- Search Engine Guidelines & Offerings
The search engines constantly refine their parameters for inclusion, acceptable practices and even display properties. In the past 2 years, we've seen major events like nofollow, the introduction of Webmaster Central, new guidelines on paid links, policies related to supplemental results at Google, the launch of Yahoo! Site Explorer, the Sitemaps program and dozens more. Only yesterday, Yahoo! came out with a new parameter to help eliminate the usage of the Yahoo! directory data from a SERPs listing. - Crawling & Accessibility
Dynamic parameters, frames, non-HTML content (PDFs are indexable, Word documents are, too, but Flash is still on the fence and a lot of Java and AJAX doesn't function at all), factors determining crawl depth (inlinks, subfolders, fresh content, duplicate meta data) - all of these change regularly and require constant attention. - Duplicate Content
Penalties, page exclusion, supplemental results - all these await the site that doesn't carefully monitor its content. Not only do you have to pay attention to copies of content on your site, you must also be wary of others who might re-publish your works, licensing systems, content sharing, scrapers and the value in letting others excerpt or copy your work (and how to create proper attribution and spider instructions). - Keyword Research
With more than a dozen different tools providing search keyword data, what do you trust? How accurate are the estimates? How do you run successful test campaigns? What keywords show the right intent, focus, relevance? How deep should you use KW research to build long tail campaigns? The questions keep on coming, even on a basic issue like keywords. - Changing Algorithms
From the sandbox to the trustbox to the influence of keyword usage and links, we see shifts and advancements in algorithmic rankings constantly. Five years ago, it was all about keeping one step ahead of those changes. For many folks now, it's about predicting how advanced the engines might be 2-4 years from now and shooting for the perfect site to fit those sweet spots. - Controlling Spiders & Sourcing
301 and 302 re-direct rules and interpretation, meta robots tags, robots.txt and directives that perform "legal" forms of cloaking (showing different content to engines and users) all demand careful attention and proper discretion. - Emerging Traffic Sources
Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon now drive huge quantities of traffic, as do blogs, video sites and new forms of ads (like paid reviews). Ignore these sources and your competition will get a leg up on you in the future. - Conversion Rate Optimization
Getting visitors to the site is only half the battle. Search folks are often required to guide clients through the process of optimizing a site for the users as well. From copy to information flow to user experience, design and even product quality, the responsibility can be massive. - Web Design
Though some see this as subjective, the issue of professional design is critical. Search marketers must put a critical eye to the layout of a site, the organization of elements on the page and the visual appeal or risk losing visitors, links and credibility. - International & Multiple Language Issues
The search engines currently do an awful job with many International issues, particularly when targeting multiple languages on a site or when offering multiple sites in different countries with content in the same language (see duplicate content above). Navigating this minefield is daunting, to say the least, and worst of all is that moving from country to country can often mean targeting different engines or traffic sources based on what's popular in that region. - Localization & Geo-Targeting
Even if you're just optimizing in one country, local search results, local engines, yellow page style directories and geotargeting for ads or content can make for trying work. The experts in these arenas apply their own specialized knowledge of how to get the most for businesses seeking regional clientele. - Usability
Much like web design, usability can impact all of the key elements that drive traffic to and through a site. At SEOmoz, a major part of all our site reviews is usability; it's the more human-focused sibling of search engine accessibility. - Appealing to Linkers
Every website that requires SEO must appeal to two groups of users, those who will buy/read/interact, and those who have the power or ability to link (and spread the word). Your used car dealership in Detroit may not need an AJAX embedded map, but it sure does help when trying to attract natural links from the blogosphere. - Content Creation
Creativity is required, as are writing skills and experience in building compelling web content. You have to know your users, your niche and target your content appropriately. I starts with great brainstorming and ends with great execution of language, images, video, audio and interactive content. - Web Analytics
What actions do you track? How do you measure success? Is A/B or multivariate testing required to get the most out of your campaign? What can the hundreds of trends and data points tell you about how your site can be improved? How about latent conversion tracking, offline campaign coordination or dayparting? - PPC Ads
Think buying ads on Google, Yahoo! or MSN is easy? Think again. - Banner Advertising
Are banner ads right for your site? Are they a good way to monetize short-term traffic? Can they help to bring you qualified leads or brand the right demographics to buy from you later? - Contextual Ads
Will AdSense earn you revenue? Is YPN a better deal? Will choosing contextual ads lower your relevance or hurt your chances to gain inbound links? - Search Results Pages
