Despite the link-baity headline, don’t get me wrong, I friggin’ love Google. I’ve been drinking their Kool-Aid for over ten years. There are only two things I really enjoy in life: SEO and spending time with my family. OK, I like fishing too, but it really isn’t about that.
I am writing this post to point out how complicated and confusing Google guidelines have become. SEO-friendly web design has evolved into its own genre of web coding. Yet, very few web designers have a deep understanding of SEO.
Many of us SEO grunts know from experience that design-driven sites require a lot of tweaking and cleanup work. When you toss in the fact that algorithms have become increasingly punitive in nature, it’s easy to see how small businesses and webmasters can get frustrated with the ever shifting algorithmic sands.
Google reminds me of the IRS in that the tax code in the US has become so complicated that no one really ever knows any more if there are breaking or complying with all of the rules. Google’s policies are becoming so complex that they often have trouble playing by their own rules…
