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You’ve seen the ads on Google, Yahoo and MSN ad networks, you’ve received the emails. Please tell me you don’t buy this.

As in every profession, there are charlatans. Making promises they’ll never fulfill, it’s to be expected. But what’s not expected is that bright people running successful companies use these outrageous claims to create expectations with reputable agencies everyday.

This isn’t the first time I’ve weighed in on the “it’s our jobs as search marketers to educate our potential customers” platform. So I’m throwing it out there, what can we do as search professionals to create a standard for pay scale and, more importantly, creation of expectations?

Here’s the question. You have a potential new customer. Your job is to take a site with zero search visibility (seriously, zero, they can’t even be found for their own name), create awareness through placement of their top 50 keywords (average KEI of 1.0). These 50 keywords will drive 20K visits per month at a 2% conversion rate which yields them the magic number they need to run the online part of their business. What steps do you take to engage them, help them understand the process and provide a bid and proposal that meet their needs? Okay, search marketers, put your money where your mouth is. The point of this exercise is to get our potential customers to realize the value and benefit of engaging our services. When any of our brethren consider answering the “Page 1 placement on Google for just $24.95″ we’ve not only lost but we’ve de-valued our services.

My position is this. My services for this project cost this. Period. I’m not selling a car. I don’t have to go in back and talk it over with the general manager, you don’t have to choose whether or not you get the clear coat with that. This is the price for these services. Can I get an AMEN?

The most recent statistic I’ve heard for the value of search placement is that 90% of visits for a particular keyword/phrase take place from page one results (do the math-page 1 is 10 results out of maybe 1 million results). This, in and of itself, should command reflection for business owners when they are selecting search engine marketing and optimization services, yet we’re still losing our misguided brethren to “Page 1 of Google results for just $49.95″.

Maybe the bigger question is this, do we even entertain meetings with potential clients who are swayed by the seductive voice of unreasonable expectations? Should we only engage clients who truly understand (and are willing to pay for) the value of exceptional search marketing services? Or is it our duty to educate our misguided friends with a great deal of potential?

As an older, (10 year), but smaller agency it’s my goal here to gain some wisdom. It’s my inclination (as a farm girl and as an SEO who sees the value in our services) to want to help our wayward brethren in their pursuit of search ranking and business growth-but at what price?

I would love to hear strategies from my fellow search marketers as we band together to answer the “whose job is it anyway?” question.
All my best.

One of the coolest parts of my job is working with the team members of a company. You learn so much about other industries and I’m always amazed at the level of talent and enthusiasm. As I recently worked with my client, Avery Print and Mail Center and their fulfillment vendor, Modern Postcard, to launch the new site, I was constantly impressed with the level of commitment by all the teams coordinating to complete the project and offer value through their individual efforts. A sales person had great insight into site metrics, the CIO kept track of coordinating efforts that weren’t always within her job description, a designer gave fresh perspective on some important marketing collateral. It takes a lot of time, energy and talent to run a business effectively. In smaller companies, individuals are tasked with wearing many hats. Do you know the talent on your internal team? There may be a gifted writer in your midst, explore ways that the writer on your team can evaluate your website and offer ideas and generate content for your site. Get to know your team, you never know what you might be missing. As we launched the new site last week, I realized how much I had learned about areas of the business that don’t have much to do with search marketing, postal guidelines for example, that improve my ability to help market the website. Fostering a work environment that encourages open thought and sharing may not only help your marketing efforts, it may improve your bottom line.

Welcome to Search Marketing 101 and hello from Hood River, Oregon. If there were a heaven on earth, it might look a little something like this. Nestled between Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood on the Columbia River, on any given day you may meet a world class athlete, entrepreneur, musician, artist or world traveler. We all have many reasons for living here, the endless parade of outdoor pursuits, the beauty, the peaceful quality of this place, the forward-thinking of its’ community members. But at the end of the day, we’re all looking for the same thing, to find ourselves, to find our voice and people that share that voice.
Search marketing is much the same, whether we’re looking to generate leads, sell something or share information-we’re trying to be found online, trying to find the people who have a need we can fulfill.
Let’s ponder a couple of questions. Why do you have a website? When I ask this question to different departments of the same company, I always get different answers, which is okay as long as you are creating an objective that you can fulfill. How do you know if your website is successful, if you haven’t agreed upon why you have one?
What do you want people to do once they’re there? I’m always surprised at how little this topic is discussed during web development, but it’s the most essential question you can ask…and answer. Do you want people to pick up the phone and call you, then don’t bury your phone number 3 clicks into your site. Do you want people to learn about your widget, then give them educational material
When potential customers “meet” your web site, what is their first impression? Just like meeting a person, your site is going to have a lot more to offer people than what they see in the first 6 seconds (all the time we have to make an impression in today’s fast paced web world). You have to give then something to make an impression, before you become best friends. Don’t be afraid to share a little something about yourself. If you’re a kayaker, tell me about the region, share your favorite kayaking spots, offer me something, get to know me. Chances are if I’m buying a new kakak and researching kayak shops I’ll give you a chance because you’ve made a good impression. It takes time to create a relationship, in life and in business. Ask a few people, friends or better yet customers, what they think they’re supposed to do on the home page of your site. If they’re not sure, you have some work to do.
Email me at lisa@mediafortemarketing if you’d like to share your results.