Find the courage to
embrace change and fear mediocrity
Definitions of misnomer on
the Web:
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Can You Define SEO? Well, can you? Yeah I thought it would be tough on ya.
Don't worry about it, neither can anyone else.
If you threatened to take away my plate, I guess I would have to say, while
there is really no definition for any misnomer, conventional wisdom would
likely dictate that SEO generally means actions taken to ensure a webpage
secures superior placement in the organic results of a search engine's returned
results page for a specific searched term or phrase. If you don't agree, feel
free to leave your definition in the comments,(or anywhere you else you care
to).
So my question is ---- Are you SURE that is really all you want?
What about sales? traffic? Conversions? Changing people's minds to compliment
your own biases?
Perhaps it's a truism that just being #1 for a keyword is enough to generate
traffic, but I would disagree. I used to see a lot of results on search engines
at #1 that I didn't click on. Results with title tags like:
HOTEL. CHEAP HOTEL. CHEAP HOTEL IN LAS VEGAS
So perhaps the commonly accepted definition should be more like Webpage Title
Optimization, WTO.
But don't we juice up titles with nice ad copy because traffic is more
important than placement? Sooooo doesn't that make us more like traffic
generation optimizers? TGO?
I've got some 17 people in production whose primary purpose is to generate
traffic from a pretty wide variety of tactics, some having little if anything
to do with search engines. I suppose they would almost HAVE to be called TGOs.
So what happens when those TGOs DO generate traffic but clients cancel because
we did what they said they wanted but they are losing money?
We have 3 people whose primary function is to analyze logs and develop
strategies to be given to production, (the TGOs), to alter negative trends. So
I guess those are trend analysis for strategy optimization. TASOs.
We also built a very simple, yet powerful tool that:
#1. tracks only
referrers that actually get hit and points to the ones that don't at a glance.
Why waste time and bandwidth, (which are expenses), when what we really need to
know is what is getting hit? Number 1 doesn't matter if it does not generate
traffic.
#2. allows you to
deliver highly targeted dynamic content on the fly for increased conversions.
So --- this is a content delivery optimization tool? CDO?
But once the strategy is optimized what do we say to make sure the negative
trends identified by the TASOs are reversed? What do you say to whom and where?
We have 5 fulltime copy writers whose primary function is to write content that
incites an emotional response from a human being that results in that human
taking a desired action. Content Response Optimizers. CROs
And that doesn't even include the research factions of this entire process. So
which part of that process is seo and not simply everyday, run of the mill
internet marketing?
I doubt any of my offered acronyms will ever catch on. Probably because they
actually describe the actions being taken. Also, please note, out of all of
that, we do not have a single resource devoted to optimizing,(or doing anything
else to), any search engine. SEO.
My point is that if all you really want is placement then seo may be a viable
option BUT the fee should not reflect a total solution. Search engine
placement, traffic generation, marketing research, metrics analysis, ad content
delivery, etc. all those things are NOT about search engines, they are about
people! Human beings capable of an emotional response. THAT is a total
solution.
Traffic
generation is certainly one aspect of a total solution but the rates are not
inline with the actual value in a lot of cases.
Search
Engine Spam White Paper
Almost a decade ago, a certain Alan Perkins wrote what he
termed a White Paper called The Classification of Search Engine Spam
In spite of the fact that the “white paper” was totally unsubstantiated,
unproven, unendorsed and quite frankly in my opinion, trite, it still gained a fairly
sizeable degree of acceptance online. The gist of the article was, “any
technique used that would NOT be used if search engines did not exist is search
engine spam”.
While I never accepted this self-aggrandizing rant as a “white
paper”, there is a valid point if it was only worded a little differently.
Bear in mind, I do not believe there is any such thing as
search engine spam other than what search engines themselves promote to place
the blame for their own lack of efficiency onto third parties they like to
portray as an evil nemesis of fair and unbiased results,(what a load of crap! If
you think results are fair and unbiased, you are either blind or crazy).
BUT, if the gist of “white paper” was more like, “search engines
are only a tool and all that really matters is people”, now THAT statement I
could wholeheartedly endorse.
As an illustration I’d like to share an email I received 2
days ago from an online marketer of note in his own right. He happens to be a
client of mine and the email he sent me is a very good example of how to do
business online without relying on search engine placement directly and instead
relying on that human emotional response thing.
It is the :
SECRET
TO GETTING HI-POWERED LINKS WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY FOR THEM.
I
have a very strict policy that we NEVER reveal our clients, their clients,
their placements or what techniques we used to get those placements without the
client giving me written permission to do so. You’ll see in this letter from
Eric Werner of Atlanta Click Advisor that I have such permission. I’ve changed
nothing in the letter and it is displayed as it was offered to me.
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Please take this and use it however you’d like. When I wrote it
I was thinking that you might like to make it a blog post or part of a blog
post, but feel free to add to it, subtract from it, cut it up or not cut it up
and use it in any way you’d like or don’t use it at all if it’s not a good fit.
If you’d like to link to my blog in the last paragraph you can
use the anchor text ‘adwords marketing’ and point it to
www.Atlantaclickadvisor.com although I won’t be slighted in the least if you
decide not to.
Every part of this is true and I really wanted to thank you and
your staff for everything.
I’ve also attached a version in word format.
Bob,
I just wanted to take a moment to let you know what an impact
you've made over the course of the last year. Choosing to use your SEO
(Valuable Traffic Generation) services has aided in our tremendous success this
year and I can say I honestly don't know what I would have done without the
help of your staff. They have been responsive, flexible, and have definitely
demonstrated the ability to get the job done.
One of the best case studies I have is for one of the clients you
have helped us with. I wanted to share some of the results with you and your
readers in case anyone had any question about the quality of real results that
you provide.
A couple weeks ago when Google Analytics introduced advanced
segmentation I decided to create a segment showing how non-brand related
organic traffic has grown throughout the year. I think that the non-brand
related traffic is telling because almost all of it is attributable to the work
your team did.
Remarkable in itself, of course it begs the question:
Does this traffic convert into new business? I developed this
second report which shows that the conversion rate remained steadily positive
throughout. The orange line is the conversion rate from non brand related
traffic. In my opinion this demonstrates the inarguable value of the service
and reinforces your statement about producing valuable traffic rather than just
rankings.
Beyond all of that I wanted to point out that the personal advice
you've given me on multiple occasions has helped to shape my professional
development and the way I think about my personal web presence and the web as a
whole. Everything you've suggested has paid off more than I would have imagined
and I really believe that the web would be a much better place if more people
brought the integrity to their work that you bring to yours.
I hope that you continue to be wildly successful this year and
continue spread that success to everyone you touch. It has been a great adjunct
to my Adwords marketing efforts and I hope that you will turn to me any
time you need a referral or a recommendation because I couldn't be happier with
the way your services continue to improve.
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THAT is an
emotional response! So what is the secret?
THERE IS NO
SECRET. Anyone can do it and it really
has very little to do with SEO. It has to do with exceeding the customers’
expectations. It has to do with hard work, commitment to excellence and living
the Do
Philosophy.
Do the best
job you can do
Be proud of
what you do
Do what you
say you will do
And charge
accordingly
Is that SEO
or is that online marketing?
So, did any of
that help you to define SEO?
Peach Y’all
The ask the
anti-seo seo guru
Never
hide your dirty picture books under the bed. That’s always the first place they
look!