The darn things change all the time - from maps for local results to separate boxes for flights or recipes or weather to query refinements, suggestions and more. If you're aware of all the possibilities early, you can often take advantage of the modifications for rankings benefits, but if you miss the boat, it can be a struggle to get traffic even if you're a top result. - Monetization Strategies
Advertising? Freemium? Paid content? E-commerce? Consulting? Paid reviews? Not only do search marketers need experience with how to monetize a site, they also need to be able to identify the best choices and weigh the value of certain tactics with long and short-term goals. - Blogging
Organic SEO today often requires considerable expertise in the blogosphere. Sometimes, you're not optimizing a blog for your own site, but rather, figuring out how to leverage the power of blog traffic, links and reputation to build your brand in a niche. - Offline Marketing
You may not need to be an expert, but you at least need a solid foundation on ad agency tactics, public relations and guerrilla marketing to properly integrate these campaigns with your online approach. - Copywriting
There's a whole blog on the subject and plenty of folks who struggle to implement it properly. You may not need a Journalism degree, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have the background (like our glorious leader). - Keyword Usage
Once upon a time, the right number of term repetitions in your content would bring you search success. Today, more advanced search engines have made density formulas and keyword stuffing obsolete, but usage remains an issue for sites large and small. Using keywords in the proper places - titles, headlines, URLs and anchor text still has a big impact, but care must be taken to avoid cannibalization and prevent the search engines from interpreting your optimization as spam. - Web Hosting
Even something as basic as hosting requires some SEO knowledge - Russell Jones explains here. - Link Building
From link requests to natural link acquisition strategies to partnership networks and paid links, the adept search marketer requires an enormous bag of tricks to make link building campaigns consistently successful. - Viral Marketing
It's a hot topic, and requires serious effort. Linkbaiting isn't all fun and games - it takes trial and error, proper targeting, recognition of the various social audiences and a strong dose of content creativity and ability to execute. - Social Media
From MySpace to Flickr to LinkedIn, Squidoo and Yahoo! Answers, social media can't be ignored. Traffic, leads, networking opportunities and links are all part of the magical world of SMM.
I'd love to know - what part of the SEO/M job challenges you the most?
p.s. I believe Danny did a similar post when he defended SEO a few weeks back.
>>>Don't let anyone tell you your job as a search marketer is easy
A wise man in this industry once told me that sometimes, after living or breathing this industry for so many years that it is easy to think that what we do is simple (because some of it is to *us*) and it is a grave mistake to make. He said what we do is "highly specialized" and never to forget it. I try not to.
Very true. An expert makes anything look easy, and sees it as easy to do. A great juggler makes juggling look easy, and to him or her, it is. A great musician makes it look easy. And to them, it is. But you can't do it...
But it's years of practice that creates this illusion. Online marketing is no different.
Agreed. It's something I struggle with myself all the time. There are things I can now do easily and sometimes forget all the time and effort that went into that. It's very easy to forget that not everyone can do some of those things, much the same way I would be lost attempting to repair the engine in my car.
I find I have to catch myself from thinking "oy yeah that's easy. I can get that done in a half hour." and forgetting the value in what that half hour of time can bring to someone else or the hundreds of hours of time it took to be able to accomplish that half hour's worth of work.
Ooooohhhh - like that - good point!
"What Makes SEO & SEM So Damn Hard?"
There are only ten positions on the first page of Google... and everybody is fighting for them!
Thats the best answer:) there can be 100 great sites but only ten can be on first page.
For me, the biggest challenges are getting people (normally clients) to realise that there's a lot more to SEO than making some nice meta tags. Then, getting them to realise there's a lot more to online marketing is a lot more than just SEO and PPC.
I've kinda sacrificed being an expert per se in any one area, having decided a while ago that I'd rather just be proficient in a very large area of things (co-reg, copywriting, seo, ppc, social media stuff, blogging, web design, coding, programming...) rather than being known as THE guy to go to about SEO, or the king of PPC or suchlike.
Yes, there's most definately a place for people who are experts in one single area. But I think there's also a need for people like myself, who have a solid working knowledge of lots of things. That way, you can diversify and move into other areas and market in ways that other people can't.
Furthermore, if you need expert advice, you can outsource it. It's much easier (in my experience) do that, than to outsource someone who can see ways of applying a whole slew of marketing techniques to a business.
And don't even get me started on tieing in offline and online stuff with radio interviews, tv ads and all the other things you can do...
In the end, it all comes back to not putting all your eggs in one basket. If you can have ten different streams of traffic from ten different marketing efforts, that's going to be more future-proof.
Pete is on point. Client education and coordination is one of the biggest challenges.
