Is Your BSD Working?
I had a conversation with a client yesterday regarding a telemarketing call he received from an SEO (search engine optimization) company. Without looking at the analytics of the client's site, the SEO guy had determined that a selected key phrase was the ticket to web success. He also guaranteed he could receive top ten results in Google with this phrase for a whopping $250 per month plus a "set up" fee. He even sent him a follow up letter to the conversation. The masthead from the letter had Google's logo placed in manner that, in my opinion, was designed to mislead the reader. The offer didn't even explain how or what he was going to do in order to effect his guarantee. I responded to the client with a few points.
1. The site already shows up number 10 in Google for that Key Phrase. The "SEO" expert was going to sell him something he basically already owns. Don't you think this nimrod should have checked that before he started dialing for dollars?
2. Anyone that says they can guarantee the results of a service they have no control over is suspect at best.
3. How can someone sell you on "SEO" without seeing the log files to your site in advance?
So, here I am once more talking about "SEO". To me, those initials should stand for "Seek Expert Opinion". The quality of the web traffic you receive is inherently more important than the quantity. I do not recommend using SEO companies. I recommend hiring a web consultant that understands the real estate industry and has a grasp of branding, lead generation and how to properly determine the return on investment of a web marketing effort. It's common sense to start at the beginning.
A.)Analyze your web traffic using a good log file tool like Google Analytics. Your consultant needs access to several recent months of data. Look at the key words and phrases people are actually using to find you.
B.)Look at the number of page views per visit to your site. If people are not moving past the main page, your content sucks and no amount of SEO is going to fix that.
C.)Use the Overture (Yahoo) keyword inventory tool for a snapshot of how many people use a specific search term. Empirical data is hard to argue with.
D.)Look at the length of time someone spends looking at the data. If the analytics show you're site is performing poorly with it's current visitors, bringing more isn't going to do you much good. After you've tweaked the content and made sure the site is search engine friendly you can get to work on the traffic generation using tools and techniques that have a proven method of success. Try localizing your keyword buys, or buy banner ads on good local sites, like the newspaper, or city guides with a good track record.
We had the opportunity to analyze the traffic generated to our client's site and the impact podcasting has had. We're delighted to say that over one third of the direct referrals from other domains has been from a podcasting link. What's more important though is the quality of those referrals. The average number of pages views per visitor overall is between 3 and 4 pages. The average number of page views from the podcasting referrals is between 6 and 7. This indicates the fact that the traffic from the podcasting effort is more relevant and offers a better opportunity to establish all important "top of mind" branding awareness or generate a lead.
There isn't enough time to talk about every intricacy and nuance of web marketing in a single blog post. Don't get hung up on finding yourself in a search engine unless you know that the terms and phrases you are using actually create quality traffic. If you see a competitor popping up in sponsored results, they may be getting clicks, but they could just be expensive ways to add to a log file. If you can't afford or find a consultant, make an investment in the time to educate yourself on the issue of web marketing from sources you know you can trust and have track records to back it up.
As you can see, this last incident has renewed my interest in exploding the many myths of web marketing and expose some of the snake oil for what it is. I plan to start a series of posts on the subject, until then here are some annoying acronyms to get you started. I think we should establish a rule that anyone that uses 2 or more of these in one sentence must submit to a bruising punch in the shoulder until such time as that person has decided to converse in common sense business speak.
SERP = Search Engine Ranking Page (how well a site is ranked)
SEO= Search Engine Optimization
SEM= Search Engine Marketing (could mean a million different things)
SEP= Search Engine Positioning (see SEO and SEM)
PPC= Pay Per Click (advertising term for paying for an click on a sponsored link)
PPCSE= Pay Per Click Search Engine (uh, O.K, Google, Yahoo, MSN )
PFI = Pay For Inclusion (no tickie no washie)
PFP = Pay For Performance (either the oldest profession in the world or......)
PPL = Pay Per Lead (define lead)
PPS = Pay Per Sale (there's an idea, put it on the HUD)
CPA = Cost Per Action (pay to play?)
CPC = Cost Per Click (see pay per click)
CPS = Cost Per Sale (paging captain obvious)
CTR = Click-Through Rate (the number of people that click on an ad)
DH = Direct Hit (a visit to a site that did not come from a link on another one)
Last but most important
BSD = Bull Shit Detector (you're probably going to need this if you get a call from an "SEO" expert)
1. The site already shows up number 10 in Google for that Key Phrase. The "SEO" expert was going to sell him something he basically already owns. Don't you think this nimrod should have checked that before he started dialing for dollars?
