The other day, we received an online inquiry from someone who found us on Google. We spoke at great length about his trials and tribulations online. Basically, he has tried and failed on several occasions over the past few years trying to achieve real online visibility through organic SEO with various so-called SEO Companies. However, each attempt has failed!
As it turns out, the inquirer had made some basic mistakes:
- He didn’t get proof of performance in the form of live and “deep” results from the SEO company showing at least one client that has many competitive keywords ranking on the first page of Google as a result of Search Engine Optimization.
- He didn’t speak to a client who has benefited from the SEO services of the companies he ultimately hired.
- He hired a voice on the other end of the phone ultimately.
So now what? Well, he still needs to get sales. He needs to get conversions. He needs to get visibility for those seeking his line of products. The problem has not gone away and the solution is as elusive as ever.
It became clear what the problems are:
- The lack of on-site optimization involving many internal geeky kinds of things.
- A complete and utter lack of content on the site and off the site. This makes it impossible to get naturally occurring and highly relevant backlinks; the most powerful measure Google uses to rank for relevance of a website / web page.
I discussed at length these issues and what is involved both from a budgetary view and a CONTENT point of view. Almost everyone understands that quality internet marketing involves money. Precious few understand how important content is, however.
We also analyzed the purchase process onsite and there were numerous issues that actually prevent sales rather than execute sales.
Over the next 36 hours we traded our thoughts and ideas. Budget is the main problem. I believe the potential client really gained a lot of understanding regarding content and other important SEO factors. He also understands that his e-commerce needs help to maximize conversions as well as SEO.
However, the prospect sent me an email indicating that he is going to try to deal with the ecommerce issue through a friend he has “offshore.” This is a clear indication that he is looking to save money. Sound familiar? He is repeating the same errors that got him to us in the first place. He needs to get it done right and realize that the opportunity cost is much more than the financial cost. No matter how small the price, it is still too expensive if the result is negative.
We are going to conference in a day or two and I will further propose certain options that I believe will make it more convincing, more compelling and more palatable to really get it done correctly this time.
Stay tuned!
Arthur Cooper
October 12, 2008
Internet Marketing … Don’t Repeat Your Mistakes!
As it turns out, the inquirer had made some basic mistakes:
So now what? Well, he still needs to get sales. He needs to get conversions. He needs to get visibility for those seeking his line of products. The problem has not gone away and the solution is as elusive as ever.
It became clear what the problems are:
I discussed at length these issues and what is involved both from a budgetary view and a CONTENT point of view. Almost everyone understands that quality internet marketing involves money. Precious few understand how important content is, however.
We also analyzed the purchase process onsite and there were numerous issues that actually prevent sales rather than execute sales.
Over the next 36 hours we traded our thoughts and ideas. Budget is the main problem. I believe the potential client really gained a lot of understanding regarding content and other important SEO factors. He also understands that his e-commerce needs help to maximize conversions as well as SEO.
However, the prospect sent me an email indicating that he is going to try to deal with the ecommerce issue through a friend he has “offshore.” This is a clear indication that he is looking to save money. Sound familiar? He is repeating the same errors that got him to us in the first place. He needs to get it done right and realize that the opportunity cost is much more than the financial cost. No matter how small the price, it is still too expensive if the result is negative.
We are going to conference in a day or two and I will further propose certain options that I believe will make it more convincing, more compelling and more palatable to really get it done correctly this time.
Stay tuned!
Arthur Cooper
October 12, 2008