Doing SEO, I hear a lot of questions that I can give practical answers to. Questions like:
How do I know which keywords to target? How can I build links to my site? How can I use social media to promote my business? What can I change on my site to make it rank better.
I’ve got answers for those questions. I like those questions; those are productive, forward thinking questions which indicate a willingness to put in the work.
Oh and the short answers are: research, content, build relationships, and probably a lot.
And then there are the other kinds of questions. The questions that have helped flatten my forehead as a result of head butting my desk.
How long will it take until my site ranks #1? When can I stop building links? How long do I have to do this SEO stuff? I changed my title tags, why aren’t my rankings better?
See, these questions represent a short-cut mentality. These questions indicate someone looking for a fast answer, and in SEO, there just isn’t any. So the answers to these questions look more like; Maybe never, definitely never, for ever and …seriously?
Silver Bullets are for Werewolves…and beer.
Search engine optimization is not a one-shot deal. It’s never going to be. Anyone who tells you that you can make a one time investment and never again think about SEO is lying to you. It’s never going to be as simple as “Build 1,000 links overnight and rank forever.” Or “Order this report for $5,000 and your website will rank #1!” I’m sorry if I blew up anybody’s sales pitch here, but it’s just not real.
Search engine Optimization is defined by Wikipedia, dictionary.com, entrepreneur.com and hundreds of other reliable sources as “the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” or un-paid (”organic” or “algorithmic”) search results”. All of the definitions are similar with the main commonality being the use of the word “process”. Now the definition of a “process” is a systematic series of actions directed to some end. A “series of actions” plural, implying, several, and repeated. There’s a reason for that.
A good SEO strategy is an ever evolving “process” which will require constant monitoring, updating, re-shaping and growth. If an SEO program is not growing, it is stagnating.
Starting an SEO campaign means a commitment from both the site owners and their internet marketer. No one can promise you a magical solution that will permanently propel you to the top of the rankings for any phrase, not for lack of talent or trying, but because nothing is permanent in the world of search.
Double, Double Dot Com Bubble, Learn the Lessons, Skip the Trouble.
The practice of making a site rank doesn’t involve sorcery, but what IS magic is the relationship between an SEO and a client. When both sides are invested and committed to collaboration, creativity can abound and anything is possible.
But it won’t be quick. Writing a check to your SEO isn’t like ripping off the band-aid and waiting for the sting to die down, it’s an investment in your future.
This is why it’s so important to find the right person, company, or method of promoting a website. Finding the perfect blend of passion and knowledge in an SEO is hard. Finding the right synergy between SEO and client is even harder. But when it happens you have a relationship that can be inspiring and profitable on both sides.
Good SEOs continually re-define themselves. Like hundreds of tiny little Madonnas running around in cone bras with English accents. We study, we learn, we re-learn what we thought we already knew. We test, we study, we cry at the results, ask questions and we test some more. With a mentality that is constantly striving for longevity in a world which prefers that hot fires burn out quickly. A good SEO campaign must have the same spirit. It must be fluid and in a constant state of motion.
If the growth of the internet has taught us anything it is that inertia, and adaptability are what breed a long life on line. Rigidity and resistance will only lead to web-death, which is an inglorious dissolution into obscurity for most, or for the lucky ones, immortality as a punch line. Just ask the original Pets.com, not the one powered by PetSmart, the one with the dog puppet from 99’.
Engaging in online marketing is no longer an option for businesses, but doing so must be viewed for what it is, a constant, a new way for a business to breathe. Sure, some parts will be simple; re-writing a title tag, changing some internal anchor text, adding a blog to your website technically won’t take very long. But it’s ongoing keyword research and monitoring rankings, or maintaining a successful blog that will begin to peel away the hours of your business day like layers of an onion.
No matter how you see search engines as a part of your business, they are a channel, which offer unparalleled opportunities for exposure. For any business ready to attempt to capitalize on that potential, there are no easy answers and there is no short cut. The only element of SEO for which speed should be a factor, is a web site’s load time. But, that’s about it. As for the rest, prepare for the long haul, or be prepared to be left in the dust.
