• by Brad Stewart , February 11, 2011

Search is a highly technical enterprise. If I haven't won the banality award with that last statement, I certainly will by adding that SEM is also highly competitive.  

Unfortunately, for many clients of search marketers this ends up translating to hyperbole on the one extreme as they hear multiple pitches by competing "experts," to techno-babble at the other end of the spectrum. Even when there is high value in the work that a marketer does for a client (or boss for that matter), very often this ends up getting missed by an inadequate reporting and communication strategy.

You will go a long way toward helping yourself as a search marketer if you focus on communicating value to clients in a comprehensive and clear manner. This is important, because  -- unlike that Web 2.0 logo with a reflection below it -- there is nothing visually appealing about search strategy. You need to very clearly spell out the value, but without confusing, misleading or boring the client. Here are five basic communication and strategy tips to help bridge the gap between your expertise and the client's thirst for results. 

Start reporting yesterday. A well-documented search audit is essential to providing a reference point for all future work. This also provides a clear starting point in identifying clients' relative strengths and weaknesses. What inadvertent past successes can you build on, and what work needs to be done immediately?

The report should include a basic page-rank report (i.e. what is the current rank of relevant term X?), and also a keyword traffic report (i.e. how much are these terms searched for?). 

You will be very thankful of this report in six months when your client asks you "why we are only sixth on the Google." Being able to show relative increases in page-rank as well as keyword traffic increases clearly demonstrates that someone is doing their job both online and offline.

Identify realistic goals for the short term. Every search marketer should at least be able to achieve top results with a clients' brand. This is a reasonable starting point that often has surprisingly good traffic results. It's also harder than you'd think in some cases. Online directories use every trick in the book to rank higher than official websites. Given that the web is "world-wide," some local brands have hundreds or even thousands of competitors.

Aim for the sky in the long term. I once read in an SEO guide that you should aim not just for the top spot on Google, but also the first 10 hits. Professional marketers will know that this is impossible in almost every instance, particularly if competing for high-value search terms. But, the spirit of this philosophy will force you to revisit your strategy, with good results soon to follow. Aiming high will keep your head in the game. 

Report, but don't re-report. Even if a company has a dedicated search analyst, never just print off the Google Analytics report. It's important to remember that Google Analytics is just a tool, providing us with the information for certain goals. As a search marketer, your job is to understand what's relevant and what's not with Google's reporting tools, and to go beyond those tools in order to come up with the most concise and relevant report for your clients' (or boss') particular purpose. 

Keep learning, stay humble and share. No, this is not a pitch for Search: Insider. OK. maybe it is. It's essential to keep on top of algorithm changes for all the major search engines, as much as possible. Search marketing empires have crumbled overnight because of single tweaks. Keep networking with other passionate marketers in order to avoid pitfalls and to learn about successful case studies. On that note, your comments, insights, stories, and rants are greatly appreciated.