown"...with companies literally springing up out of garages and spare bedrooms. This was a start-up business category that didn't exist ten years ago in any fashion. As a result, search engine positioning started as a classic "cottage industry" that is just now growing up. Many practitioners were Web pioneers...home based entrepreneurs, self-taught through newsletters and books. Regrettably,many of these home-based pioneers are willing to say anything to trade press, believing in the ever-popular "any press is good press" adage. As these companies age, they will learn the folly of that belief. Press coverage that makes a mockery of our industry category and scare away established bricks-and-mortar companies is detrimental to our very survival. Until then, our company will continue to evangelize about the need for, the value, and the legitimacy of this industry we call "search engine positioning."

Listen up, folks: Search engine positioning is here to stay. Like other professions, it has its own skill sets and tricks of the trade, and like most professions, it is beginning to take on the form of a true discipline. It has noted leaders, its own body of principles, a recognized methodology, refined techniques, and its own language. But what it lacks is a community of discourse...a shared understanding of its tenets and how to best implement them.