Where did I put that SEO button?
For all you people out there who are looking to do SEO, I have some seriously bad news. You might want to sit down for this. Ready? There is no instant SEO button. I’m sorry to have to bear this bad news to you, and I hate having to be the one to break it to you. There’s no switch either. Or simple form to sign, trick to use, or connections you can have with people on the inside. If you want to be there in the top of the field with the best sites, you can’t just call up Google and say “Ok I’m ready.” It takes work and it takes time.
Even though this is fairly well known by now, it’s tempting to think that SEO is that simple. Regardless of how good your SEO firm is, you still have to be a relevant site. Even then, it will still take work and effort to get you to the top of the search engine rankings.
It will happen, from time to time, that a new site will get into a contract for SEO and stop their own developments, essentially filling that one basket with all the eggs. This actually makes things more difficult for the SEO firms. The fact of the matter is that we don’t suddenly make your site more relevant to people searching on your terms. We work to make it so that Google can see your site better so they can decide how relevant you are. We will make suggestions on how to make your site more relevant to your users. A hard, but necessary question to ask yourself is whether your site really is the best site to show up for the given keyword. If it’s not, perhaps you need to make some adjustments.
Here are a few tips to making your site the best site available for your keywords:
- Make sure you have some method of keeping your site up to date, and a source of information (where possible). A blog, or news section works well for this idea.
- Don’t fall too in love with the overall design and look of your site. Be willing to make changes, and reorganize and restructure how the site works.
- Consider keywords that don’t have corresponding pages. Perhaps pages need to be created to fit that missing piece.
- Most importantly, continue to develop your site like you would your business.
In the end, having a website that people want to find makes SEO that much better and faster. Working with your SEO service provider to make sure that you really are the best site out there will do wonders, and not to mention make a lot of people happy–including your SEO firm.
Great post Scott.
SEO is not a product to be purchased. It involves an ongoing process, just like a marketing budget for any company. The world of technology–especially the internet (i.e. web 3.0, web 4.0, web 238.0 etc.)–changes so quickly that the real secret is adapting your site to meet these constant changes.
True SEO specialists aren’t simply professionals who have acquired all the SEO techniques of yesterday. They are those individuals who are planning for and predicting the future of internet/mobile/global marketing.
Yes, Scott, there will never be a ‘magic’ button for this kind of work.
Very Nice article Scott….
Actually I was thinking about this and you just mentioned all the things in your this article….
You are right that there is not instant button for SEO…. or any trick that i will give to anyone and he will be an SEO….
SEO is not a rocket science…. but its a science of experience…. In SEO your experience will help you more then your knowledge….
This post is a breath of fresh air, Scott. There are so many supposed SEO firms out there that tout unrealistic claims and make impossible promises just to get a client and then scam them out of their hard-earned marketing dollars.
If business owners can finally begin to wrap their heads around the fact that SEO is not a “one-time” thing and that developing a search engine friendly website is an ongoing process, perhaps we can finally start to shed the stigma that the entire industry is nothing but a scam. Kudos!