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RSSWhat sent me into this tail-spinning panic? An article titled "Troubled Times for SEO Firms."
Disclaimers:
--I do not know, nor have I ever met, the author of that article. This is not a personal attack on him or his company.
--This article is the opinion of Joshua Palau (yeah, I went third person). The views expressed here may or may not be shared with my company.
--These are not the ramblings of someone who is simply trying to protect the underworld of SEO. I advocate being engaged in both paid and organic search.
The "Troubled Times" article references the just released Search Marketing Guide and speculates that SEO firms are in trouble because clients believe SEO:
--Is not rocket science;
--Is a once-only-and-then-done solution;
--Can lead to penalties if you push the envelope.
"There are 3 kinds of lies--Lies, damned lies, and statistics." Homer Simpson once told a reporter "People can come up with statistics to prove anything. Forty percent of people know that."
The benchmark guide is exactly that--a guide--and the data delivered can be interpreted in different ways. If you simply look at year-to-year growth, the numbers look flat, but that doesn't tell the whole story. The report says "getting a handle on SEO spending is unusually inexact... the costs of SEO are hidden inside of other budget items... assuming SEO takes only half their time, 40k - 50k doesn't sound free." (p. 35). Based on this and my experience, I don't think the number is as flat as it appears in a bar chart.
Nothing is rocket science, except rocket science. I work with smart clients who have more acronyms at the end of their names then I do. They are capable of comprehending and executing an SEO strategy. Yet when you add SEO to a list that includes additional responsibilities, employing a specialist makes sense.
I've watched an SEO engineer reads patent filings to see what can be learned about possible algorithm changes. I've seen him look at two clients in the same industry, pinpoint the issue and devise a solution that worked. Web development, usability, paid search, and creative development are not rocket science, but there is value in leaning on a resource that plays in the space full time.
SEO--set it and forget it. This only works for Ron Popeil and his incredible Rotisserie Oven. Still, I agree with it to varying degrees. A one-time solution may work for a small site or one that is very niche because of its limited keyword universe. Since clients continue to tweak their sites, I think that SEO needs to be in the conversation. If you have a page that ranks but does not convert, you may add more conversion words. This tweak may alter your keyword density and thus compromise the rankings.
This idea also assumes that everyone understands all the factors that affect your results. Many are aware of keywords and content, but what about changing your CMS, appending URLs with tracking tags, or changing web servers? Taking this a step further, how many of these decisions are the sole responsibility of the marketing department?
The SEO penalty box. If it's not rocket science, it's not that hard--so I should know the boundaries, right? There certainly are penalties that exist--which underscores the importance of an expert.
I applaud the "troubled times" article for pointing out the factors that lead people to shy away from SEO. I swear there is not some conspiracy to make SEO too ambiguous and difficult, but in some ways it just can be--just like paid search, usability, and all the other marketing tactics. We just need to work with clients to help them understand what aspects of SEO make sense.
So fear not, SEOers. The world is not as bleak as described--at least not today.
1 person recommends this article.
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This mistake is all too common... "taking it for granted!" ...And back to the chalkboard we go!
I should stress that the www is still an infant, and what we optimize for today in SEO, may not be the factors used tomorrow. So keeping abreast on all the developements is a big job! But, someone has to do it, it may as well be an expert!
++++<<<<<<>>>>>>++++ Posted by BBoss Web Design House SEO Manager http://www.bbosswebdesign.com
And even if SEO is a set it and forget it task, (which displays an amazing ignorance of the field) there are a few businesses, (any type of long term durable goods) that have seemed to find a way to stay in business in spite of selling only one item to one customer.
Chris Kieff, Director of Internet Marketing MSCO.com
There are a number of situations in which this can occur, but for the purposes of this response, I feel it is in paid search. Too often companies outsource SEM to vendors who capitalize on the recognition of branded search terms and fail to build out extensive lists of 3, 4, and 5 word phrases that convert much higher at lower costs due to decreased competition. With black box technology firms a built in rule finds a bid can be raised and still meet the CTA goals of the client. With no consideration of click through rates in a given position, the bid is changed, possibly taking the client out of the position they are converting in most successfully.
There is another approach, however. I call it Humanology, the process of using the long forgotten human aspect of good reason based on strong marketing experience. To get great humanolgy you have to support those marketers making decisions with great technology. What if software existed that could pull data from search engines in real-time, analyze click through rates and cost per conversions and suggest a number of possible actions. Based on the non-quantifiable variables of a client’s campaign, such as, aversion to risk, or knowledge of tandem marketing initiatives, the campaign manager makes a decision of which action to take. Remember your college macro-economics class? Honest search companies will find that good old point of diminishing returns, instead of spending your hard earned, frivolously.
The software does exist, so when you are reviewing agencies, make sure they are up to speed. SEO/SEM is not rocket science, but it’s not arithmetic either.
Chuck Ruggiero
Director, Search Engine Marketing
www.sendtec.com
O. 727.576.6630 ext 241
C. 813-545-3292
877 Executive Center Dr. W Ste 300
St. Petersburg FL 33702
cruggiero@sendtec.com
Important to note that the clients that are increasing spend and focus are our long-time clients who bought into simple SEO quite awhile ago. I am sure the others will catch up - but not soon I hope.
Barbara 'webmama' Coll
To some extent I think the "Troubled Times" article and the reference made in the Marketing Sherpa article were more speculative than based on anything truly measurable and maybe designed to "stir the pot".
Scott Anderson www.shadowmarketing.net