Sun Tzu Statue in Japan I’ve got a new SEO eBook coming out this week. One of the chapters that I have in the book is about Sun Tzu and his principles of war applied to SEO. For those who don’t know, Sun Tzu was a general was from the State of Chi and lived sometime between 544 to 496 BC.
According to biographer Sima Qian, Sun’s military prowess brought him to the attention of the King Ho Lu of Qi. He impressed the king enough that he was given command of the armies, and he proceeded to kick some serious ass.
Here are a few excerpts from the book, with Sun’s words in bold.
According to biographer Sima Qian, Sun’s military prowess brought him to the attention of the King Ho Lu of Qi. He impressed the king enough that he was given command of the armies, and he proceeded to kick some serious ass.
Here are a few excerpts from the book, with Sun’s words in bold.
Zhou Dynasty Area of Control “There are circumstances in war when many cannot attack few, and others when the weak can master the strong. One able to manipulate such circumstances will be victorious.”
Probably the best thing to remember is that many of the rules and strategies of SEO aren’t hard and firm. Big Boys [large companies or sites you want to usurp] with huge SEO and marketing budgets routinely fall short of their smaller and less-equipped competitors. And no matter how much money you throw at a problem, once it’s out there in the social media universe there’s very little that can be done.
It’s very easy for smaller more agile content marketers to attack the Big Boys than it is for the Big Boys to attack them. After all, an attack on a ‘lesser’ might make that particular adversary seem weak. Couldn’t they spend their time doing something better, like improving their customer service?
Many times larger Big Boys can’t attack because it would open themselves up to attack somewhere else. If you rush to lay blame on their feet for a major problem with their service, a terrible product that promises way too much, or a complete lapse of reality when responding to new market information then they may not attack. You could be expecting them to, and perhaps they even want to, but to do so would do them more harm than your attack is currently producing.
Does that mean it’s having no effect? Many times it’ll be very difficult to gauge that. The more information you have the more power you’ll have to manipulate the situation to your benefit. When you’re able to take factors like size, strength, and resources out of the equation you can meet your opponent on a firm footing. Find out what those circumstances are, and multiply them.
Probably the best thing to remember is that many of the rules and strategies of SEO aren’t hard and firm. Big Boys [large companies or sites you want to usurp] with huge SEO and marketing budgets routinely fall short of their smaller and less-equipped competitors. And no matter how much money you throw at a problem, once it’s out there in the social media universe there’s very little that can be done.
It’s very easy for smaller more agile content marketers to attack the Big Boys than it is for the Big Boys to attack them. After all, an attack on a ‘lesser’ might make that particular adversary seem weak. Couldn’t they spend their time doing something better, like improving their customer service?
Many times larger Big Boys can’t attack because it would open themselves up to attack somewhere else. If you rush to lay blame on their feet for a major problem with their service, a terrible product that promises way too much, or a complete lapse of reality when responding to new market information then they may not attack. You could be expecting them to, and perhaps they even want to, but to do so would do them more harm than your attack is currently producing.
Does that mean it’s having no effect? Many times it’ll be very difficult to gauge that. The more information you have the more power you’ll have to manipulate the situation to your benefit. When you’re able to take factors like size, strength, and resources out of the equation you can meet your opponent on a firm footing. Find out what those circumstances are, and multiply them.
China on the cusp of the Spring and Autumn Period “Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.”
This is the primary weakness of the Big Boys you’ll be going up against – they’re fear of change. Really, it scares the shit out of them. They’re whole business model is set on something, or a few things perhaps, and waves are not what’s wanted.
But that’s what you’ll give them, won’t you? And you’ll do it by not falling in the same trap, which is to think the same thing will work again. No battle is the same just as no blog post is the same. Sure, you may be able to see similarities, and those will help you in taking apart the situation and figuring out how to take advantage of it.
A slight feint where before there was a parry; a mocking play on words where before you came straight out; or filling holes in content where before you only pointed them out – these are all wonderful methods of changing up your attack.
This is the primary weakness of the Big Boys you’ll be going up against – they’re fear of change. Really, it scares the shit out of them. They’re whole business model is set on something, or a few things perhaps, and waves are not what’s wanted.
But that’s what you’ll give them, won’t you? And you’ll do it by not falling in the same trap, which is to think the same thing will work again. No battle is the same just as no blog post is the same. Sure, you may be able to see similarities, and those will help you in taking apart the situation and figuring out how to take advantage of it.
A slight feint where before there was a parry; a mocking play on words where before you came straight out; or filling holes in content where before you only pointed them out – these are all wonderful methods of changing up your attack.
Want to read more? Check out Visit My Site, Bitch! Unconventional SEO Tactics for 2014
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