Being Realistic About Search Engine Optimization Campaigns

When a business first begins to consider a foray into the world of search engine optimization there is often a lot of trepidations as well as plenty of expectations. It's not uncommon for businesses of all sizes to begin an SEO campaign only to drop out of it a few months later. This is a common occurrence in the SEO world only because many businesses begin an online marketing campaign holding onto and having been given unrealistic expectations.

The first thing that businesses and those in charge of them need to understand prior to beginning any SEO campaign is that competition online is extremely fierce, cutthroat, and competitive. Businesses will be competing directly with similar businesses not only in their local area but around the world as well. Many business managers and owners don't take this into consideration prior to or when first beginning an online marketing campaign and therefore quickly become disillusioned with the process when they aren't number one in the rankings and pulling enough money in to retire early. With online competition being as fierce as it is business owners and managers responsible for finding a firm that can effectively market their website and their company really need to dig deep and set plenty of time aside for research and even interviews. Speaking with clients of an SEO firm will give them a good idea of how they perform and how good they really are. The more creative an SEO firm and its staff is the greater the chance a business will have success in its online marketing campaign.

Businesses often begin an online marketing campaign and cancel the service shortly after due to cost. Despite the popular notion that you can start and stop anytime (and firms will allow you to) this puts businesses back to square one online. The bottom line is that any online marketing firm that tells a business or individual that the process is always cheap is being dishonest. While it's true that the costs of an SEO campaign very greatly from business-to-business most of the time cost will be determined by what a business wants to achieve online, who they want to usurp, and how aggressive they want to be. Those who spend the most money and work with a quality search engine optimization firm often received the most traffic and are ranked highly in the search engines. Those that spend less almost always underperform in their campaigns. Search engine optimization is online marketing and if a business is not prepared to market their products/services properly they're essentially throwing money down the drain.

In much the same way that businesses looking to cut financial corners with an online marketing campaign do, those businesses that go through a start, stop, start, stop process are also going to be wasting money and see unfavorable results. It's important for businesses and their managers/owners to keep in mind that these types of results are no fault of those being paid to run an SEO campaign but rather the fault lies with those businesses who engage in this practice. A successful search engine marketing campaign is a consistent one. Increasing and decreasing an online marketing budget also has a detrimental effect on results. Consistency is key and all businesses would do well to remember that prior to starting any online marketing campaign.

Many businesses and their owners/managers also go into the process thinking that the only thing that matters are rankings. While rankings are certainly an important piece of the online marketing jigsaw, they're not the complete puzzle. The true purpose of a search engine optimization campaign is driving traffic to a website. A search engine optimization firm with experience and creative resources will be able to effectively drive traffic to any businesses website regardless of ranking. Any business owner or manager who begins an online marketing campaign believing that only rankings matter or are an indicator of money well spent will find themselves disappointed in the process rather quickly.

There's a big misconception among persons outside of search engine optimization circles that says links are the most important aspect of search engine optimization. While links are certainly important they are just another piece of the puzzle. Just as it was at the turn of the millennium content is king.

Having good informative content that relates directly to a product and/or a service can really help drive traffic to websites. Of course less reputable search engine optimization firms will set up spam pages on websites that serve no purpose other than to bloat a website and fool search engines and people into believing there's something there that really isn't. Good content is considered unique while all other is considered spam. A search engine optimization team with a competent copywriter will be able to draft unique content for a businesses website and help set it apart from its competitors.

There are many other misconceptions and stigmas associated with the world of search engine optimization however these seem to be the most prevalent. Business owners and managers looking to start a successful search engine optimization campaign need to do so with these facts in mind.

Owners and managers need to be prepared to spend a set amount on their online marketing campaign each month and be consistent with the campaign. Patience is also key as nearly all search engine optimization campaigns take several months produce meaningful results.
TH2 specializes in Orange County SEO, Orange County search engine optimization and Orange County internet marketing.