Search Engine Optimization: Art or Science?

I know. I know. You have probably heard this question before, and nobody seems to have a definite answer to this question. But the funny thing is that nobody asks why this questions comes up so often when discussing search engine optimization. Search engine optimization has become one of the hottest field and a few SEOs are making crazy amount of money for offering their art to those who want to gain more visibility on the web. But the truth is, search engine optimization is a science period. Search engine optimization by definition is a process that you go through to optimize your pages for better visibility on search engines. A process in my mind refers to something that is more scientific.

So why SEO consultants want you to believe otherwise? The answer is simple. A scientific process can be done by anybody. Sure, it won’t be easy, but as long as you know the rules and follow the rules, you will be fine. An art however indicates that you may need some special talent to pull it off. There is no question that we have very good and very bad SEO professionals, but their level has nothing to do with their talent. Those who have simply worked hard on improving their SEO knowledge usually are more effective than SEOs who try to wing it. Search engine optimization is a science, and you can absolutely do it yourself. Anybody who is telling you otherwise is just plain wrong.