Your Host: Jill Whalen [jill@highrankings.com]
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~~~IN TODAY'S ADVISOR~~~
*Search Engine Marketing:
----> Setting Realistic SEO Expectations
*This Week's Sponsors:
----> Website Marketing Workshops April 2–3, 2009
----> 2009 SEO Training Classes Open for Registration
----> SMX Biggest Search Geek Contest
*Stuff You Might Like:
----> Karon's Updated Copywriting Course
----> 24-7 Press Release Discount
----> PageZero Paid Search Seminar
*Advanced SEO Forum Thread of the Week:
----> Optimizing a Local School Site
*Advisor Wrap-up:
----> In a New York State of Mind
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~~~Introductory Comments~~~
Hey everyone! It seems that everyone is gearing up for the holidays. Lots of folks on vacation already and more coming up. We've been surprised at how busy it's been even in the midst of all that is going on. It's a good kind of surprise, though. :)
Anyway, I've got an article on having realistic SEO expectations for you today. Enjoy! – Jill
_________________High Rankings______________________
Website Marketing Workshops April 2–3, 2009
__________________________________________________
4 Half-day Workshops to Choose From!
Already know the SEO basics?
In these half-day in-depth website marketing workshops you will learn:
* Keywords: How to research them and use them within your website
* Copywriting: For your target audience and the search engines
* Social media: How to get the word out and gain traffic and links for your website
* Web analytics: How to measure the success of your web marketing campaigns.
Register for just one workshop, an entire day, or all 4!
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-GpzsiH0jNOb/c%403839488-lNZtDf7OJksGU
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~~~Search Engine Marketing Issues~~~
[In 2005, when I originally wrote the article below, I thought by the time 2009 approached, things would have changed. Yet many businesses continue to have unrealistic expectations of what an SEO campaign is all about. We've had a number of calls to our office recently from companies who continue to be hung up over one specific keyword phrase, with no interest in branching out to others. Surprisingly, I changed very little of the content of this article because the message is still as valid as the day I wrote it. – Jill]
Setting Realistic SEO Expectations
Those who've been in the SEO biz for a number of years know how much more competitive it is these days compared to a few years ago. The number of web pages indexed by search engines has doubled, tripled, and quadrupled in past years. On top of that, a good portion of site owners and webmasters know just enough SEO to be dangerous. In the golden age of SEO, the vast majority of websites hadn't given a thought to the search engines, and when they did, it was only to place some keywords in their Meta tags. (Which, incidentally, didn't help then either.) Those were the days when anyone who knew even the slightest bit about SEO could easily rank highly in all the major search engines, with very little effort. Even competitive areas were doable with just a little more work than their non-competitive counterparts.
The Competition Is Fierce
These days, it's almost the exact opposite. Even keyword phrases that nobody's searching for can sometimes be difficult to obtain high rankings with unless you really and truly know what you're doing. And even then, those rankings may be here one day and gone the next. The problem is magnified for new businesses and new websites. If your site isn't at least a few years old, your SEO efforts will be less likely to provide the results you want. This is one reason why your website optimization should always be seen as a long-term proposition.
It's About Targeted Traffic, Not Rankings
As we move forward in this industry, webmasters, site owners, and SEOs need to shift their focus from asking how they can get this keyword to this position in this engine to how they can get more targeted traffic and convert it into customers. Unfortunately, a large portion of those looking into SEO services are still seeing the small picture. For instance, on the contact form on our High Rankings site, I ask people to tell me a little bit about their "business goals." A good number who fill it out want something like "top-5 rankings in Google and Yahoo for this keyword." Huh? That's not a business goal! A business goal is more like "Bring more people to my website who are searching online for the types of products we sell." (As a side note, soon after writing this, I got an email from someone whose goal was to have their Flash site be "#1 in all the search engines for the word 'spring.'" I kid you not!)
Don't get me wrong, I very much understand why people would love to move their rankings up from #11 to #1 for a highly sought-after and targeted keyword phrase. I'm quite sure it would very much increase their targeted traffic and their sales (assuming they're doing everything else right). My frustration lies in the fact that there are people who believe that somehow an SEO company can magically snap their fingers or wave their magic wand and make it so.
Even the best SEOs are not magicians. They can't simply place a site at the top of the engines when there are hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of others that offer basically the same thing, and provide basically the same information. If they could, you'd see a whole lot more millionaire SEOs.
Does this mean that SEO is dead?
Absolutely not! But SEO that focuses on rankings for the most highly sought-after keywords in any given space is most definitely dying. This doesn't mean that you have to settle for keywords that receive few searches. It just means that you have to broaden your horizons and see the big picture.
Almost every time I review one of those "put me at #1" prospects' websites, I see tons of opportunities for fixing the site in general so that it will work better for both their users and the search engines. They are almost always so focused on their "money phrases" that they completely neglect many areas of their site. Instead they put their special phrase on every page and never research the thousands of others that are being typed into search engines every day.