SEO has two layers of difficulty beyond the tactical tasks:
Daniel
A wonderful post!I find the most challenging aspects of my job are:
a) Explaining to a client what they need without telling them what I know. Too often I have used my SEO knowledge to sell. I have learned to rather ask questions and report success with other clients than explain what they need to do. If I don't practice this rule potential clients slip through my hands and use my knowledge to bargain with competitors, or worse, try to go it alone.
b) Taking point a) into account and adding to it the complexity of the job (so nicely set out in this post) it is very difficult to get properly remunerated. Clients don't understand what we do and therefore find it tiresome to associate value. In the past some clients invested in SEO/SEM without counting conversions (even when I asked for it). Without conversions I can't prove my worthiness. Today I insist on conversions (even if the conversion is completing a contact form). This rule ensures I don't have to explain what I do and validates the work.
c) Working with a client in a friendly environment makes for easy sharing of information. If I perform an on-site analysis with follow up meetings I find my clients being to learn things from me that I am not charging for; my IP; my 12 years of hard work. These days I ensure I get paid over a min 6 to 12 months contract which includes (and is stated on my proposal) the ‘Cost of IP and Knowledge Transfer’.
d) Many clients just spent thousands on site development without ever factoring in any more than a search submission. When I confront them with a $15-$50k SEO/SEM/IM campaign they are all too often surprised. I simply ask them whether they would prefer to see their (spent) time and money down the drain, or spend a little more. They all spend a little more.
e) Most clients have traditional PR roles. The people in these roles are usually the toughest to deal with because of their lack of basic Internet skills, the feeling that they are no longer in control, and the colliding of the web and their traditional strategies. I am quickly able to win them over by suggesting that a highly optimized PPC and SEO campaign is no different from writing software like the ones they use on their desktops. I make them realize that once the work is done the benefits will linger for ages. Then I tell them that their own work is never be done because computers have no emotions. All we are doing is training a robot whose name is G! They like that, a lot.
Yeah, this one is ridiculous. You'd think with our talent and everyone's eagerness to succeed, we'd be a more successful SEO company by now. Come on! Rand's got a wedding to pay for, Scott and I have student loans, Jane needs to bribe immigration so she can stay in the States, Matt has a penchant for drugs and whores, and Jeff has to expand his Faberge egg collection!
Your breathtaking eloquence makes me proud to work with you. Oh, and is it just me, or are weddings the most profitable industry in the US. Rent a villa for a weekend to host a dinner event - $5,000 - for a wedding, try $25,000. It's like the event industry hears the word and simply adds a price multiplier.
Hey Rand, great information here. One of the things I find funny about the SEO industry is that we often make SEO look easier than it is. All the articles, forums and blogs disseminating information that's out there is certainly helpful and anybody can learn the basic or advanced tenants of SEO if they have the time. But that's just the thing... its all about time. Everything you mentioned takes time to learn, study, implement, test, etc. And there is almost no way for one person to be an expert in all of it... even if they dedicate themselves full time to the craft. There's a lot of stuff going on there!
It's the old analogy of the $300/hr lawyer who is too cheap to hire a $50/hr secretary to handle all the "paperwork."
And it all comes back to the whole "Not Rocket Science" point.
No it isn't, nor is just about anything else. The average person is probably fairly intelligent and could do just about anything they wanted, moderately well at least.
It all just comes back to whether it truly makes the most sense. It is rarely about whether you can or can't do something, just whether it makes more sense in the bigger picture to hire someone to do it for you if your time is more valuable elsewhere.
Not to mention that the demographics of your target market can vary significantly, requiring substantial changes to your SEO/SEM campaign.
i agree with Nathania, i'm exhausted just reading the list. As a fairly new player to the seo game as well, i also feel like i should know more...
so very true. but that's one of the things i love most about seo, is the fact that it is ever-changing - never boring! and being in an industry where people are so helpful and willing to share information is such a blessing.
we may not be rocket scientists...but we sure do ROCK!
I too love that it's ever-changing. Never boring. Woo Hoo!
The title of this Blog post should have been :
What Makes SEO's & SEM's So Damn Talented.
Cheeers.
Wow. I'm exhausted just reading it!
Seriously though, you're right. There's alot to it. And as a newbie to the industry, I feel sometimes like I should know more than I do. But with a field that's ever-changing, it's a difficult task - to put it lightly.
Moreover, you take that list and combine it with client relations. Some clients are just plain difficult and some come to us misinformed.
But I really liked what you put about offline marketing. I think it's so important to view SEO/SEM as a part of the big picture for a client. It must jive with other efforts that are part of their business and marketing plans.
Excellent post Rand :)
One of the best things i like abt this "segment" is its ability to bring people back to reality in an instant.
King of Search one day and a mere commoner the next day.
What i like the most is unlike other areas, this one is not "stagnant" and everyone needs to be on the constant search for information/knowledge etc...
Great summary Rand.
I just told yesterday a fellow marketer and friend that his blog has the same (weird and keyword stuffed) title for every page and that this would cause issues with the SE, worst case, ending up in supplemental hell. The answer was
"Alright, I've changed the title to just "xxxxxxx" in the header file. What would you suggest for detail pages? Should I leave it at just xxxxxxxx or should I try to do a php call to the specific post's title?"
