Search Engine Marketing is not a Commodity Product
Another week and another client calls me to ask about yet another company claiming they can optimize his website and guarantee first page placement on Google. After doing my usual research, I find a Ripoff Report by an unhappy customer who felt they were taken for a lot of money. One unhappy customer does not make the company bad. But this exercise got me wondering about why so many of these SEO and PPC companies have so many complaints posted all over the Web?
SEO and PPC are Not Commodity Products
These companies that call small business owners trying to sell them their software to manage their SEO and PPC activities are trying to treat Search Engine Marketing as a commodity – a one size fits all so to speak. This is absolutely not the case and most likely the wrong business model for success.
Each of my client’s search engine marketing strategy is unique. It takes a deep understanding of their business, their customers and what they are trying to accomplish with their online marketing. It takes creating relevant content that appeals to their prospects and attracts them to their Website. And, what works for one company may not necessarily work for another.
Are there common elements to setting up search engine optimization or a pay-per-click advertising campaign? Absolutely. But what is a common exercise is just a piece of the search engine marketing puzzle.
Take Ownership for Your Online Marketing Success
The following will help you get the most out of your online marketing effort.
Do:
- Remember that search engine optimization, pay-per-click campaigns and social media activities are all marketing activities. If you are looking for someone to help you, make sure these people understand basic marketing principals. The technology is a tool – the means to an end – not the end itself. Those who spew technical jargon to confuse you should be suspect.
- Find someone with whom you can develop a long term relationship. This doesn’t mean hiring a consultant on a retainer, but it does mean having someone you can call and pay to help you when you need it.
- Understand that search engine marketing requires a long-term commitment by you to make it work for you. Your site will get better rankings in search engines if you write content regularly, keep your social media outposts updated and active and you monitor your progress and understand what works and what does not.
Don’t:
- Hire a company that requires they take over your website, makes a copy of your website, replaces your phone number with theirs (to track phone calls as well as clicks) or transfers your domain to their control! Your domain name, website and content are assets of your company and you need to remain in control of your assets and your brand.
- Respond to emails that say they can optimize your site and guarantee that they can get your site on the first page of Google. If you notice, all the emails say the same thing exactly – they just get sent from different fake email accounts. These hopefully go into your SPAM folder and should stay there.
- Believe any sales call that claims that their SEO software can get your site top rankings ever will. Although it may work for some small businesses depending on where they are located and how competitive their industry is, most small businesses in and around major cities or in very competitive fields (like plumbing, remodeling or roofing) will never achieve their claimed results. Find someone who can help you with your overall marketing effort to differentiate yourself from your competition.
Matt McGee wrote a very good article on How to Get Started with SEO that can provide a starting point for those interested in learning more. And although most small businesses may not need the $500 – $1000 per hour SEO consultant, you should plan to invest in someone who can help you do it right. At this point there are too many horror stories of small businesses being scammed out of a lot of money, time and visibility on the Web to not take this seriously.
What do you think? Can SEO and PPC be automated with software and become a commodity?
Tags: pay-per-click advertising, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, SEO
10 Responses to “Search Engine Marketing is not a Commodity Product”
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[...] Search Engine Marketing is not a Commodity Product | Masterful …7 hours ago by Debra Another week and another client calls me to ask about yet another company claiming they can optimize his website and guarantee first page placement on Google. – [...]
Great Post. So many companies neglect their basic SEO dot I’s cross T’s. It still seems to me that SEO is an afterthought for many companies. Hard to imagine in this day and age but true
Dave, I totally agree. All of my client’s websites include SEO from the beginning. Why have a website if you aren’t going to be found?
Fishing organizations: I have more stories from these companies calling my clients than I can write about. Thanks for commenting!
I am so glad to see posts like these. There are so many scammers in the industry today that it really gives most all SEO companies a bad name. I know of very reputable companies that do not make unreal claims and really do provide results. They are out there, you just have to really look closely at what it is that they are claiming they can do and how much they will charge to do it.
I agree. When you plan to have a website, it shouldn’t stop there. Promoting it should be the next critical step for your website to effective.
I hope you dont mind me trackingback on your post in my blog. 
.-= Lisa@Search Engine Optimization Consulting´s last blog ..My Sweetest turns 21 =-.
You’re right Debra, how can a person certainly find your website and know about what it deals without an SEO backing it? Even if your website has an accessible, usable, and clear corporate website design or ecommerce web site design to effectively cater to needs of clients but you have no support of an SEO, it’s difficult to make business advertisement and exposure. You will be left far far behind your competitors; while they’re moving 10 steps ahead, you’re just on to your first. So we should all learn how to exhaust the capacity of the web for our business especially if it has really one good corporate web design.
Thanks Marcus – yes you are totally correct. A great website without SEO built in is useless. But buyer beware those selling guaranteed first page results in Google. SEO needs planning, content and consistency.
No. It cannot be a commodity. I possibility could have specific programs for market segments, but even this is would be a once off campaign. The market is forever changing as is the PR and marketing strategies. In order to achieve high PR, exposure and ultimately improved reputation your marketing strategy must fit the SEM, and or SEO strategy. This is not a short term once of quick fix it is an ongoing dynamic and changing plan that a SEO company with sound researching and deep linking knowledge, coupled with solid article and writing skills will satisfy you and goggles strict guidelines for keyword linking.
Debra,
since starting Referenceme.ca, we have met several small business owners who, like you mentioned had been taken for their money. Fonrtunately, convincing them that our results would be better wasn’t too difficult because we do exactly what you spoke of. We show them a completely unique strategy for their site based on their needs and site realities. Finally, we set the right expectations with the client and work with them to build their site’s search engine optimization.