Dave Pasternack

Posted by Marios Alexandrou, SEO Resume.

I just caught wind of a debate going on about whether search engine optimization (SEO) is rocket science or not. Apparently, Dave Pasternack of Did-It thinks it isn't and DMNews recently published a follow-up interview with him about the backlash he received. The kind of reaction he received is not unexpected really. Anyone who is told that their profession could be done by monkeys (reading between the lines of Dave's comments here) is going to be offended.

So do I think SEO is rocket science? Nope. Mix in some analysis skills with a little creativity and you've got the potential to be quite good at SEO. Being interested in the area also helps. However, I'd also argue that just about every other profession in the corporate world isn't rocket science either. Take Dave Pasternack's company which does search engine marketing (SEM) or more specifically paid search. The same basic skills, analysis and creativity, are required to run PPC campaigns. Other roles like project manager, web developer, and technology directors also don't require the level of skill associated with rocket science as I'm sure you can attest to if you've worked in any of those roles.

Does that mean that people who are in these roles aren't providing value to their employers or clients? Does it mean they shouldn't be paid a decent salary? Not at all. If what you do affects the bottom line directly or indirectly then you should be rewarded accordingly. And if what you do becomes a commodity because a whole bunch of other people have jumped on to the same bandwagon or simply because it bores you, then use those same analysis and creative skills to move on to something more interesting and lucrative. That's always been my approach and if you look at my work history you'll see that I've done network support, client/sever development, web development, project management, and most recently search engine optimization. Who knows what's next!

If you liked this post, please consider sharing it with others.
  • Sphinn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Mixx
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
Related SEO/SEM Articles:
4 Responses to “Dave Pasternack”
  1. Andrew Beckman says:

    I do agree with Dave's initial review that it's not rocket science and in most cases SEO should be brought in-house, but I feel he was off target in his analysis of his "fix it once" point. Company's site structure maybe, but Link Development is a constant ongoing process that never ends especially on the more competitive keywords.

  2. Marios Alexandrou says:

    Andrew,

    I don't know that it's always right to bring SEO in-house. For small and medium companies it just might not make sense from a cost perspective to hire the necessary folks. There might also not be enough work to keep fulltime employees busy. For larger companies, the decision isn't as clear cut. I think there's a blog posting in the making here…

  3. Hugo says:

    SEO definitely isn't rocket science. So are most things outside of rocket science and brain surgery. However, it takes skill to be good at SEO. All for all the Dave Pasternack contest provides for a good forum for SEO professionals to test themselves.

  4. Dave Pasternack says:

    Thanks everyone for the kind words. In a drive to preserve the relevance of the search engines for the term "dave pasternack," I'm asking anyone who has a blog or website to post a link either to my Did-it bio page or to a page like the New Yorker article that contains information about the chef. By doing this, you will be improving the experience of all the searchers out there who are interested in learning about "Dave Pasternack." Thanks again.

Leave a Reply