SEO, that magic digital marketing bullet, right? Kind of. Of course, SEO is important, but it’s also important to remember that it’s not that single magic bullet you are looking for. Let’s look into this further.

I’ve been working in SEO for over ten years now, and SEO is constantly changing. It’s very different to how it was ten years ago (remember keyword stuffing?), it’s even different to how it was ten months ago.

So, first things first.

Do you have a business plan?

No? What do you mean no? Without a business plan, how do you know who your ideal client is? Who are you pitching too? This isn’t just for SEO purposes, it’s for all your marketing. How can you find your voice if you don’t know who you are talking too? Once you’ve figured this out, we can then drill down into your ideal client, location, product or service and this leads us into keyword research, which forms the base of your SEO.

Keyword research volume

Once we’ve identified your ideal client, we then find your keywords, and keyword search volume is everything. Let’s say your company is for iPhone repair. Search volume results for this phase returns some 58,100 results, which you might think is fantastic. Problem is, this search term isn’t defined enough. People may be looking for the official Apple store for repair, or to do repairs themselves. We need to funnel the clients looking for you. To do this, we add more specific details, such as location, and iPhone model types. This is where your business plan comes in. We use the client specifics to narrow down our keyword research and this in turn, helps the right clients find you.

Don’t I have to be on top of page one?

Ah, this old chestnut. I hear this a lot, and I read a lot of SEO websites promising to get you to the top of Google. Be very, very wary of any company promising you the Holy Grail of the top spot. Why? This takes us right back to your business plan and keyword research. When I worked for a Royal Warrant professional photo printing lab, I’d often get calls from SEO companies’ promising to get us to Google for ‘printing’. Really? I think not. Printing, as a search term, covers a huge range of services, and the company was very specific, with a very specific set of clients. And guess what? We were already top of Google for those specific terms. Being top of Google for just ‘printing’ would have been incredibly harmful for the ranking of the website. It would have ended in a high bounce rate, due to the wrong clients finding the website. Google wants relevant sites for the right keywords and will reward you so.

SEO works quickly

This depends hugely on your business and can differ widely. As I mentioned at the start of this blog, SEO isn’t a magic bullet. SEO takes time, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. Like the rest of your marketing, if you invest in good quality SEO, and take the time to build it correctly, then it can bring a lifetime of returns if managed well.

SEO is a one-hit-wonder

Nope, sorry. Let’s look at your business: do you set and then forget about it? No, you promote, you develop and your market, continuously. It’s the same with SEO. Anyone who thinks they can perform a one-hit-wonder on your website has very misguided views about their own abilities.

Because your business is always developing and changing, so is SEO. Google algorithms change all the time, traffic data needs analysing and SEO adapting to match. Keywords, conversion data and ranking need constant checking too.

Other marketing cogs

So, I’ve mentioned that SEO is a cog in the marketing machine, not the marketing machine itself. So what are the other cogs? We’ve already covered the business plan. Other cogs to consider are: website design. Are you losing clients because your site is hard to navigate, or not mobile friendly? You have about three seconds to capture a potential clients attention, are you? Do you have a call to action on each page? Is your copy up to scratch? Don’t dismiss the power of a good copywriter. Is your product or service needed, or aimed at the right people? Are you investing time to promote yourself on social media, conventions, meetings and so on? Take a look at my post-Google Only Loves You, When Everyone Else Loves You First, for ideas on how to do this.

But I don’t have the budget!

Sure, I get it, but SEO is an essential investment in your business. You may not need SEO checks every month, every three months may be fine, depending on the size of your business. But it’s important to remember its a cog in digital marketing - not a standalone quick-fix. Finding an SEO company that fits your needs is important, so take the time to research what you want from a partnership. Milk It Digital is one choice, and you can take a look at my client list here.

If you like what you see, you can take a look at my packages here.