SEO Baloney Stripped of Its Plastic Wrap
January 27, 2011
Navigate to “4 Reasons Why SEO Is Underfunded.” The audience is a marketing person, a Web master, or an SEO expert. The message is that search engine optimization could get more money if certain things were different. The write up points out that those buying SEO or funding SEO want results. No kidding. In addition, the people with cash want silver bullets. Making matters worse is the word smithing that goes on to explain the methods to get a better PageRank. Since Google does not reveal its methods in particularly useful detail, the chatter and jargon cover up the fact that outsiders are often clueless. And, the article suggests, is that some folks in need of traffic don’t dig the value of “organic traffic.”
When I read this write up, I drew several hypotheses:
- SEO is mostly on point, original content with appropriate word use. Lacking the base of high value or magnetic content, traffic for most Web sites is going to suck. Don’t believe me. Navigate to Compete.com, get a free account, and look at the reported site traffic of Coveo.com or BA-Insight.com versus a gasper like Yahoo.com. What do you see? Lousy traffic and zero traffic. Why? Nothing pulls the traffic and no amount of SEO puffery will change the traffic for these successful companies’ Web sites.
- A Web site is no longer a high tech adventure. A Web site is the potential Sir Gawain for the organization. Traditional marketing is disappointing in today’s market. The answer? The Web. Now the fast talkers who pushed content free, brochureware Web sites are at risk. Termination? Litigation? Whatever. Organizations need Web sites to perform, and, believe me, that’s tough to do with some SEO “sauces.”
- Long term value! Give me a break. I can name a dozen companies within a five minute drive of the goose pond that could go out of business next week. The local bank is not going to pump dough into an outfit unless it doers not need the money. You can’t talk long term to an organization unable to meet payroll and pay the utility bills.
It is time to focus on SEO as a set of practices that complement broader marketing goals. SEO won’t generate sales. Even the magic of Groupon.com or LivingSocial.com works in certain use cases. Telling 20 million people that ArnoldIT.com can do a $100,000 chunk of work. Think that will sell in Farmington, Illinois?
I loved the source write up. It strips bare the weaknesses of selling a tool that can do only part of the marketing job needed today. Honk.
Stephen E Arnold, January 27, 2011
Freebie
Comments
One Response to “SEO Baloney Stripped of Its Plastic Wrap”
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Stephen E Arnold, SEO Links. SEO Links said: SEO RSS: SEO Baloney Stripped of Its Plastic Wrap : Beyond Search: Navigate to “4 Reasons Why SEO Is Underf… http://bit.ly/fokUXM #seo […]