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SEO Blog|Issue#2|3 Common Mistakes|Know Thy Critical Numbers

Common SEO Mistakes

There are many wrong numbers to optimize. Most people who call themselves an SEO Expert now finally understand that along with increased measurability has come increased accountability for results. As odd as it seems, the rest of the world is still catching up. Throughout my many years as an SEO consultant, here are some of the most common mistakes and traps that my clients have fallen into.

Mistake #1 - Are we ranked page one on Google for “widget” ?

Obsessing on one or two terms (usually the most desirable like “widget”) and measuring overall success of your SEO on whether or not you rank on top of page one for these…. and only these. Some real education is necessary here, especially in highly competitive industries. For example, I have often doubled traffic from search engines in 3-6 months for clients - a massive feat…(”blue widget”, “affordable widget”, “high quality widget”, etc.. yet if I did not also get to top of page one for one or two desirable terms “widget”, “widgets” - they are left feeling unsatisfied. Remember, it’s about increasing the OVERALL volume of qualified traffic to your site, and then maximizing the conversion rate.

I have often compared this to a billboard in Times Square vs. 500 Billboards along the east coast. If I could get you on 500 of those billboards for roughly 10% of the effort and cost of the Times Square Billboard, you would say yes, right?

Mistake #2 - How many impressions did we get, and what kind of click through rate? This applies more to PPC but can also be applied to Natural SEO. Impressions for Natural SEO can be estimated using any keyword analysis tool.

My answer - who cares? If we can maximize impressions to the RIGHT audience then great… if we can get a high click through rate from QUALIFIED individuals then great. Else, it simply does not matter. If you are not using conversion pixels and measuring your cost per action as related to your revenue and profitability of those actions - you are still looking at things upside down. Bottom line, how many leads, sales, or other desired actions did you get… which keywords produced the most of these, and how much is it worth to you… these are much better numbers to track.

Mistake #3 - Did the marketing effort payoff in an immediately profitable way. Ignoring Lifetime Value for web-acquired customers.

Because it’s so easy to measure Cost Per Acquisition, we expect that an SEO Expert can produce positive ROI on the first sale. So often, retailers forget - or more likely have no idea how expensive it is to acquire new customers through other channels. To test this simply apply the following equation to your business. (TOTAL 2006 NEW CUSTOMERS) / (TOTAL 2006 MARKETING BUDGET). Now, if you are using internet search engines, measure your Cost Per Acquisition on that channel. Odds are if you are in a B2C company, your internet acquisition is costing you less than half of traditional channels and in B2C - no more than 75% of traditional channels…

So the question is, really, why do you continue to market on those other channels - especially if you are LOSING MONEY on the first sale.. and perhaps needing 2 or 3 sales before you break even on a customer? It’s called LIFETIME VALUE, and the smartest web marketers are building successful campaigns on this philosophy - and often willing to pay more than companies who fear not having instant profitability.

Add comment September 6th, 2007

SEO Blog|Issue#1|Establishing Terminology|SEO vs. SEM

What is the difference between SEO and SEM?  Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are really part of a joint strategy.  The question is not which one should you engage in, but how can you optimize a strategy that includes both.

In most cases, when someone refers to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), they speak specifically about best practices, strategies, and tactics for achieving high rankings in the organic (non-sponsored) section of Search Engine Result Pages on the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask, and AOL.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM), or Pay Per Click (PPC) is a different term, used to describe the process of bidding for text ad placement in the Sponsored Links section of the search engines.

Just about every company or website seeking traffic can benefit from combining both strategies.

When I speak of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in this SEO Blog, therefore, I REALLY am talking about this joint strategy.  So before, we embark together on this journey, it’s important that we are speaking the same language.

Next up: What information should I have ready before beginning an SEO project?

Add comment August 31st, 2007

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Blog, Welcome

These days there seems to be an endless supply of web content giving advice and tips for how to achieve high rankings on the Search Engine results pages. As an SEO Professional over the last 10 years, I have come across and tested many different strategies, but never have I seen so much mass confusion, and differing of opinions as I have seen in the SEO community over the last 12 months. Having had a great deal of success in my efforts, and recently having freed up some time from my daily grind, I have decided to join the recent onslaught of books, sites, and podcasts - and bring what I feel is a higher quality, less cryptic set of tools, practices, and measurement techniques. I will aim to use real world cases with each strategy and tactical approach I demonstrate, rather than just ramble endlessly on about fictional examples. In addition to the blog I will be launching a podcast later this year, an email newsletter, and a syndicated article section that will provide quality feeds from other reputable SEO sources.

So, without further delay, I welcome you to my SEO blog.

3 comments August 30th, 2007

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