SEO is a blend of technical and creative marketing elements.
When we are tasked with improving a brand’s online presence with search engine optimization (SEO), we can become obsessed with generating “HUGE” results in a miraculously magical manner, but the truth is:
SEO is a process, and takes time.
It sure would be great to have a magical wand at our disposal, one that we could wave over a website, and then immediately see the sales funnel fill up with prospects who came upon our products and services via the web; some digital marketing companies will claim to have said wand, and you should be very keen to stay away from them.
SEO Should Be Used To Drive Targeted Traffic And Improve Lead Generation
Keep reading if you want to know how to succeed without the help of Harry Houdini, or Harry Potter for that matter….
Alakazam! (Not)
With all of the search engine’s changing algorithms, and evolving guidelines for success, it can be tough to know where to focus your SEO strategies. In the past, a website could rely on clean code and relevant content when it came to being treated fairly by Google and other top dogs in the search engine world. Now, with social media, business review sites, and a wealth of other factors that come into play, things are a bit more complicated. Well, yes, and no.
The online mystery and illusions have all but disappeared.
The web used to be a place that bared very little resemblance to the real world marketplace. As technology has improved and evolved, so has the online world. You can do virtually everything you need as a consumer online, and you can do it better than if you tried to accomplish all of your tasks in the brick and mortar world.
We are in a place now where your strategy for success online should more closely mimic what you would do to succeed at an actual office or retail location.
Say What?!?
The fact is, content is king. You need to ensure that your efforts online accurately represent the “real” you. Your brand needs to have transparency, easy and open lines of communication, and a large collection of valuable information as it relates to your offerings.
Search engine optimization is not about tricking Google into giving you a first-page ranking, it is about letting Google (or any other search engine) know why you deserve to be given preferential treatment over your competitors.
Some things that matter for SEO:
1. Reviews
How your customers provide feedback and reviews online, and how you receive and use this information.
2. Information that helps
What information do you provide to customers to help them make purchasing decisions, and how you provide it.
3. Online Communities
What online communities do you use to stay connected, and how often do you use them?
See, the bottom line is that if you want to succeed online now, you need to focus on all of these things as part of an organic growth process that occurs during your brand’s evolution. Sure, the technical factors that influence your SEO campaigns still matter, but it is the tech guy’s job to handle that. You need to know your business inside and out, and you need to communicate effectively with your current customers and prospects.
4. Finally – KISS
“Keep It Simple Stupid” has never been a more relevant phrase. If you get bogged down with tech jargon and Google rumors, you’re going to go nuts. KNOWING yourself and your brand’s role is the most important factor in achieving lasting success online.
Targeted and relevant traffic to your website is the key to converting a prospect into an active sales lead, and you will only receive the visits if your site is self aware and does a great job of differentiating you from your competitors. You need really good content, you need to stay in contact with the social media heads, and you need to be YOURSELF.
You absolutely have questions, and we’d like to continue the conversation as well, contact us soon.
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Cassandra is the Content & Social Media Strategist at ThinkFlame. There is no challenge too big or too small. She enjoys creating, integrating and managing online communities and working with clients to building up their social footprint.