Commune Media | Measurably Effective Digital Marketing™

How SEO can lose you sales

Posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 2:48 PM by Sara Chappel  |  Comments (0)

As internet marketers, we get asked a lot whether we do search engine optimization.

Well, yes—although we don’t bill ourselves as an SEO shop.

And when we ask clients about their objectives for their website, their answer is usually “Lots of traffic.”

Sure. We help with that, too.

The problem is that most people stop right there. They figure with enough keyword-loaded meta tags and thousands of visitors, success will inevitably follow.

Sorry—it just isn’t that simple. (And, by the way, loading your meta tags with keywords is pretty ineffective and, well, just old-fashioned.)

SEO’s not a silver bullet

There is no silver bullet in internet marketing. Traffic’s only the first step down a much longer road to sales.

SEO is one small part of search engine marketing (SEM), which in turn is only one component of your overall online marketing strategy.

Think of it this way: your prospects go through stages as they decide whether or not to engage with your products or services. Generally, those stages are:

• Awareness

• Interest

• Consideration

• Acquisition

• Retention

• Advocacy

Now, look at those stages, and think about what SEO is designed to do. Sure, high search rankings will definitely increase awareness, and compelling meta descriptions might spark interest in your site. And prospects who see your ranking may click through and consider what you’re offering.

But if all you’re doing is SEO, how are you going to move your prospects through the next three steps of the funnel?

Once they get to your site, how are you going to keep them there? And how are you going to convince them to engage any further beyond a click and a bounce?

SEO just isn’t enough.

SEM isn’t magic, either

Search engine marketing—that is, pay-per-click ads, link-building initiatives and similar strategies—will help take your prospects a little farther along the funnel. If you’re running a lead generating campaign, for example, you’ll be acquiring leads, some of which will lead to sales.

And because SEM campaigns offer infinite opportunities for optimizing your messaging, you’ll increase interest and consideration as well, simply by saying things that people want to hear.

But even SEM, on its own or combined with SEO, isn’t enough.

That’s because too many people put SEO and SEM campaigns into place, then forget about them—thinking, wrongly, that they’ll continue to generate traffic, leads and revenue with no further work.

Nope. That may work for a while, but search engine algorithms change and messages become less compelling over time. Your system just can’t continue to work without constant tinkering.

Strategy (and constant optimization) is key

For your sales funnel to be truly leak-proof, you need a comprehensive strategy in place to attract prospects, turn them into customers, then hold them close, keep them happy and get them talking.

And for that, you need to go beyond SEO or SEM. You need an an overall, continuously optimized online marketing plan that aligns with your business’s objectives—one that grows and changes with the demands of your market.

Yes, it should include SEO and SEM.

But it also has to include things like:

• Clear, concise copy that’s been optimized for the way people read on the web

• Regular content updates

• Community-building initiatives like a blog or discussion group.

And it must include a way to track your online performance—so you can tell where your funnel may be leaking, and improve accordingly. (And, just in case you couldn’t tell from all our previous posts, we like Google Analytics.)

SEO is a start to your online marketing—but it certainly isn’t the end.

Tags: internet marketing, online marketing strategy, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, SEM, SEO