I first thought he made fun of me and is joking, but he wasn't. We sorted it out and yes, his post titles are now the page titles as well :)
But it shows (among tons of other examples) that SEO is not a walk in the park and happens all automatically.
You hire an SEO because of things like this, because a SEO sees issues like that right away. Regular users don't care or know about all those little things that add up to make you at least present in the search results.
Not to mention competing against other sites what comes after you got the basics straight.
SEO is not rocket science but so is Paid Search, Email marketing, Display advertising, Affiliate marketing etc. But each require a special skill set or knowledge to do a good job and not only an okay or "so so" one.
Okay means in some verticals already - unable to compete. It's not getting easier. Quite the opposite.
Regarding your question what challenges me. Copywriting, Viral Marketing, Appealing to Linkers and Conversion Rate Optimization. Also Web design and Usibility which I actually like to do, but rather outsource to somebody who breathes CSS if it is a commercial project.
Cheers!
As a client-side SEO/M working within a company which is owned by a larger company... I'd have to say having the competition phone me up for advice is the biggest problem I face.
Weirdly.
One competitor (owned by same company that owns the one I work for) just announced that search is dead, SEO is pointless. Then their online marketing exec. starts calling me for help with SEO/M stuff because they fired their online manager and so she needs guidence.
I find it hard to say no. My boss is protective of my expertise and so he doesn't want me to become a company-wide resource however I love to help and teach and pass on what I know.
I also find it a challenge to educate people that SEO/M isn't a one-time thing that you set up and forget about - it is a constantly evolving process that changes as the algorithms do.
*sighs*
You're in a sweet spot, relish it!
Teaching and ensuring clients understand what you're doing is a huge part of this sector and where we get most of our enjoyment out of.
I'm speaking at a conference so I'm happy I just hate being a hoarded resource.
I wish I could do more teaching, passing on stuff, and firing people up about it!
I need guidence for my site - can you help or know someone who can?
I agree that all of these reasons are the same reasons we love the industry.
Some industries change so slowly and are purposely held back from progression for the sake of the market leaders - this I hate and I'm proud not to be involved in one.
We deserve credit for trying to offer everything to our clients.
Maybe this was an easy industry to get into and maybe we deserve the complexities of its progression!
Either way its pretty cool...
Link building and writing copy are the most challenging to me(motivationally, not technically). Keeping up with new developments and learning new stuff is the fun part.
In an ideal world I could get paid very well to read blogs and learn new stuff all day. A few times a day, someone would come in and ask me a question (which, of course, I would be able to answer accurately and concisely after doing research all day every day). Maybe some day....
All of these things are what makes the industry so great to work in. I love the way things change all the time.
In my main job as an in house SEO for an insurance company the only thing that has changed in 5 years is the internet. Everything else just stays exactly the same with no innovation at all. Any new products take months to roll out whereas on the web we can upload new pages in minutes.
Hi Rand,
Great Post.
One thing I find very, very hard in regards to SEO & SEM is keeping up with the news and SE's, I have discovered that reading 80 + blogs, doing client work and having a family and social life is a very dificult task; but hey - I bet most people have all readdy realised this.
In regards to keyword research tools that I trust - I still like the Overture, or should I say Yahoo Search Marketing tool and Wordtracker.
And I agree, I think very good web design (although there isn't really much proof - i don't think) and very good coding is a must when optimising websites.
Cheers.
That Overture one seem to be acting funny lately - anyone else having issues with it?
It's amazing how many of the problems mentioned above go away if you stick to working on your own sites :)
Thanks for the list Rand and thanks for pointing out some of the areas where you need to improve. It makes me feel a little better about my own lack of knowledge and experience in certain areas.
Nathania I'm exhausted like you just reading this post and thinking about all the things I need to learn better and wondering where I'm going to find the time.
Since many of us are one person shops is it reasonable to think we can master or at least adequately perform all of the above? Take web design and copywriting. Two obviously useful skills, but also two disciplines you can spend a lifetime working to improve and two standalone services.
My own thought is that we each bring our own unique skillset to the fireld and our best approach is to become familir with as many aspects of SEO as we can and then focus on the aspects that best fit with our unique set of skills.
Of course not all of us are serving Fortune... well, Fortune anythings, let alone 500's.
The closer you get to the "mom-and-pop's" the more broad-based you need to be because they can't afford to hire specialists in even a handful of these areas, let alone justify the premium fees of a specialist in even one area.
That's where I am. I don't mind since my favortie part of all this is the learning and even if I was specializing in one specific area I would end up spending much of my free term learning the areas I didn't know as well.
