SEO for Real People

What is 2% milk really? I mean, how come I can’t get 50% milk?

Well, because 2% represents the percentage of the total volume. 50% percent would be butter! So if you take a gallon of 2% milk and pour it into 2, separate, 1/2 gallon containers, then it should be …. it’s still 2% milk.

So what does this have to do with SEO?

If you take a crappy SEO strategy from your home page and apply it to your other pages, you still have a crappy SEO strategy!

Before you apply anything to your site in an attempt to make it rank better, you had better ensure that it is part of an overall sound strategy. If I have a partly good piece and a really good piece, I have AN OVERALL PARTLY GOOD STRATEGY! Nothing in SEO can be better than the weakest or worst part. If it isn’t all really good, then it’s not good overall.

You have to validate each piece of your strategy to make it the best possible for the overall strategy. And that is not always as easy as it sounds.

Competitive markets are easier to evaluate than non-competitive one’s. There’s more information available to include in the analysis and therefor your data is more complete and you have more to compare it to. Less data means more assumptions or predictive modeling is used. People that do not have proven skills in analysis can only rely on intuitive or made up reasoning. Not a sound approach.

I have a client who is asking about the differences between Alexa provided bounce rates versus his collected Google Analytics bounce rates. What is the very first thing you should tell the client? What are several things you can tell the client right away without doing any analysis?

You have to know what you are talking about and don’t try and BS your client. If you don’t know, tell them so and then tell them you will research and get back to them. Build confidence and instill trust. Don’t try and sell them 50% milk.

I started a topic on this discussion title on  insocialmedia.com, you can read it here http://www.insocialmedia.com/group/websanalysts/forum/topics/your-seo-secrets

Although there is a lot that you can do on your own to boost the search engine optimization of your website, it is generally much more advantageous to enlist the search engine marketing services of an SEO marketing company that is well versed not only in the basics of SEO, but also the newest, latest and greatest technologies that will launch you to the top of the search engine results pages so that people will be able to find your website when looking for relevant keywords and the appropriate solutions to their problems.

Enlisting the help of a search marketing agency is a smart move if you are trying to build a website that is search engine friendly, because it means working with experts in the SEO arena who know exactly what it takes to get a website to the top of the search engine results for the keywords that matter most to you. SEO search engine marketing companies tend to be well versed in both online and offline marketing techniques, so they know the ins and the outs of all forms of marketing and can help you take your website to the top. Appearing in the top of the search engine listings is absolutely vital if you want your website to get the exposure that you need to drive sales, and a search engine marketing company can help you achieve this.

Although an investment is required when it comes to working with search engine marketing services, your return on investment will be great if you collaborate with a good SEO marketing team that knows what they are doing when it comes to both on page SEO and off page SEO. A hard working search marketing agency will utilize the latest and greatest techniques and technologies for search engine optimization on your website, on other websites by creating linking campaigns, and also in your content creation and optimization in order to create the perfect optimized website that meets all of the qualifications search engines require for good ranking while still appealing to your human visitors by providing optimized and informative content, a friendly and maneuverable website design and plenty of visual appeal.

What makes it so vital to work with a search marketing agency and to utilize their search engine marketing services is that they know how to combine good site design with search engine optimization and content optimization in order to create a website that is properly optimized for search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo as well as your human visitors, because driving sales, membership sign ups and other actions does not only mean attracting visitors via search engines, but also giving them a reason to stick around on your website through a site that is easy to maneuver and visually appealing. It is this combination of services that an SEO agency can provide to you, giving you the best of both worlds and making sure that your website appeals to all traffic, human and otherwise.

“I want to be #1″ … “It doesn’t take long to rank” … “I need to have 20,000 visitors a day” …

These are just some of the demands or statements that clients have made to me during intake interviews. The funny thing is that I know personally of people who say “no problem” to these things rather thing laying it out straight for the client. And when it doesn’t happen the way the client thought it would, whose tush is in the frying pan?

To mitigate the issues that can arise out of misunderstandings you have to manage your client’s expectations.

How do you do that?

It’s pretty easy, but you have to do it ll the time to get in the habit.

1. Never promise or guarantee anything.

2. Explain it in detail and constantly ask if there are any questions.

3. Put it in writing.

4. Ask them one more time if they understand what is going to happen.

What do I men by never promise or guarantee anything? Simple, in this business of SEO, there are no guarantee’s. Why? Because there are too many variables that we have no control over, too many things that are are ambiguous and can, will and do affect our best intentions.  This morning for example, I was ranked #7 for a keyword phrase I have been working on for for a while, made a jump from 16 to 7 (+9) from one index date to the next. An hour ago I searched the term again and it was number 11 (page 2). My happy face turned ot a frown and I let out a few exclamations under my breath. You would think that for as long as I have been doing SEO (12+ years) that I would learn to accept such issues by now. Not so, I am too prideful.

My second point is to explain everything, each step (see the other post I made about the Phases of SEO and Maintenance) that is required and what will happen. Do a PowerPoint or some other type of presentation and have a document (PDF) that you can email as an attachment that they can look at while you are speaking to each phase and action.  Make sure you write on there, “Do you have any questions?” top and bottom.

Finally, have a document, whether it be an Agreement or Statement of Work or whatever you use, but state in there clearly that there are no promises being made regarding how long it will take nor what position may be achieved. Consult your legal counsel and if you don’t have one, rent one!

Just following these simple steps every time you begin an engagement will save you a lot of heartache down the road.

If you have any question contact me and if I am able to help, I will be happy to assist you.