Show Notes
Today’s episode gets off to a bang as we tackle the subject of SEO, inspired by an article written by an industry-leader that reads like one big contradiction. Search is important for a lot of businesses that rely on it for leads and customers but it’s also one of the least forgiving areas when it come to the “try – test – measure – try again” approach. Listen in as we share our thoughts on SEO, the dos, don’ts and definitely nots. We also talk email marketing and more.
In This Episode We Talk About
- Why the article is wrong without being wrong.
- The perils of the DIY approach to SEO and what small businesses should be aware of.
- How we helped one client go from a 3% open rate on his marketing emails to a 37% open rate in one try.
- And more conversation about marketing, two-factor authentication and whether or not it’s time to get divorced.
Links & Resources
- 7 Obsolete SEO Tactics You’re Wasting Your Time On
- The Marketing Game Changer Kit
- This is literally the end of the English language
Where To Listen
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I enjoyed this episode very much. Having been around this space for a while, I would like to posit that SEO as a strategy/activity is completely wasted on both the DIY-er and the average small business*.
Wait…what?
The Googleplex is staffed with more PhD’s than NASA. And the algorithm is improving daily. They (the search engines) have gotten really good at providing relevant results with amazing consistency. The days of the targeted anchor text link campaign providing any real, long-term benefit went the way of the Dodo after the “miserable failure” debacle.
There is no need to focus on keywords, backlinks, getting found, or ranking well. Instead, focus on giving your prospects and customers what they are looking for…information.
Every time a user types a search string into the box at Google, et al, they are asking a question. If you provide the answer to that question, then you are providing value. There is no silver bullet, red pill, or “10 simple steps to the first page of Google.” There is thoughtful, focused effort. It’s not sexy, I know. But continue to do that on a regular and consistent basis, and you will see your rankings, and your traffic go up.
As ever, the key to success is to focus on the customer. A bonus is that you get to avoid “red alert mode.”
Finally, for those who’s obsessive/compulsive personality drives them to worry over ranking factors… Remember, the Google (Bing, etc) algorithm is as impenetrable as a woman’s thoughts. We can make educated guesses, but no one who is unbound by double-secret NDA really knows for sure.
However, if you must…the folks over at Razor Social recently did a piece on SearchMetrics’ SEO Ranking Factors that I found useful.
I tend to agree! Most people I know panic every time Google sneezes and then everyone runs around trying to please the latest algorithm. If everyone invested half the tie trying to please their customers/prospects there would be a lot better content around.