Why not all bloggers need SEO

Ahmed Bilal wrote a piece on “Why bloggers need SEO” on Performancing and while I agree on his suggestions on a purely optimization perspective, I do not believe all bloggers need them.

I’ve been blogging since 2000, right after I learned how to code in basic HTML or how to resize or crop a picture in Photoshop. I discovered blogging out of passion to learn new and exciting stuff and everyday there was something new to discover. I wasn’t compensated for it. Even on my first job, I would sneak in a post or two during work hours and redesign my blog instead of re-designing the company website (yeah, it was one of the signs that I suck as an employee).

Every post was made for my personal consumption or some very select friends, but mostly for me alone. The hundreds or thousands of posts in those archives bring memories of youth and countless heartaches. Then, my mother discovered my blog (and she didn’t even know how to use a computer — darn those friendly net cafe watchers). That’s the time when I realized personal blogging (or online journals) is not good for me. Anyway, I digress.

Going back to the topic. I kept that archive online but hidden to most people. I moved it elsewhere. It’s still intact but I’d rather that I’m the only one who knows about it. It’s not password protected or anything but one could not find it if they searched far and wide. In short, I didn’t need SEO for it.

• I don’t need link-building. No other site or domain links to it.
• I don’t need good permalinks. The urls are in numerical format (domain.com/number/number/).
• No titles. The old Blogger didn’t support one so when I migrated to WP, they didn’t have any except for numerical fingerprints.
• I don’t use any analytics tools. Goodbye Google Analytics, Feedburner, etc.
• Quality content? Un-checked! 90% of those posts are pure rants and one-liners.
• Do I promote it? Un-checked. Except for very close and trusted friends who begged to see the archives, I’d be scared if someone else discovers it.

In short, I don’t want anybody else to know that blog. So, why do I need SEO again?

And I’m sure there’s a reason why some platforms like LJ are closed to the public and requires membership before a friend can read their entries.