Web Marketing Guide - SEO Alone is Not Enough

SEO Alone is Not Enough

By Jeffrey L. Smith

SEO, otherwise known as search engine optimization is a practice which involves streamlining the structure, contents and composition of your web pages to include signifying elements that search engines identify as relevant. Numerous tactics and methods are capable of delivering high ranking search engine placement, some more ethical than others, but just securing a position for a high ranking search term does not ensure success.

This very dichotomy is challenging to explain as most clients assume, if I can only get ranked for a specific term, the floodgates of traffic will beat a path to my door. This is not entirely the case, naturally, having a well positioned SERP is the first step, but SEO alone is not enough. It takes more than just a ranking to make a lasting impression on the fleet and nimble surfers that comprise the online community. Selecting an effective value proposition is first and foremost your best weapon in ensuring that when surfers shift from information gatherers to value conscious deal hunters that your website resounds in their mind amidst the thousands of potential options from companies who offers products or services partial to your own.

As an Seo company, we have become proficient in achieving top 5 and top 10 positions on our clients behalf and are constantly having to consult with businesses about the most effective ways to impact search engine rankings. However, conversion from the number of visitors who frequent the site to the number of visitors who make purchase, join a newsletter, or in some way become active participants with the website is an entirely different matter. What is the use of optimizing your site, if you have not clearly identified the focus of what it is you offer. Although we like to consider ourselves as objective when involved in writing our own copy and publishing our own marketing message, sometimes having an outside opinion from an industry expert is just what the doctor ordered. Make sure that every page clearly covers the who, what, where, when and how aspect, and don’t forget about the what’s in it for me mentality. Neglect any one of these elements and “Poof”, there goes another lost prospect back to perform another search to find a more sympathetic or structured offer.

The underlying message is, try new methods for your proposition. create a compelling offer, try a seasonal promotion, offer a discount if they purchase over the phone, or perhaps offer a discount if they purchase online, throw in an added bonus and see how visitors respond to your content. As an example we were able to increase lead generation for our own website by 800% just by changing one paragraph on our contact forms. Patience may be a virtue, but knowing when to ask for the sale is an art form. People purchase when they are ready to, not when you want them to, and no amount of SEO will ever change that. The best SEO can do is increase the probability that those individuals who are actively seeking products and services like your own can find you online. Just be aware SEO is not the cure all, but if harnessed properly it stands to reason that having 1000 potential clients at your website perusing through vs. 10 there is a greater probability that some percentage will purchase.

So what are you waiting for, hone your pitch, select the right keywords, test your offer and inevitably you will hit your target with precision. Whether it is 5000 visitors a day, x-amount of sales per week, y amount of subscribers to your newsletter rss feed or blog. Just remember to offer value to the visitor and the will reciprocate.