I'm slowly seeing what I areas I like to work with the most and how I can use my skills to improve how I do everything. I've also been trying to see things from the 'mom and pop' point of view and understand what they most want to see out of seo and refine those skills more.
I think in time we'll see more individual SEOs with a good understanding of everything along with a few specialties building relationships with other individuals who specialize in another aspect.
That's a good point. I personally am a naturally curious person, so I could go in circles trying to learn, or yes, master many abilities in this industry, all while having other interests (including screenwriting).
I struggle b/c while I love copywriting and developing content, it's the lowest paid position at my company plus I'm ultra curious about what my coworkers are doing.
But ultimately, it's a good idea not to be spread so thin, I think. I'll be thinking about this. Thanks for making me think. :)
Nathania don't sell the copywritng short. Given the popularity of linkbait copywriting is going to start being seen more as how valuable it really is.
I know we had a post here recently talking about how content is becoming commoditized, but good writers are only going to gain value. Think blogging and linkbaiting. Writing skills are going to be in demand for both.
I like developing content too. Much more than I like researching keywords or building links. I also like analyzing sites and dianosing potential problems. Understanding that I enjoy doing those things more is helping me refine the services I offer.
I still want to know everything else of course.
I always see it as; "Jack of all trades, master of none"
And clients seem to be getting pickier with how many tasks they feel fit under the SEO umbrella. I've actually taken over one clients site entirely - from redesign to all his web marketing.
I never thought I'd be doing this when I was in college ...
It is all a bit exhausting when you list it all out like that! No wonder I'm so tired lately ;)
This is one of those rather ironic industries as I think what challenges everyone the most, the constant need for learning, re-learning and change is also what excites and attracts the most.
Certainly keeping up even to some degree on much of this, let alone all of this, is a challenge. Perhaps this constant change and the need to share and discuss information within the industry is also what benefits the industry as a whole. I'm sure many of us learn as much through sites like SEOmoz and other key sites as anywhere and this constant share and flow of information helps the industry grow as a whole.
The client side of things often presents the biggest challenge. There is still a lot of education that has to be done. But clients not only help pay the bills, but are a constant reminder that all of this isn't just something you are born knowing.
Trying to explain to a client that just because they are the best in town for what they do doesn't give them rights to the top placement in search engines... or when they were #2 yesterday but are now #5 and next week they'll be #3 and then.....
And even when you know what is best for them and what they need to do, some of this is hard for clients...
boosting search ranking, in the client's eyes, is often a bit like dieting....
you can tell them that they need to eat right (add good, relevant content) and they need to get out and exercise (gain high quality links), but that might be hard to them so in the end, they just want a pill (how do we get to number one without adding content or getting links)?
And more than that, staying with the diet analogy, once you've dieted you don't just go back to what you were doing before. You keep eating healthily, and exercising. It's a never-ending, ongoing thing.
Just like SEO :)
Great analogy with the dieting. I think looking for an seo pill is what causes the biggest entry barrier to those wanting to seo their own sites and it's one of the more frustrating aspects for me in attracting new clients. People don't always want to hear that to get the results they want an investment of time and money is needed.
I remember a (Super Bowl?) commercial from about 10 years ago. I forget who the company was, but it involved a few 20 somethings in a New York loft. They're watching the stat counter on their site after a launch and first getting excited while it grows and then getting that overwhelmed look as it grows too fast.
I think a lot of people still have that kind of opinion of the web. That build it and they will come mentality and many see seo as a couple of quick fixes to bring more traffic than they can handle.
Or at least they want to see it that way since taking that seo quick fix pill sounds a lot easier than doing all the things on Rand's list.
Of course the reality is that there are still a lot of businesses, big and small, who may have finally moved past the "do we really need a website," but haven't gotten beyond the, "we finally got a website because we realized that it was something every business needs.... like a business card holder on your desk."
And if pressed, they would probably tell you that it is there so they can refer their customers to it, but I bet there are far too many who have yet to really grab the concept that their website can be one of the most powerful marketing tools they have.
Why else would companies not blink an eye dropping thousands a month into TV, billboards, radio and print, but can fathom spending more than a few thousand on a practically one-time expense for a website.
Very true. I work mostly with small businesses, often a single individual, and many times when I make a suggestion I get a reply that the business owner doesn't see the value in promoting their website because all their business comes through offline channels.
I usually want to tell them that they aren't seeing customers online because they aren't investing in marketing online, but I've learned it's best not to. Some people aren't ready yet.
I think the idea of people not ready to see the potential of their websites as a marketing vehicle will keep actually SEOs busy for years, since over time many of those people will come to understand the value of seo. There's still plenty of room for seo 101 services as that will be the entry point for many when they begin to see what their website can really do for their business.
