For those of you in local business and those of you who look at the internet marketing arena, there is an aspect that I hope has become clear to you. Far too many unqualified people are ripping off their neighbours!
Now, I am not talking about the simple over-charging for building web sites and for maintaining them – there can be a justification for that. What I am really offended by is the mass marketing of SEO (search engine optimisation) services to small local businesses for very high and totally unjustified prices.
Of course, if you have a business web site I am sure you are familiar with the emails and telephone solicitations offering you the number one spot on Google. You are probably being told over and over again how important it is that you are found in the search engines.
BUT IS IT?
How many of your customers actually search on the internet for products that you might stock? How many of your customers will actually boot up their computer simply to search for something that they intend to buy locally? MORE IMPORTANTLY, how many of your customers will be using the web to search for something that they know that you DO NOT STOCK?
Local customers, despite the avowed wisdom of the SEO experts, don’t search the web, they get up on their back legs and either telephone you or visit your premises and ask. They know that there is a good chance that you will obtain what they want and that, more importantly, you will know where to obtain it.
So, is SEO of any value?
The answer to this question is “Yes” ONLY IF the amount of extra gross income pays, at least, for the SEO service you are buying. Any SEO supplier should be able to monitor your web site and tell how many people have searched it and, with little tricks (like promotional coupons) can demonstrate how many who searched the web site actually bought something. A simple rule of thumb for you, if you have a business web site, is that if you have a net profit of 5%, the additional gross income from SEO efforts must be at least 20 times the SEO cost. If you are paying €100 a week for SEO, for example, the SEO results MUST be €2,000 per week additional gross income simply to pay for itself. An additional €2,001 per week gives you 5c extra net profit (€1 x 5%).
One of the aspects of SEO providers is their total lack of transparency in their claims. They will show you how your web site is number one for particular search terms. Invariably these search terms will be grammatically incorrect or what are termed ‘long tail keywords’. If the SEO provider enters your number one keyword, check to see if he/she uses qotation marks.
As an example for those who wanted proof, I wrote an article about red and yellow spotted paint. If you search Google for either the ungrammatical redandyellowspottedpaint or for “red and yellow spotted paint”, you will find that this article is still the number one result. Ask yourself if I am making any sales because of this exalted position. OF COURSE I AM NOT! In the same way, ask yourself if the average seeker on the web bothers to search with quotation marks or runs all his/her words into one. You can be number one for “brown blazers with double vents” but you have to ask yourself, how many of your customers are looking for brown blazers with double vents and how many of them know that they need to use quotation marks to get results specifically for this item.
The big lie in SEO is that lots of people are using the exact search terms for which they (the SEO suppliers) tell you that your site has been optimised. People searching the web use the words that they think will find what they are looking for. SEO providers have a history of the search terms that have been used but cannot forecast the terms that WILL BE used.
The other lie SEO suppliers use is the huge growth in Internet purchases. Yes, there is a huge growth in purchases on line BUT they are going to the well known internet suppliers. People are buying their weekly shopping online from the likes of Tesco in ever growing numbers. It is convenient. They are buying gifts from the likes of Amazon and eBay, it is convenient. The growth in online purchases is already applicable to well known brands and suppliers – as a local business you are not even in the market place BUT you do win when the online shopper forgets an item and needs to ‘pop out’ and buy it FROM THE PLACE HE KNOWS HE CAN GET IT, YOUR BUSINESS!
One other small point, very few people searching for information on the web are looking to buy something – they are looking for INFORMATION. The information that they gather from numerous sites will probably be used to make the decision about what to buy from you.