There is an outstanding thread by Tedster, Ted Ulle, at WebmasterWorld. The topic is on too many newbie SEOs taking the SEO advice given on forums, blogs, news sites and here at face value. He is concerned that a new SEO will read something and not understand the true meaning of what is really being said.

Let me quote a piece of his concern:

Truth be told, I am a culprit of spreading information that is not explained in detail each time I write it. Personally, I don’t have patience, I don’t have patience listening or reading something that needs to be explained in detail. I tend to get things quickly, at least I think I do, so listening to someone go on and on to make sure everyone is on the same page – well, it drives me nuts. So since that is my personality, I often don’t have the patience to explain things that I already know. It isn’t the best characteristic of myself, but we all have flaws, and this is one of mine.

Those who read this site every day, know this flaw in my writing and know how to read beyond what I write. If I make a comment that most people would likely break out into more detail and I don’t, my reader knows why. I try my best to write concisely and get to the point without repeating myself, unlike what I am doing here. But sometimes without reviewing stuff and explaining it in detail, some new people to the industry that read my stuff won’t get it fully and take it at face value.

I would say 50% of my posts, specifically when I offer SEO specific advice, don’t go into enough detail for new SEOs to fully understand what to practice. That is a fault I have and you need to know that.

I have a recent example and I hope this person doesn’t get upset with me using him as an example, but the content is out there in the public and thus complies with my blogging code of ethics.

Here is the tweets sent to me a few days ago:

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@rustybrick Hi, I got a questions, how does SocialMedia impact on Google-Ranking? Is there any impact?less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhoneOguzhan KalkanKalkanOguzhan

.bbpBox22285580295 {background:url(http://a3.twimg.com/profile_background_images/126469275/2010-07-25_07-41-35_94.219.20.215.jpg) #333300;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

@rustybrick not the same power like a Link, am I right?! just like that the bot recognisize that the site is popular for some relevant KeyW?less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhoneOguzhan KalkanKalkanOguzhan

Most experienced SEOs know that social media typically doesn’t have a direct impact on your link building. It typically does not directly impact your Google rankings. What it does do it get people to become aware of your web site and the awareness may drive more links and the more links may drive better rankings in Google. So if I ever say that social media helps your Google rankings, that is what I may mean. I may skip over the details as to why and understanding why is important.

I am not the only SEO blogger who is guilty of taking this short cuts, so keep it in mind. And honestly, it is much worse in the forums. Then what you have is what Tedster described, new SEOs preaching half truths to other new SEOs and their clients and we got a problem. I apologize, but it is a bad habit I doubt will ever change. So please keep this in mind when reading what I write.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.