> The client side of things often presents the biggest challenge. There is still a lot of education that has to be done.
i agree, and navigating internal political waters within the client company can be challenging. you can develop the most fundamentally sound set of SEO recommendations in the world, and if a key influencer within the organization feels threatened by them, or feels that your recommendations somehow devalue their previous contributions, your plan can go nowhere in a hurry.
i've always that starting a new project goes more smoothly if i take the time to mentally map out not only who technically has ownership of each given part of the business, but just as importantly, whose ego might be stepped on in making changes. the consultative process of seeding an idea in a given gatekeeper's mind, and then allowing that person to think that you "arrived at the solution together" often works much smoother than coming in from the outside and handing down dicta from on high.
those old maps of the ocean that had "thar be monsters" written in certain sections have something to teach us about working on SEO projects with clients ;) explore a client's organization like magellan prior to starting a project, and you won't get blindsided as often.
For me, My biggest difficulty is convincing my clients that they need SEO / SEM
Our company is based in Portugal and we find very difficult to explain why do clients need SEO / SEM.
When we talk to them they always understand why SEO / SEM is necessary and important.
But they always say they have no budget for it.
Even if they have spent a few thousand dollars (or sometimes millions) creating the site for zero visitors.
Every day we see big companies making big budget ads on TV spending millions to promote a web site (banks, insurance companies, …)
And when we look at their web site they didn’t even care to create different titles for each page, so how can we explain them about SEO / SEM.
Regards
Mac
Convincing companies of the ROI of SEO services is indeed tricky sometimes. If they're used to TV or print ad spends (which are often tremendous compared to the total cost of an organic SEO campaign) they can be hesitant because there's not a substantial, tangible package for them to gawk at and see in the media.
Solid post, comprehensive for the most part. I would have given the off page promotional aspects a bit more attention. You did mention them broadly but it's so crucial, (and as you said so damn hard,) to conduct comprehensive and profitable off page promotional campaigns.
I thought if you built a site and uploaded it on the Internet traffic, business and sales would naturally come. Why do you have to make it so complicated Rand. HAHA.
This is a great list. It really helps to get a grasp on all the different hats a company has to wear in order to be successful.
Each and everyday new sites are launched to compete the others. I love SEO for this reason. ONe thing I don't like about SEO is the sandbox. I hate when sites go to sandbox, it is very frustrating.
SEO is just really hard sometimes, but you have to keep going at it and building new sites and trying new techniques ... when you get a winner. Then you make the bank :D
Seo is hard when you are starting of and don't know what to do. But once you get the hang of it things then become better.
Seo is a very intersting field in seo i most like link building through directory submission.
One thing that people overlook all the time when conducting on site SEO is to silo their content. By siloing your content, it makes your website more relevant for the keywords your targeting and you require fewer backlinks to get ranked.
I think very good web design (although there isn't really much proof - i don't think) and very good coding is a must when optimising websites.
SEO is a world of competetion. Each and everyday new sites are launched to compete the others. I love SEO for this reason. ONe thing I don't like about SEO is the sandbox. I hate when sites go to sandbox, it is very frustrating.
Well, I love about SEO/M is the freedom to do multiple things and focus on such huge, vast areas, that I can spend a lifetime on each one, yet I get to play around in all the above you mentioned. Granted my skills are much stronger in some, and weaker in others, but that's what's fun.
This site is amazing. I agree SEO is not as easy as it seems to ..It can be very tedious as well.
I guess it would be fair for SE to show us their indexing algorithm instead of serving us that bull*hit of webmaster guidelines ... so we could understand what they are looking for - but I guess life was not fair since the begining so why it should be now .. so as a rethorical question - if SE are not fair why we should be?
Don't even get me started on tieing in offline and online stuff with radio interviews, tv ads and all the other things you can do!
Ya these are very important points for promote a site.We should concentrate on all the points equally.
I think SMO is the most popular technique for getting good rank in google today.
Thanks for sharing this information about search engine technology. I am also related to seo technology so it is very helpful for me.
Keyword research is very tough these days.
Iam also in the field of seo since few days and i want to make my carrier in this field.
SEO is just really hard sometimes, but you have to keep going at it and building new sites and trying new techniques ... when you get a winner. Then you make the bank :D
I just say that its great to see that working with a Kiwi, and attending SES London, has got Rand using English slang!
Hi I love the challenges , the lines , timing and variety the people really nutting it all out in a super calculated way, exactly what is best for my client, then going over it.
Life is like a road. There are long and short roads; smooth and rocky roads; crooked and straight paths. In our life many roads would come our way as we journey through life. There are roads that lead to a life of single blessedness, marriage, and religious vocation.
Link building and writing copy are the most challenging to me(motivationally, not technically). Keeping up with new developments and learning new stuff is the fun part.
