Photo by Wikimedia Commons
by Scott Zeller, SEO Expert
Exercise. We know we need it, but it can be intimidating when deciding how, when and where to get started. Is it fun? Not at first, but over time, it can be. With the right discipline, the right program, the right partner and the right instruction. And getting started is definitely the hardest part. But once you start seeing the results, it makes it all worthwhile!
Much of that same idea can be applied to your company’s search engine marketing.
I found a great article today from Stephan Spencer (on searchengineland.com) that uses this analogy when referring to SEO. He refers to SEO as being a daily workout for your website. You have to keep your website in good health. And you have to work at it every day. If you stop working at it, your site will get out of shape. If it’s out of shape, it will lose strength, and fall in the search engine rankings.
He also refers to the SEO professional as your website’s physician. Consult your SEO professional before starting any new fitness program for your website. Again, a great analogy. There are a lot of variables at play when determining how well your website is going to rank on the search engines. With an in-depth audit, your SEO professional can identify your strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, and develop a program specific to your website to get maximum results.
The article goes on to address a few additional realistic expectations.SEO is a long-term strategy. Paid search is short-term. So the work you do today will take a while before it (ideally) transfers into higher rankings. A great strategy I recommend is to frontload any budget dollars you have into paid search to get on the search engine results pages today for the keywords that you’re targeting. Then in a few months, when your SEO kicks in, you can pull back on your paid search, and let the SEO take over.
SEO is a team effort. From social media managers to developers to copywriters, there are many disciplines that affect your rankings. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. And it takes a team to raise a website in the search engine rankings, and have it be sustainable. I apologize for the pun, but it worked well here! And finally, make sure your plan has tangible results, so you can measure those results over time.
So get your website in shape. Develop your plan, and get to work! And once you start, don’t stop. Consult your 'physician' today, and get your site in the best shape of its life!
