Is brad callen right

[shrikey]

On seo elite brad callen made the statement that only 2% of a websites ranking is based on on page optimisation now i know this statement might not be right but does off page optimisation matter a great deal more than on page.

[EGOL]

In low competition, on-page optimization is very important.   However, when the competition gets really tough you enter a "battle of backlinks".

I don't know where that 2% number comes from or what it really means... he might be tossing out a low number just to make a point.

[AlanBleiweiss]

Brad Callen is touted as a "guru" across a number of "questionable" sites around the web.  the claim you're referencing is one of the ways he hypes his product to unsuspecting people looking for magic bullet methods to riches online.

[AlanBleiweiss]

And while EGOL is correct taht in high-competition you enter a battle of backlinks, in my experience, having a high quality, content rich site that then has quality backlinks wins out much more often than not.  And it takes a LOT of quality content.

While some industries have the ability to be manipulated by unnatural backlink profiles, sites that suffer on-site were a prime target of Google's Panda updates.  Myopic SEO.

[AlanBleiweiss]

Let's add a little clarity now.  On his "SEO Elite" site, he claims he's #1 organically for SEO Software.  He's nowhere near that when I do a search for that phrase.

And let's look at that single page site.  It's a classic example "get rich quick by this magic bullet" single page site with a ton of "proof" that you should by the product.  yes, he's got some top positions in google. No he has not made millions.  Ask him to show you the bank statements. He uses methods that are just as likely to get you penalized as not.

[RyanKent]

I wish I could offer more then 1 thumbs up to Alan's reply.

The internet is full of misleading SEO information. To anyone just starting out in SEO I suggest focusing on SEOmoz as your primary source of SEO information initially. Include Matt Cutt's blog and videos as well. This will shield you from most of the endless swamp of bad SEO advice.

There are other great sites out there. Alan shares his wisdom at http://searchmarketingwisdom.com/ and I would sincerely recommend adding that site to your list of "trusted" sources of SEO information. Keep in mind this plan is not fool proof. Even experts make mistakes, and many great sites are open to anyone sharing their thoughts.

I apologize if this seems like a rant it's just the original question ruffles my feathers. When I began to learn SEO I proceeded upon the "expert" advice I found and later had to unlearn my SEO "facts". I hope others do not have to travel down that road.