Hi Rand. Have you had a chance to consider whether an automatic and algorithmic to long tail natural search campaigns might simplify the game, and in fact become a game changer by virtue of lowering the barrier for entry? We at HitTail think that perfectly well optimized blogging software in combination with the one best thing to write about (per day) might just open the flood gates for mainstream marketing folks to join the fun.
Hi all
I love being an seo. I love marketing and being good at it gives me a really gooey feeling, seriously, it does,
I love the challenges, the dead lines, timing and variety, the people and really nutting it all out in a super calculated way, exactly what is best for my client, then going over it again, and getting results, and the fact its constantly evolving and i with it,
Im a chef by trade so pressure and timing are everything to me anyway. and i thrive on it, Im actually one of the super-cheap SEOs, but thats my niche and i protect it aggressivly with pricing and quality, i also promote myself, and my business in the cheapest way that gets the best return, to the most likely market, including search engines, and i have more work that i know what to do with, almost.
i guess the best thing is im home with my family, my financial quality of life is better, i may work 18 hours a day to get it all done, But i love it, and am so glad i fell into seo and i really cant ever see the end of the industry. well as long as no-one ever pulls out the power point at google, etc, lol
I know its late too, But, a big Congratulations Rand, well done,,
Have a fantastic Day all
Kindest Regards
Phillip
Getting IT/developers who don't understand this area to admit that, and not just guess what to do, eg:
I know, let's make this really important page noindex!
I think the one thing that "defends" SEO is hard, cold, simple results - good consistent rankings, more qualified visits and high conversion rates
Well I just found out I got a long road to go, I better keep reading all these SEO blogs.
Rand, a very interesting observation.
For me its always the client who demands top 10 rankings guarantee within a month for less than $100.
What's so cruel about this is that the fact there are few self-proclaimed seos who offer such hi-fi promises for such low fees. I have never heard if they have achieved what they have promised. But its just hurts me to speak to such clients who doesn't understand the ABCs of SEO. I really wish that more customers read this post - than us seo.
Thanks for sharing.
Clients need to be educated about SEO and what SEO can do for their businesses. If after that they still don't understand, they shouldn't be your clients.
I sense a viral wedding affiliate program brewing. Mazeltov!
There's never a dull moment in this business. I see a lot of weaknesses of mine amongst everything that you listed. This helps me realize just how much there is to be done and how hard it really is to do it all.
What I love about SEO/M is the freedom to do multiple things and focus on such huge, vast areas, that I can spend a lifetime on each one, yet I get to play around in all the above you mentioned. Granted my skills are much stronger in some, and weaker in others, but that's what's fun. I know I can learn more, and on top of that, it's always changing which is always a new challenge.
I think I am challenged most by link building/baiting. Working in-house, I have problems apply how what we do would be worth bringing people to link to us. This is something I am trying to work on to improve.
Try this. Break down your proposal into a priority list. Perhaps SEO and Viral Marketing at the top with "putting a URL sticker on employees cars" at the bottom (the list could easily be Rand’s post).
Price each item and estimate increased traffic results. Then let the client tick the boxes of the work they want done. If you are lacking in certain skills move them to the bottom of the list and weight the value of doing them negatively compared to the ones you want your client to choose - until your skills improve.
Be the master, not the Jack by influencing your client to buy the things you know you can do well. Spend 10% of your week accruing skills in the areas you know you can price well.
You might also employee a sales person on a commission basis to sell for you. Techos generally are poor sales people because they tend to focus thier pitch on technical solutions rather than profitable benefits. Someone once told me I should go on diet (grrrrr) but IIIIII lost the weight. (this comment is not about my weight lol)
I am sick and tired of seo-sem, I've tried everything and everyone out there and it seems like they want paid up front then at the end of the month, last couple days before another billing cycle they all of a sudden want to provide you with a bunch of program generated reports. I already have this ability with my Moz Account. It's insane. I feel like jerking them up and saying "hey stupid" "Don't you realize we know you want $1700 a month for seo'ing my two sites but you got to do something !"
I've had it literally with them.... I'd be blown away if someone actually did some work then said, pay me after the work's done. I have searched for years, and I do mean years to try and find someone who would work hard, increase ROI and make my sites excel. Don't they understand if they make you money, they will get paid. It's not brain surgery, just pure old common horse sense.
I want quality, I'm talking about quality work. If someone came to me and said I want to do your seo work. I will prove myself before you pay, I'd rip their arm off for that deal. Then, I'd know they'd be the real deal. I'm the one getting the shaft all those times..... Lessons learned....
We probably have more acreage and inventory in trees than anyone in the USA. We sell to the "giants" online in the tree nursery industry for pennies on the dollar. They turn around and sell a product we sell to them for .55 cents for $16.99!!!!!!!!!!! And they sell thousands because they buy thousands from us. Sad thing is, they know people who will do their seo and work hard to get their product on top,I don't.