Content for Content's Sake
Another trend I've been seeing a lot lately is the creation of content simply for the sake of creating content. What's that all about? SEOs certainly throw the words "good content" around a lot, but why is it that nobody seems to know what that means? We now have a whole cottage industry of companies who will allegedly write "good content" for you. Worse, there are even some that will *rent* you content! Newsflash...good content has nothing to do with the history of your products. Nor is good content a bunch of madlib spam pages where you simply substitute keyword phrases from one page into the other. Good content isn't stuff you write for the search engines.
What Exactly Is Good Content?
Good content is unique. Really and truly unique. It is creative ideas that simply popped into your head which nobody else in your space has thought of yet. The key to good content is creativity. Unfortunately, creativity itself seems to be a dying art. Being creative isn't looking at what your competitor is doing and copying them. It's being a leader, not a follower. It's having your own voice and your own opinions and expressing them, regardless of what others might think. It's pouring your heart and soul into your website, not looking for the next quick fix. And it's (say it with me) making your site the best it can be for your site visitors AND the search engines. It's what brings targeted traffic to our own site for thousands of phrases, and it's what will help your site gain traffic for whatever phrases relate to it. But it's not easy, and it's not fast. And it can't be done with the flick of a switch.
Determine Your True Goals
So please...if your pet phrase isn't ranking highly enough, don't call me and don't email me. In fact, don't call or email *any* SEO company. Instead of calling, you need to reassess your goals. No SEO company in the world will be able to help you unless you are ready to forget about what you think you want, and learn more about what you really need. Read that last sentence again until you really understand it. Forget about what you think you want, and learn more about what you really need.
Beware of SEO Companies Who Will Tell You What You Want to Hear
And remember, there are plenty of SEO companies that will say they can do whatever you want them to do. You want to be #1 for "spring"? Sure, no problem. They will happily take your money, do some work, and promptly get no results. Don't blame them though – they were just telling you what you wanted to hear.
Share your comments and thoughts here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-RsO6EWyt/2KqA%403839489-S3LmVQYrDaICk
(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___________________
2009 SEO Training Classes Open For Registration
_______________________________________________________
1-day SEO Training Class for beginners to intermediate learners.
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.
Class is limited to 6 students and we will work on YOUR specific
website issues.
The March 2009 class is already filling up:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-gauYRAgeH8Aew%403839490-z9kZA4NEnzF12
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~~~Stuff You Might Like~~~
++Karon's Updated Copywriting Course++
Karon Thackston is nearly done with the 2009 edition of her highly acclaimed copywriting course. It's jam-packed with new information and she will be increasing the price accordingly.
However, she has a special offer for High Rankings readers if you purchase before the end of 2008. You can learn more about the new version and the special offer here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-3DYzUX4xcSFGg%403839491-/OfwMfXPEKAFI
++24-7 Press Release Discount++
Our friends at 24-7 Press Release have provided a special coupon code for High Rankings Advisor subscribers for $30 off their $89 press release package.
You can learn more about their press release distribution services here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-ntRrgDufc0jdc%403839492-78YGq57bT/gr2
The coupon code to save $30 is: highrankings59 and it will expire at the end of January.
++PageZero Paid Search Seminar++
Our other friends at PageZero (Andrew Goodman and Mona Elesseily) are holding their paid-search seminar on February 3, 2009, in Toronto. Our seminars and workshops cover all the organic details you need to know, but we are admittedly missing in the paid-search arena. If you want to learn the ropes in that area, I highly suggest you sign up for their seminar – right now!
Here are the details:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-zNSw0d3h5zeQk%403839493-7DuDnc0nzhvyI
If you want to round out your paid-search marketing knowledge, Andrew and Mona are the ones you want to learn it from.
~~~Advanced SEO Forum Thread of the Week~~~
++Optimizing a Local School Site++
Forum member jass_blink is looking for tips on optimizing a local school website. Read the thread and share your thoughts here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-2OjXFVmkDUB9c%403839494-YkQNMvBf8B28k
_________________SMX West______________________adv.
Enter the SMX Biggest Search Geek Contest
__________________________________________________
Are you geeky enough to win a free trip to SMX West in
Santa Clara, February 10-12, 2009?
Take the Biggest Search Geek Quiz to Win!
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-0tROYsd24iU5k%403839495-TKn5tgb0doruQ
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~~~Advisor Wrap-up~~~
That's all for today!
I'm writing this from New York City, where I came for just a day to hang out while my husband is attending a conference. The dinner we had with a few of his colleagues last night made the trip worthwhile! While here I also had lunch with Tamar Weinberg, whom you may have heard of from the social media world and from her posts at Techipedia and Search Engine Roundtable. It's always fun to catch up with online friends. The elusive Streko, whom I haven't been able to meet at the two previous conferences, works here in the city, but nope – I still didn't get to meet with him!
Hope you enjoy the winter holidays. 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-NX703RFBN/cpI%403839496-oTEfbTud7MKak
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