Should Marketers Put All Their Eggs in the SEO Basket?

I’ve devoted a lot of time and energy into researching best practices for SEO and Interactive Marketing.

Recently, I posted a blog about six areas to focus on when optimizing a site. However, I want to make it very clear that I think SEO is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to effective marketing. In reality, only two or three companies are going to win the SEO race at any given time. When consumers search for information online most of them don’t look past the first page of results. What does this mean? It means that the companies that spend the most resources (Time, Energy, Technology, Money, and Staff) on SEO will win the SEO race and the rest of the companies need to find other ways to compete for audience attention.

So, once the SEO race is won, what do the marketers in 4th and 5th or 37th place need to do? They need to drive business and web traffic in other ways.

Here are a few ways to compete with the big SEO players:

• Salespeople calling on companies and consumers
• Direct mail targeted to ideal prospects driving consumers to take action
• Pay-per click advertising
• Traditional product campaigns
• Micro blogging and social media networking (spending time on niche sites related to your field) – check out Ning.com or LinkedIN.com for some interesting niche focus groups.
• E-mail marketing
• Webinars
• Community events

SEO is important for many businesses, don’t get me wrong. However, when an organization has less staff and $$ to compete with the dominate players online, they need to get creative with how they spend the marketing budget.

I often hear marketing companies say things like: “Direct mail is going away.”, “Paper is going away.”, “Newsletter marketing is going away.” While I agree that we are trending more and more towards electronic marketing channels, I don’t believe that they will completely replace the need for traditional forms of marketing. Our press runs might be smaller and our audiences might be more targeted, but direct mail is not going away – at least not right away. Radio, TV, and publications will still be around for quite a while as well. So in answer to the question - Should Marketers Put All Their Eggs in the SEO Basket? The answer is no.

Six Areas to Focus On in Search Engine Optimization

In researching various Search Engine Optimization and Interactive Marketing strategies I’ve discovered that most SEO consulting firms focus these six areas when optimizing a website: Keywords, Content Writing, Website Optimization, Link Development, Submission, and Reporting.

Below is a quick synopsis of each area. I’ve underlined key terms that would be helpful for marketers to research before approaching an SEO consultant.

Keywords – using keyword research tools, a list of the most searched for terms for your website or industry is complied.

Content Writing- copywriters are hired to create content that is well optimized (using keyword techniques etc.), grammatically correct, and appeals to readers and potential customers. Articles that are 300-600 words in length that are keyword rich are written on your products and services and posted online to increase the content at your website.

Website Optimization – technical tweaks to the backend of your website are made to make it search engine friendly. Terms you will want to look up that impact website optimization include: title tags, image tags, meta tags. Some obstacles to SEO a good Web developer will help you overcome include: Flash content getting in the way of search engines crawling your site, broken site maps and internal linking structures, and duplicate content.

Link Development – the number of incoming links from well-established websites back to yours is a major factor in attaining high search engine rankings. Some of the methods and tools used to improve link development include:

· Social Media Optimization and posting
· Press release writing and submissions
· One-way links from directories and industry websites
· Fee-based directory submissions
· Reciprocal link exchanges
· Blog posting

Submission – During this phase your website is submitted to major search engines and directories online.

Reporting – A baseline ranking is established before optimization begins. After optimization, ranking results are tabulated and reported.

An effective SEO marketing campaign takes a ton of time, energy, expertise, and can be costly (staff time, directory placement, etc.). In my opinion, if SEO is an important ingredient to the success of a business either a full-time staff member(s) need to be devoted to the projects or outsourcing is required. Often times a blend of outsourcing and internal staff time is the best approach for a long-run SEO strategy.

Mobile Malware

Today I read an article in the NY Times; the headline read, “Cellphones Largely Immune to Viruses, For Now”. Here is link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/technology/personaltech/13smart.html?_r=1&ref=business

Does this mean that I am going to have to get anti-virus software for my phone soon?

It seems that in the insurance and security fields there will always be niche business to chase. . .

Maybe this article was injected into the news stream to generate hype so that CompanyX can launch a new integrated computer/phone anti-virus software.

Hmm . . . have we seen this tactic somewhere before. . .

Small Business Lending An Answer in 2009

A friend of mine pointed me to an article published last week in The Star Tribune. Here is the link - http://www.startribune.com/business/51633817.html?page=6&c=y

The article basically points out the increased risk credit unions in Minnesota have taken on in business lending and the problems they are facing as a result.

So, instead of huge multi-million dollar business loans for high risk start-ups, how about focusing on the little guys/gals?

Stricter lending practices and improved credit checks should always be "par for the course", but credit unions need to explore the opportunities in the small business sector as a viable option for future success - (read the article to get the golf pun).

I don't have a crystal ball on the economy, but it makes sense for credit unions to explore bringing on more small business members. They will get more credit card transaction revenue, more exposure in the small business sector, and increase loan $$. A diverse lending portfolio with a smaller threshold of loan caps will bring down the risk factor as well.

The solutions are complex, but the basic direction is simple. . . or is it?

In 2009 Businesses need to invest in face-to-face Business Development

Economy decline slowing - opportunity never stops growing http://tiny.cc/P0HRw

Time and time again, the most successful businesses are the ones with folks wearing out the rubber on the soles of their shoes and building face-to-face relationships with customers.

One way the financial industry can grow their revenue stream (especially banks and credit unions) is to knock on the doors of small businesses. Go make some friends! Think about it. . . a small business that do 2.5 million in business per year can often times run 80-90% of purchases through a business credit card. That credit card transaction revenue adds up for a bank or a credit union. How many banks and credit unions are actively calling on all of the small businesses in their immediate service area around the branch??

And what about small businesses themselves? If you own a pizza shop, what about bringing some fresh hot pizzas in for free to the small businesses in your area? Drop off a few business cards, coupons, and magnets with your phone number on them and then say, "Please give us a ring and tell us how it tastes". That is a lot cheaper than mailing a million postcards or buying a TV or Radio spot. And who do you think they will think of next week when someone in the office says, "Who's hungry? Anybody want to go to lunch? Where should we go?"

Don't get me wrong, we need marketing. But in times like these we also need to sell our way out of recession.

I think we are on the upswing in our economy. 2008 and early 2009 was rough. It might take a few years, but businesses need to focus on long-term gains now. Stop cutting, start building.