We try to avoid writing anything when we are in a "mood," but today is a bit of an exception...
So here are three ways to guarantee that you will fail with your SEO campaign.
No organic website traffic from search engines, no contacts from finding you online, and no business growth from those searching in your local area, nada!
Just follow these steps, and you will almost certainly waste your time and money, as well as increase your overall stress level.
1) NOT KNOWING THE EXACT WORDS YOU ARE TRYING TO RANK FOR
One of the biggest mistakes that contracting companies make when handling their Local SEO campaigns is their lack of knowledge. They do not know the exact keywords that their SEO vendors are targeting to rank them.
I need you to stop and think about this for one moment please because it is vital to SEO. If you were going to buy a magazine ad, billboard, or radio spot, your first question would be, "what is the distribution?" In other words, how many of my targeted customers will see or hear this.
With SEO though, many people throw money at their SEO provider, and that's it. They don't realize that this question needs to be asked here as well.
IF YOU WANT TO RANK IN GOOGLE, THEN YOU MUST KNOW THE EXACT WORDS PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING AND HOW MANY TIMES A MONTH THEY ARE SEARCHING THESE SPECIFICA WORDS.
For instance, If you are an electrician servicing Arlington, TX, then you must know that the word (Arlington TX Electrician) is searched 1,030 times per month. Compared that to this phrase (Best Electrician Arlington TX) which is only searched 10 times on average per month.
What if you are spending thousands of dollars per month with an SEO company and their main focus is moving you up for a word that only gets 10 searches a month. This approach means that even if you get to the top, then your chances of an ROI are non-existent.
**You MUST know the search terms you are targeting, and how many times each term is searched per month. And monitor if you are moving up steadily for the correct words. This understanding is the foundation of your SEO campaign.
2) NOT HOLDING YOUR SEO COMPANY ACCOUNTABLE
We understand that holding your SEO company accountable is very difficult for two reasons. The first one is that you may not know what to even look for in regards to SEO results. Or the monthly tasks that SEO agency needs to perform to deliver results. Secondly, if the SEO company you are working with provides monthly reports, you may not be sure how to interpret those reports.
We get this, and we are not asking you to study SEO so that you are a master. However, we do need you to do two things when confronting your SEO company.
The first thing that must be apparent between you and your SEO company is that you demand transparency in the form of monthly deliverables and results. This means that the SEO agency is aware that each month, you expect to see the work that they have completed in regards to SEO. (This is not results, this means actual work) SEO work delivered in the form of content.
Almost every month, SEO agencies write content whether this is in the way of Blogs, Guest Posts, Meta Data, Press Releases, or a simple Directory Link. These SEO services strengthen your website, which shows Google authority which Google uses to move your site up in the rankings. Agencies can show you their workload in addition to results and reports.
Secondly, you must demand results tracking and reports. These reports come in two primary forms. The first form is called analytics, and these are typically free from Google, and the SEO companies share them with you. Analytics reports show you the traffic to your website from channels like social media, other referral websites, direct, and most importantly, Organic. Organic traffic is the search traffic from people typing a search term in Google and finding your website.
Remember, you cannot gain organic search traffic if your website is not ranked at the top of Google. This means until you move up, your natural traffic will-be low. This is why the next most essential results to track are the movement of the keywords people are searching.
Remember those keywords that people are searching that we said is most important to follow? These words are what we are talking about tracking and reporting to measure results.
First, you determine the keywords people are searching to find you.
Your SEO company performs monthly work to move you up.
You get reports of these words to see if you are jumping up.
Once you get to the top, then, in theory, your website organic traffic should increase.
If these steps all happen as described, then you will be able to gain leads and measure your ROI.
3) GIVING UP TOO SOON
We have seen and heard this happen way too often by companies which give up way too soon in regards to SEO, then blame SEO itself for the reason why it did not work. Sadly, many companies give up on their investments hence losing money by quitting their SEO push and jumping ship. They bounce from company to company and continuously have their sites re-work and rebuilt. Every time this happens, they start over.
We do understand that many SEO companies are incapable of achieving the service they sell. If your SEO provider is not delivering positive SEO movement, then it is crucial to find a company who can deliver results. Because of this common occurrence to work with incapable SEO providers, we suggest a few things to consider when choosing your SEO company.
First, make sure that the SEO company you choose has examples of delivering page 1 rankings for companies who are in the same industry as your company. Secondly, make sure they are transparent with providing their work ethics, and rankings the way we speak above. Lastly, follow your gut and commit.
This last step is about commitment to SEO, so what does that mean? It means nine months minimum to 1-2 years for significant results. Each company is different; for instance, the numbers above can are for companies who have a weak presence in Google. Companies who are already close to page 1 or maybe at the bottom of page one when starting their SEO campaigns will move quicker.
SEO is like going to the gym. If you are skinny and trying to gain bulk, then you must give it consistency for a minimum of 1 year. Once you achieve your results, you continue to maintain them as well as grow even more.
SO...WHAT DO YOU DO?
It's time for you to make a decision on SEO and get to the bottom of finding the right company. Maybe you already have an SEO provider that you would like to stay with. But you have questions about whether it is working, then you can schedule a FREE consultation with us. Or begin demanding them to provide the transparency we mention above.
If you would like to consider SEO and have never done it before, or maybe you are in between SEO providers currently; then we invite you to reach out to us for a FREE Consultation.