Tammy
Tn Nursery
ANy thoughts on this: https://www.searchengineguide.com/degeyter/009475.html?
"Stoney deGeyter leads a spectacular team of seasoned marketing experts"
Um, not sure what I have to do with this post but any press is good press, I guess.
Extremely informative post, and so realistic. I've been running my own business since December and somehow keep ending up figuring out marketing strategies for local companies and this post definitely supports what I already found out on myself - it's a beast of a field to be in. I also agree with the point someone made that I feel it's best to well versed in many areas rather than being an expert in one area.
One thing I'm having problems with is determing what I should charge people for my services. Certain work that I do with companies won't have any direct effect on conversion, more traffic or what have you - however everything I do is part of an overall SEO/SEM strategy and I don't do anythign that I don't think would have a positive effect for the company. Another client now asked me to run their google adwords campaign and that's another item I have no idea how to price.
If anyone has any suggestions or guidance in that direction Iwould greatly appreciate it.
Thanks again for this great post.
Me Ranting
I would add:
Management Buy-in - Sometimes its hard to make Management of companies and clients understand the various strategies that would be beneficial from and SEO's point of view - its not bad enough having to convince search engines that the site is worth taking to the top, but to constantly battle the decision makers of the company... just makes it a tad harder.
The thing that I love most about seo, is the fact that it is ever-changing - never boring! and being in an industry where people are so helpful and willing to share information is such a blessing.
Bloody excellent list. I want to tattoo this on my face.
Thanks Rand. Now I can finally explain to my wife what I do for a living.
With this list in mind, it'd be interesting to consider what advice you'd give to a college student about what to study if he or she wants to get into the business. Marketing, Computer Science, English, Journalism, Linguistics, Psychology, Sociology? Not sure there's an obvious answer, athough Theology might be more appropriate on some days.
The most difficult part of doing SEO/M can be (not always) dealing with inexperienced clients. In some cases clients come to you having a little understanding of what they need to do, but the ones that say they want to be #1 for x number of keywords and for as little money as possible is the most difficult part.
Won't it be more efficient to optimize for humans rather than always backtracking when some new guideline comes out?
Back when search engines recommended doorway pages and redirect scripts, the honest business probably didn't use them. Is that correct? I wasn't around web design and seo in those days. Also that was back when search was a growing market, I remember when altavista and yahoo didn't even have ads. Also, remember, google made search into a profitable business and everyone got on the bandwagon. So the next big thing that can probably usurp google is something beyond:
Also, does anyone know if the google guidelines ever recommended using a doorway page and the like? I've heard people saying that search engines used to.
m1 - I think you've got a few kinks in your timeline, and search engines, to my knowledge, NEVER recommended doorway pages or re-direct scripts.
I was on the web in 1996, I remember when the real altavista was at altavista.digital.com, I remember lycos when they weren't half-bad, I remember searching for warez on https://ftpsearch.ntnu.no/
But wasn't yahoo always more popular among the widest variety of user than the search engines, until google came along?
What makes SEO so hard, search engines do,
i know this isnt the right place probably, google deindexed me tonight, my philski.com my brand, my first seo website, my everything,
and if i had done something wrong, cool, but i never, i never spammed, no dodgy anything, i even "actually" tried to follow the guidelines and its all gone,
its not just a website to me either, it how i make my living, its how i feed my children and wife, and i have had my income taken off me, just like that
i did have one message come up in serps about copyright, yesterday morning, but i always ask permission and i never steal content, i even asked Rand if i could use some of the stuff in here, just cause its so good, i just dont steal.. do you remember rand?
all i can think of was someone telling google i was a bad seo egg, and just being nasty, and it has destroyed my world,
when you put your heart into it, and i do, im up till 9am working 18 hours a day,
i think, google really need to pull there head in and make sure its true before they go chopping people up.
anyway, my seo died today, and so did my respect,
Phillip
Have you tried querying this with Matt Cutts? I know that he's not able to answer everything, but if you really feel that you did nothing wrong, it might be worth a try.
Or install Google Webmaster tools and see what that tells you.
The most interesting thing I could find in SEO field is its Keyword Research analysis.
I found an eBook that does a pretty good job of outlining some basic SEO principles. It's a great resource for those who are just getting into search engine optimization and don't know where to begin.
You can check it out here:https://www.search-engine-traffic.net
Courtesy of www.ashgilpin.com and www.eyepinch.com
Those links are nofollowed, mate. Good to finally see some spam around here, though. I was worried that we weren't popular enough for it :)
And can I just say that its great to see that working with a Kiwi, and attending SES London, has got Rand using English slang!
Mate!