| While professional SEO (search engine
optimization) is becoming increasingly recognized as an extremely effective component of
an overall marketing mix, the SEO industry itself is still very much in its infancy.
Because SEO is a relatively new industry, many key decision makers are not even aware that
professional SEO exists, or they simply believe that it could not work in their industries
or with the existing marketing mix. This is not because these decision makers are
ineffective or backward thinking, but rather because, in most companies, marketing efforts
are focused upon activities that have already been proven effective as a part of the
marketing mix (direct mail, print advertising, trade shows).
Very often, the people who first recognize the potential
benefits of professional SEO are not the key decision makers. They are the people on the
front lines of the organization - the ones who deal with prospects and customers every
day. However, proposing professional SEO as a new marketing initiative to the people
higher in the chain of command can be a frustrating process - very often leading to
disenchantment and a general sense that the marketing decision maker doesn't "get
it". Usually, however, the approach was more flawed than the decision maker.
Reality
Before getting into some ideas for approaching your
marketing decision maker, it should be mentioned that if your company does not have a
history of trying anything new, you may be better off spending your energies elsewhere.
Professional SEO as an addition to your marketing mix can be a hard sell to a company that
is still relying on computers that were cutting edge during the Reagan administration, no
matter how convincing the argument. If your experience with your company tells you that
your efforts will be in vain before you begin, you obviously don't want to waste your
time.
Speak on Their Terms
As previously mentioned, your motivation for suggesting
professional SEO may not necessarily inspire your marketing decision maker to immediately
add it to your company's marketing mix. What will? Most marketing execs have a hot button
issue, and they are rarely shy about sharing it. Is he or she concerned with increasing
overall revenue? Is he or she always discussing cutting marketing costs? Does he or she
talk about reducing the cost per lead? Does he or she always espouse the value of
improving your brand recognition? For each of these scenarios (and virtually any other),
there are specific studies on SEO that will support your recommendation. If you approach
your marketing decision maker without keeping the issues most important to him or her in
mind, you will diminish your chances for success.
Use the Competition
While different marketing decision makers can have
different hot button issues, few things seem to motivate companies as much as the action
(or sometimes the inaction) of the competition. With professional SEO, there are two
potential scenarios - either some of your competitors have added it to the marketing mix
effectively, or none of them have. If they have, it is fairly easy to demonstrate this
fact by taking your marketing manager through a few key-phrase searches on any major
search engine and showing him or her that your hated enemy figures prominently in the
results while your company does not. This, of course, makes a compelling argument. On the
other hand, if your known competitors have clearly not embraced the channel, it is just as
easy to show a few searches on key-phrases demonstrating that you can have (for now) a
competitive advantage. Such key-phrase searches can also turn up additional competitors -
lean, forward-thinking companies that are embracing new marketing tactics. This
eye-opening experience can also encourage a decision maker to act.
Use Your Potential Vendors
Talk to some established professional SEO firms before
approaching your company with the suggestion that they consider adding SEO to the
marketing mix. A good SEO firm has encountered all of the objections that you are likely
to face and should be able to help you with your approach by compiling relevant stats and
offering compelling case studies. Your time is valuable, and you needn't spend it
reinventing the wheel when you can get professional assistance for free. If a firm is
unwilling, or unable, to help you to present to your marketing decision maker in a manner
that will speak directly to them, perhaps you should look elsewhere. An inexperienced SEO
firm might not be able to help you in this specific manner, and an overburdened firm will
likely be unwilling to spend the extra time to help you customize your approach. The good
news is that asking for this type of assistance can not only help you to sell to your
company, it can also help you in the early stages of the all-important vendor selection
process.
Offer a Plan
Piquing interest from the decision maker is only the first
step. You should be prepared to offer a clear project description, including the price
ranges of your proposed professional SEO vendors, how long it will take to see results,
and, most importantly, how success will be measured. This is another area where your
potential vendors should be more than willing to help - good firms will collect extensive
data at the outset to measure success, and will be able to clearly define what
"success" will look like.
As many companies are discovering, professional SEO is an
incredibly powerful and cost-effective addition to the existing marketing mix. It is a
sure bet, however, that the marketing decision makers of many of the companies currently
embracing professional SEO did not come up with the idea independently. Some underpaid
visionary in their organizations brought it to their attention first! |
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Scott Buresh is the CEO of Medium Blue Search Engine Marketing. He has
contributed content to many publications including Building Your Business with Google For
Dummies (Wiley, 2004), MarketingProfs, ZDNet, SEO Today, WebProNews, DarwinMag,
SiteProNews, ISEDB.com, and Search Engine Guide. Medium Blue, an Atlanta search engine marketing company,
serves local and national clients, including Boston Scientific, DuPont, and
Georgia-Pacific. To receive internet marketing articles and search engine news in your
email box each month, register for Medium Blue’s newsletter, Out of the Blue. |
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