4 minute read
Attention Small Business Owners
I’ve worked with clients in the past that rolled out a brand new website and branding for their company, then skimp on the SEO and Marketing. Here is a great article that illustrates the importance of NOT Skipping or Low Balling on the Search Engine Optimization of your website and business. Even when that is all implemented, you still need to constantly maintain, update, and change tactics via various diverse SEM strategies. Your Competitors Are! And YES, you as the client NEED to get involved! Even with all of our efforts, you will NOT get the full optimal results and ROIs without your knowledge of the business, experience in the industry, satisfactory customer service, and even lead feedback as a whole.
It’s like having a Ferrari, with NO Gas, NO Insurance, Parking it on the snowy streets of Chicago, and letting only your Grandma Drive it once a year to her doctors appointment and back! Really? Come on, it’s a freaking Ferrari NOT a Cavalier!
Some small business owners are getting SEO fatigue, opting for marketing that is simpler to understand and less risky. Others refuse to believe the rules have really changed and use outdated SEO tactics on the cheap. This, unfortunately, can lead to catastrophic outcomes as Google continues to hammer link networks.
Stop throwing money away with small, random project budgets that are not effective enough to keep your company afloat. Invest in a full website and SEO strategy NOW. Don’t get caught up in Link Building Scams or concentrate solely on Pay Per Click campaigns, because you will get penalized by Google and Bing and may never recover, or once the money dries up your past results are a desert of nothingness.
Does SEO By Itself Still Work?
While demand for SEO services remains healthy, those who integrate their marketing strategies are finding the best results. 38% of companies who say their SEO is “highly effective” have pulled SEO, social media, and other online strategies together. But this isn’t an easy task. And it’s a far cry from the straightforward link-building activities of past years.
This integrated SEO strategy requires a renewed emphasis on brand and audience. This DOES NOT mean that rankings are NO longer important. However, it does imply that priorities need to shift to remain competitive in the current SEO landscape.
Inserting Your Small Business Brand into SEO
It used to be possible to do SEO in isolation and never mention or inspect the brand. First with on-site tactics, then blog comments, and finally with widgets, infographics, and article marketing. While the purists will insist this wasn’t true, many small businesses forced their way onto page 1 of search engines with non-branded link-building tactics. Most agree that this is no longer effective.
Today’s top ranking sites have focused on audience optimization, the idea that the attraction of citations, social shares, and backlinks stems from an intimate understanding of what the audience is looking for. Content marketing is the activity that feeds an eager audience with high-quality materials, which is why 93% of marketers plan to use content marketing.
A funny thing happens when small businesses produce high-quality content: They want to put their name on it. Once again, Google is ahead of the masses, understanding that branded mentions (even those that don’t accompany a backlink) are a signal of legitimacy. This is perhaps why so many SEO professionals insist that press releases help rankings, despite some data to the contrary.
Don’t Ignore Your SEO Provider’s Calls & Emails
Despite the need for greater brand and social integration, 50% of small businesses still prefer to outsource SEO. However, the nature and frequency of interactions with the vendor will be vastly different now than in previous years.
To successfully build stronger content marketing, SEO professionals will need more knowledge of the business and their audience, which requires client contact.
As the SEO firm pushes press release activities, the small business needs to provide newsworthy ideas and approve final copy in a timely fashion to maintain a consistent editorial calendar. Business owners need to accept that branded mentions without backlinks are a good thing. This may sound crazy, but some small business owners don’t return phone calls from their SEO firm.
Now What?
Have you done SEO and/or SEM in the past? Google makes 500+ algorithm updates a year and tests around 2,500 different changes. It’s time for a revamping of your website and SEO strategy. Contact us for a NO Cost, NO Obligation Consultation of your website and it’s presence online.
Helpful Resources:
- Understand How Google Search Works Before You Start Your SEO Journey
- The Basic Guide To SEO: What To-Do & What Not-To-Do
- How To Hire The Right SEO Expert For Your Chicago Agency?
- 8 Principles For Successful On-Page SEO
- 13 Organic SEO Tips That Will IMPROVE YOUR SEARCH RESULTS
- List of Chicago SEO Companies