~~~High Rankings Advisor – Issue No. 240~~~
Your Host: Jill Whalen [jill@highrankings.com]
________________________________________________________
~~~IN TODAY'S ADVISOR~~~
*Search Engine Marketing:
----> SEO Is Not a Last-Ditch Effort
*This Week's Sponsors:
----> Search Marketing Expo East – Oct. 6–8
----> Personalized SEO Training Class – Nov. 21
----> Search Marketing Training Videos
*Stuff You Might Like:
----> There IS Such a Thing as a Free (SEO) Lunch
*Advanced SEO Forum Thread of the Week:
----> Newbie Web Designer Needs Direction
*Advisor Wrap-up:
----> Good Times With Others
________________________________________________________
~~~Introductory Comments~~~
Hey all! No Q&A today, just an article on an SEO topic that has been on my mind lately.
Enjoy! – Jill
__________New York City – October 6–8, 2008____________adv.
SMX Conference Comes to the East Coast!
_____________________________________________________
Join SMX East in NYC for 3 days of search marketing information
presented in over 50 sessions and keynotes covering paid search,
organic SEO, link-building, local search, mobile, social media,
analytics, and more!
Save $75 with the High Rankings discount code: smx75hra
Learn more or register here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-/Z61vRVHnWr.U%403639363-FDhrsgLKC0G8%2e
_____________________________________________________
~~~Search Engine Marketing Issues~~~
++SEO Is Not a Last-Ditch Effort++
Sales are down for many businesses due to the slow economy. Business owners and CEOs are looking for that one thing that can pull them through the hard times and keep them afloat. When times get tough, many turn to SEO, hoping that it will be the ticket to increased sales. While SEO is almost *always* a good idea, if you're counting on it to save a failing business, you may want to rethink things.
The customers you receive from search engines should not be what your entire marketing plan consists of. SEO is a long-term strategy for increasing your targeted customer base. It's the gravy to the rest of your marketing initiatives. It's a way to reach those extra customers whom you wouldn't have been able to reach previously, but it should never be the meat and potatoes of your business.
Here's why:
SEO isn't a quick fix. If you didn't design your website with SEO in mind and you haven't given much thought to it, it's going to take time to plan your SEO strategy. It will take weeks to do the initial research required to even know where to begin. While there may be some low-hanging fruit you can grab quickly, without the necessary research, you wouldn't even know where to find it.
SEO isn't something you can just turn on. It would be great if we could just flick a switch and suddenly your website would be optimized and receiving highly targeted search engine traffic. But, unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way. Site architecture needs to be redefined, anchor text links need to be rewritten, Titles and Meta descriptions need to be created, and page copy generally needs a complete overhaul. Even paid search can't be turned on with the flick of a switch – keywords need to be defined, landing pages created, campaigns need to be set up, etc.
SEO needs time to age. After your website has been put into perfect SEO shape (after many months of hard work), it will start to receive more targeted search engine traffic. But even that is a slow process. Traffic will increase incrementally, and get better over time as the on-page SEO work begins to mature.
SEO needs link popularity. On-page SEO is only half of the battle for more search engine visitors. The success of your SEO depends on the overall link popularity of the website. If the site has been around a long time and has already built up a lot of links, that will certainly help things go faster. However, most sites will need some additional work in this area. Even with great overall link popularity, the links may not be targeting anchor text that correlates with the on-page SEO work.
SEO needs to be done in conjunction with other marketing. While SEO is a relatively inexpensive form of marketing, it shouldn't be the only thing you do to gain business. SEO is very volatile and the search engines can change their formula or drop your website on a dime. You should never count on the visitors you receive from organic search to always be there. Use it to supplement your other marketing, but always be aware that what Google giveth they can also taketh away. It's a good idea to perform other online marketing campaigns such as paid search, email marketing, blogging, social media marketing, etc., but also offline marketing such as direct mail, print advertising, radio spots, etc.
There's a lot that goes into a successful SEO campaign; when done correctly it's a worthwhile, long-term investment for nearly any business with a website. Just make sure to build it into your marketing plan from the get-go and not make it an afterthought. While I have seen SEO save some companies' businesses, more often than not I've seen it be too little too late.
If your business is doing fairly well without SEO, that's *the best* time to get into it and start collecting that extra targeted traffic!
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-yLniPwMtze4p6%403639364-g7dF.PXEZxe4s
(P.S. If anyone would like to republish the above article, please email me your request and where it will reside, and I'll send you a short bio you can use with it for your site.)
______________High Rankings SEO Training___________________
Register for the November 21, 2008 SEO Class Before It Sells Out
_______________________________________________________
Looking for an SEO strategy to optimize your website for more
targeted Google traffic?
Join us for our last SEO class of 2008 – Class is limited to 6 students.
You will learn what SEO is and isn't, as well as what you need to do
to bring in more search engine visitors who are seeking out exactly
what you offer.
All our past classes have sold out, so don't delay!
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-hMKe4EXHhUsFY%403639365-NRW5qx0KgiN8w
______________________________________________________
~~~Stuff You Might Like~~~
++SEO Lunch and Learn++
Once again, there IS such a thing as a free lunch and it's happening on November 7, 2008 at the High Rankings office in Framingham, MA.
No agenda. No sales pitch. Just good food and conversation. Bring your appetite and your SEO questions.
RSVP to seolunch@highrankings.com ASAP. Seats are very limited.
Learn more here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-/GPgXYZa9dAa2%403639366-tRNqjNkXg0P1A
___________SEO / SEM DVDs and Downloads______________
Search Marketing Training Videos – Now With Unlimited Plays!
___________________________________________________
Can't get away for an in-person SEO Training Class? No worries!
Learn search marketing in the comfort of your own office via 8
full-length SEM Training Sessions taught by the leading experts.
Receive the full 4-DVD set or download only the sessions you're
most interested in.
Sessions include SEO tips and techniques, keyword research,
copywriting, link-building, PPC, social media, analytics and more.
See previews and learn more here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-rka57Jzk48.rE%403639367-wulQSEIywa886
___________________________________________________
~~~Advanced SEO Forum Thread of the Week~~~
++Newbie Web Designer Needs Direction++
Forum member "wonder371" is wondering which software products and programming languages would be the best for him as he embarks on his new career as a website designer.
Read more here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-eERrGERbPKYJA%403639368-.wl/341Xw4Lc%2e
~~~Advisor Wrap-up~~~
That's all for today!
So let's see, what has happened since the last newsletter? The September SEO Training Class went very well as usual, so now it's time to gear up for October's.
Oh, and my husband and I had a nice lunch with long-time High Rankings Forum moderator Ron Carnell and his friend Nan. I hadn't seen Ron since around 2004, so it was great catching up with him.
We also had a really good time at the SEMNE event in Connecticut last week. Never a dull moment when networking with a bunch of interesting search marketers! The next event is in Rhode Island on November 18th. You can learn more here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-4tjx9oKDU51p2%403639369-V1Jc/dRDDkSds
I think that's about it. Catch you in 2 weeks! – Jill
Looking for SEO Services, Consulting or Training?
See what High Rankings has to offer:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-fTiyr7dVXOgqk%403639370-HwAxaY3GHNwa2
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