Let's Talk SEO

I haven't blogged in a little while because it's been pretty busy here and also because I had to take one last ski trip. I went out to Colorado for five glorious days of skiing. It was amazing - there was fresh powder on several days. The locals were saying that it was the best day of the year at Vail when I was there. Anyway, I hopefully have that out of my system now - at least until mid summer when I start getting that skiing itch again.

Let's Talk About SEO!

I thought I'd go over a few SEO points again because of some conversations I've had with a few clients lately.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is very important. I equate it to having a phone number. Just because you have one, doesn't mean you'll start getting calls. You have to publish it and this is the same with a website. Don't expect to get traffic and sales on your website if you haven't sunk any resources into SEO. So how do you do it?

Who Should Do SEO?

I equate doing SEO to having my car fixed. Sure, I can do some simple things like fill the fluids, change the oil and maybe do brake pads but if I want to learn some more complex things - like change a clutch, it will first take educating myself. Doing that will take time. Do I have the time? Maybe or maybe not. If I do, then is spending my time learning how to change the clutch worth it to me? If it takes me 100 hours to learn that, how much is my time worth? If my time is worth $50 an hour, then spending 100 hours learning how to take a clutch would essentially cost me $5000 while if I had a pro, like an auto mechanic, do it, it would cost about $1000. The same is true with SEO.

So it's true that you can do search engine optimization if you want. There are some easier things that you can do and there are some more time consuming things to do as well. You should pick your battles. Do the things you can do yourself and leave the rest to the pros. With this strategy, you'll be spending your time and money most effectively.

The SEO Formula and Tools

To do SEO yourself, the information on how to do it is out there. There are plenty of blogs, websites and books that will show you how to do SEO. Basically, it comes down to this:

1. Choose the right keywords.
2. Do on-site optimization.
3. Do off-site optimization.
4. Continue to link build.

There are certain tools you'll want to install to help you do your research - like Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics among others. There are certain ways to find the "right" keywords - which are keywords that have moderate to no competition and are also searched on frequently (hint: long tail keywords). Any professional search engine optimization company will have these tools in place and know how to use them well - just like a good car mechanic.

Is Social Media Traffic Good Traffic?

The best traffic you're going to get is from Google - hands down. If you're looking at social media as your answer to traffic, think again. It has its place but those people are just browsing and sort of just happen get to your site accidentally. They're not in an action kind of mode. People that are searching, however, are in an action type of mode. They do want to find your site and find what they are looking for. So if you've attended some kind of social media seminar or something where Facebook and Twitter are presented as a goldmine for traffic, then you've been duped I'm afraid. Sure, it will get you some traffic - there's no denying that. The people that arrive to your site via social media are not your best customer.

Conclusion

I guess this post is sort of an SEO refocusing kind of post. Know what SEO is. Know how much you can do and how much you should leave to the experts. Figure out where your best traffic is coming from, too. By all means, do not fall into the trap where you see some offers that claim to get you hundreds or thousands of links overnight or within a short amount of time. Those don't work. Organic SEO takes time. Just think if you would have started with an effective SEO strategy a year ago. You'd be in a great place now. Don't let another year go by because your competition isn't waiting and they'll come out ahead if you don't act.

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