Brent Csutoras Says “Shut the *$#* Up!”
Whiteboard Interviews - Shut The #&@$ Up!! w/ Brent Csutoras from Scott Willoughby on Vimeo.
July 16th, 2008 - Posted in SEO Industry | | 0 Comments
The Alternatives
An important question to ask yourself before investing is, “What’s the alternative?” Market investments present a level of risk. That risk fluctuates typically based on how conservative or aggressive your investment strategy is. However, the return also fluctuates as well. A more conservative investor will usually see a lower return over the life of their investment than a more aggressive investor. So, what do most people do? They invest their money in a variety of things; they diversify their investments. There are other, safer, places that a person could put their money other than the market:
- their mattress
- a bank savings account
- bank CDs
- a checking account
With all of these options, there is essentially 0% investment risk. But, the trade off is that there is usually a comparable return (i.e., nothing or very little). Sure, you can find a savings account somewhere that might be paying 5% or a decent return on a CD, but the long term payoff is usually less than investing in the market. That’s why people do it. There is a risk vs. reward factor. So, the alternative for market investing is a lower risk but also a lower reward.
The same can be said for Online Marketing. What’s the alternative to Organic Optimization, Pay Per Click, and/or a good social media marketing campaign? You could try:
- traditional direct marketing
- email marketing
- banner ads
Those waters have been tested, but again the payoff is typically much lower. According to Harris Interactive, 80% of all Internet traffic begins with a search engine. It’s pretty simple math. If you’re not putting your marketing dollars there, you are loosing out on a huge audience. But, there’s risk. Just like financial investing there are no guarantees. And, THAT is the MOST important idea to message to clients. Just as an investment advisor cannot guarantee a specific rate of return, and SEO Developer cannot guarantee a specific keyword in a specific position in a specific search engine.
It is the SEO Developer’s job to approach the project using best practices and position the client to have the best opportunity to gain top 10 listings. It is not their job to make hollow promises. People know that no one can guarantee a specific return when investing in the market, but they do it anyway. Why? Because they are aware of the potential and the alternatives. Small businesses should approach Search Engine Optimization in the same manner. . . a calculated, well-thought strategy for driving traffic to their site.
June 2nd, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
Aaron wall tackles the question - what is a #1 ranking in Google worth
Aaron Wall, at SEO Book, has provided an enormous amount of information - and organized it beautifully - about the value of a top 10 listing in Google. Be prepared, this is a large document, so you’re probably going to want to spend some time there.
He offers great strategies on determining a baseline keyword value and how the need for top 10 placement is quickly becoming the need for top 3 placement. One staggering statistic is that "if you are ranking 8, 9, or 10 you may be able to increase your traffic for that keyword 1,400% by ranking #1." Amazing.
Read the whole seo article now.
May 16th, 2008 - Posted in SEO Industry | | 0 Comments
What’s in it for me?
I realized recently that I may have gotten ahead of myself. A couple of days ago, I talked about strategy and investor profiles. But, we still haven’t answered the question - Why do it in the first place? Why Invest? Why spend time and money on SEO?
Glad you asked. Why do people invest in the market? The most likely answers you will hear are "to make money" or "I have the chance to get a higher rate of return."
So, why participate in search engine optimization? Most business owners would say, "I want to be on the first page of search results for [insert keyword here]," or "I want more traffic," or "I want to make more money." I would venture a guess that what all business owners want (myself included) is a good Return on Investment (ROI).
Investing in the Market –> Higher Rate of Return (RoR)
Investing in SEO –> Higher Return on Investment (ROI)
See any difference? I don’t. It’s essentially the same need.
This just begs the question, "Why SEO?" or "Why the Market." Answers to that question coming tomorrow.
May 15th, 2008 - Posted in Before SEO | | 0 Comments
