The Wrong Answer to the Wrong Question
Yesterday, a telemarketer guaranteed Anova Group a 1st page search engine placement. Ignoring that we have a 1st page placement and ignoring my general disdain (not to mention Google’s warning) for the search engine placement guarantee, I am always bothered that the most important question is ignored. The most important question being what keyword phrases should be optimized? Or, in other words, which organic keyword phrases will drive the best bottom line results? Unfortunately, this telemarketer was only offering either:
- A. Guaranteed search placement for keywords matching my website URL or
B. Guaranteed search placement for a handful of keywords (usually fewer than 10 phrases)
While this guarantee must be working for these SEO firms, as evidenced by a thriving telemarketing business, this guarantee is a great example of providing “exactly what the customer asked for, but not what the customer needed.” Although the customer may achieve a temporary search engine boost, the customer will probably be disappointed in the bottom line results. Three reasons (that the Guaranteed Search Engine Placement firm won’t tell you) why accepting their offer will be disappointing:
1. Lack of strategy on which keywords phrases to target
– Quality optimization requires prioritization and focus. Improving the search engine position of one keyword phrase will, by default, lower the position for other keyword phrases.
2. One size fits all search engine optimization
– SEO should be executed page by page, but within a holistic website strategy. 95% of each site’s web pages should have unique phrases for optimization. Unless you only want a couple of pages recognized by the search engine, limiting your optimization to a handful of keywords phrases is a mistake.
3. Overcharging for easy SEO
– The search engine ranking guarantees are often met by focusing on keywords matching your website URL which is a no-brainer for any SEO firm.
If you would like to discuss how to take a strategic and holistic view to search engine optimization that improves your search engine placement AND drives bottom line results, then you may want to contact Anova Group.
Posted by Jeff Aliotta
