有待商榷的搜索引擎优化

Vernon: Okay guys, is everyone settled? Good. ①Wendy, why don’t you get the ball rolling?

Wendy: Thanks, Vern. As you all know, Delcom has decided to throw a lot of 1)green into internet marketing. We’re here today to 2)brainstorm ways to increase internet traffic to their various sites and hopefully expand their target base. So everyone put their thinking caps on and let’s get to it. Ideas?

Fran: Why don’t we take a look at SEO?

Vernon: SEO?

Wendy: Search engine optimization.

Fran: Right.

弗农：好了，大家伙，是不是每个人都准备好了？好的。温迪，何不从你开始呢？温迪：谢谢，弗恩。正如你们都知道的，Delcom公司已经决定在网络营销上投入大量资金。我们今天在这里来集体讨论为他们的网站增加数据流量的方法，希望藉此来扩展他们的目标市场。那么大家都好好想一想，然后我们就开始着手准备。有什么想法吗？

弗兰：我们为何不考虑看看SEO？

弗农：SEO？

温迪：搜索引擎优化。

弗兰：没错。

Vernon: I’m not quite with you.

Wendy: Go ahead, Fran. ②Give him the basics.

Fran: Basically the concept revolves around figuring out how search engines work, what people search for, which search engines are the most popular, and what terms or keywords are used most often. Then we put two and two together and try to optimize a company’s website to meet those criteria.

Vernon: I’m still not clear on how this benefits anyone.

Fran: Ah, sorry. The point is this: the higher and more frequently a website shows up in the search results, the more traffic that site will get from search engine users.

Vernon: This sounds like it has a lot of promise.

Wendy: ③The only problem is that it hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell in the American market.

Vernon: What? Why?

Fran: Wendy’s got a point. What with Google having something 3)akin to a 4)monopoly over there, ④this kind of marketing is just walking the green mile.

Vernon: How so?

Wendy: Google personalises search results now.

Vernon: Ah. And there’s no point discussing how a site is ranked if the ranking is potentially different for every user. Wendy: Bingo.

Vernon: ⑤So SEO is essentially pushing up the daisies? Fran: In the US market, yes. But Google hasn’t cornered the market in China yet, and I believe we could still utilize SEO to our advantage.

Vernon: Wendy, you’re the expert here. Do you want to add your two cents?

Wendy: I think Fran may have something. ⑥But let’s take this nice and easy so that this doesn’t turn into a poisoned 5)chalice.

Fran: I’ll get a team to look into whether it’s even a 6)viable option.

Wendy: Perfect. Alright, next on the agenda…

弗农：我不太明白你的意思。

温迪：继续说说看，弗兰，给他“科普”一下。

弗农：总的来说，这个概念围绕搜索引擎如何工作，人们上网搜索什么，哪种搜索引擎最受欢迎，以及什么样的短语或者关键词最常用为主要内容。然后我们据此推理，努力优化一家公司的网站，就能达到（Delcom公司的）那些标准了。

弗农：我仍然不是很清楚这如何从中获利。

弗兰：啊，对不起。问题的关键是这个：一家网站在搜索结果里出现得（排位）越高、（次数）越频繁，这家网站从搜索引擎用户那里得到的流量就越多。

弗农：这听起来似乎很有前景。

温迪：唯一的问题是这在美国市场根本不可能发生。

弗农：什么？为何呢？

弗兰：温迪说的有道理。因为谷歌在（美国）那里有些类似垄断着，所以这种营销手法只会是死路一条。

弗农：怎么会呢？

温迪：谷歌现在将搜索结果个性化了。

弗农：哈。那么就没有意义去讨论一个网站的排名怎样了，如果排名对每位用户来说都可能不同的话。

温迪：对极了！

弗农：那么SEO根本就是行不通的？

弗兰：对美国市场来说，是这样。但是谷歌还没有垄断中国市场，因此我相信我们还是可以利用SEO来达到我们的目标。

弗农：温迪，你是这里的专家。你想说说你的意见吗？

温迪：我认为弗兰说的有些道理。但是让我们慢慢来，这样它才不会变成圣杯里盛着的毒酒。

弗兰：我会让一个组去调查一下这是否是一个可行的选择。

温迪：很好！好吧，接下来讨论一下议程……

Smart Sentences

① Wendy, why don’t you get the ball rolling?温迪，何不从你开始呢？

get / set the ball rolling: get a process started, begin sth.（开始某项活动）。例如：

We’ve been trying to get the ball rolling on the construction of a new playground.

我们一直努力想启动新操场的施工。

② Give him the basics. 给他“科普”一下。

give sb. the basics: give sb. the basic training（让某人学点初级知识）。例如：

As part of the training, Leslie will give you the basics on how papers are made.

作为培训的部分内容之一，莱斯利会把制纸的基础知识告诉你们。

③ The only problem is that it hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell in the American market. 唯一的问题是这在美国市场根本不可能发生。

not get a snowball’s chance in hell: sth. impossible, sth. that will never happen, always used negatively（不可能的事，常以否定形式出现）。例如：

With those sales figures, she hasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of getting a bonus.

她的那些销售数字根本不可能让她得到奖金。

④ This kind of marketing is just walking the green mile. 这种营销手法只会是死路一条。

walk the green mile: head towards the inevitable（走向灭亡）。例如：

Few people would agree that radio is walking the green mile.

很少人会认为收音机正在消亡。

⑤ So SEO is essentially pushing up the daisies? 那么SEO根本就是行不通的？

push up (the) daisies: dead and buried（葬在地下）。例如：

I believe that letter writing is pushing up the daisies, as people are using telephone, email, social media, etc.

我觉得写信已经成为历史，因为大家都在用电话、电子邮件和社交网络等等。

⑥ But let’s take this nice and easy so that this doesn’t turn into a poisoned chalice. 但是让我们慢慢来，这样它才不会变成圣杯里盛着的毒酒。

poisoned chalice: an apparently very attractive opportunity, but one that will lead to failure（金杯毒酒，看似诱人实为有害的事物）。例如：

The new blog turned out to be a poisoned chalice—the more you explain, the more people believe you are guilty.新的博客结果成了害人的东西——你越解释，人们就越觉得你做错了。