Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is such an exciting field, in my opinion, because it constantly changes. What works today may not work in six months or even three weeks. Practitioners of full time SEO can attest to the fact that they have to constantly keep up with algorithm changes as well as the way Internet sites are structured. This makes it very difficult for someone to rightfully claim to be an expert unless they have already accepted the fact that their world is one of constant education and re-education.
A thread at Cre8asite “calls out” so-called SEO experts, but does it in a manner that is slightly more abrasive than constructive. The poster claims that the only people that should be considered SEO experts are those that work within the actual engines. By that argument that would mean that the only expert airline pilots are the engineers that design airplanes.
For an interesting read, including one of the longest responses to a forum thread that I have seen in a while, check out Cre8asite’s discussion on “SEO Expertise.” (By the way I still cringe when someone introduces me as an SEO expert – because I know that I still have plenty to learn. Perhaps I am an expert in relation to some shady SEOs out there claiming to be experts, but I truly feel that only 5-10 people in the industry really deserve this title.)