2. Anyone that says they can guarantee the results of a service they have no control over is suspect at best.
3. How can someone sell you on "SEO" without seeing the log files to your site in advance?
So, here I am once more talking about "SEO". To me, those initials should stand for "Seek Expert Opinion". The quality of the web traffic you receive is inherently more important than the quantity. I do not recommend using SEO companies. I recommend hiring a web consultant that understands the real estate industry and has a grasp of branding, lead generation and how to properly determine the return on investment of a web marketing effort. It's common sense to start at the beginning.
A.)Analyze your web traffic using a good log file tool like Google Analytics. Your consultant needs access to several recent months of data. Look at the key words and phrases people are actually using to find you.
B.)Look at the number of page views per visit to your site. If people are not moving past the main page, your content sucks and no amount of SEO is going to fix that.
C.)Use the Overture (Yahoo) keyword inventory tool for a snapshot of how many people use a specific search term. Empirical data is hard to argue with.
D.)Look at the length of time someone spends looking at the data. If the analytics show you're site is performing poorly with it's current visitors, bringing more isn't going to do you much good. After you've tweaked the content and made sure the site is search engine friendly you can get to work on the traffic generation using tools and techniques that have a proven method of success. Try localizing your keyword buys, or buy banner ads on good local sites, like the newspaper, or city guides with a good track record.
We had the opportunity to analyze the traffic generated to our client's site and the impact podcasting has had. We're delighted to say that over one third of the direct referrals from other domains has been from a podcasting link. What's more important though is the quality of those referrals. The average number of pages views per visitor overall is between 3 and 4 pages. The average number of page views from the podcasting referrals is between 6 and 7. This indicates the fact that the traffic from the podcasting effort is more relevant and offers a better opportunity to establish all important "top of mind" branding awareness or generate a lead.
There isn't enough time to talk about every intricacy and nuance of web marketing in a single blog post. Don't get hung up on finding yourself in a search engine unless you know that the terms and phrases you are using actually create quality traffic. If you see a competitor popping up in sponsored results, they may be getting clicks, but they could just be expensive ways to add to a log file. If you can't afford or find a consultant, make an investment in the time to educate yourself on the issue of web marketing from sources you know you can trust and have track records to back it up.
As you can see, this last incident has renewed my interest in exploding the many myths of web marketing and expose some of the snake oil for what it is. I plan to start a series of posts on the subject, until then here are some annoying acronyms to get you started. I think we should establish a rule that anyone that uses 2 or more of these in one sentence must submit to a bruising punch in the shoulder until such time as that person has decided to converse in common sense business speak.
SERP = Search Engine Ranking Page (how well a site is ranked)
SEO= Search Engine Optimization
SEM= Search Engine Marketing (could mean a million different things)
SEP= Search Engine Positioning (see SEO and SEM)
PPC= Pay Per Click (advertising term for paying for an click on a sponsored link)
PPCSE= Pay Per Click Search Engine (uh, O.K, Google, Yahoo, MSN )
PFI = Pay For Inclusion (no tickie no washie)
PFP = Pay For Performance (either the oldest profession in the world or......)
PPL = Pay Per Lead (define lead)
PPS = Pay Per Sale (there's an idea, put it on the HUD)
CPA = Cost Per Action (pay to play?)
CPC = Cost Per Click (see pay per click)
CPS = Cost Per Sale (paging captain obvious)
CTR = Click-Through Rate (the number of people that click on an ad)
DH = Direct Hit (a visit to a site that did not come from a link on another one)
Last but most important
BSD = Bull Shit Detector (you're probably going to need this if you get a call from an "SEO" expert)
Labels: google analytics, log files, seo, web marketing
posted by Michael Price at 9:49 AM
7 Comments:
Michael -
haha - nice post. I'm also against the idea of using SEO companies. I think they add very little value. I get spam mails all the time telling me they can bring my site to the top of search result lists (lol - not like I'm really going to spend money to get my personal blog ranked high).
Mike - I just want to add a warning comment to realtors. If you get a call advertising search engine placement and they give you a little tool to download it is a scam. The tool changes the way google behaves on your computer. If a sales person asks you to download anything so that they can show their product be cautious. As our business diminishes the cottage industries we support struggle and are becoming more aggressive and desperate.
Teresa,
I had no idea that the SEO crooks are going to that much trouble to rip people off.
I have heard of manipulation of browser tool bar results and have found that Yahoo and other companies are being very stealthy in the way they gain access to your browser.
I downloaded a copy of Yahoo's IM client on my PC recently and must of missed the button that said. "Please HiJack My Browser and convert web file associations on my computer to Yahoo".
In other words, it installed all kinds of craplets on my machine that took over half and hour to get back off. I'll pay more attention the next time when I start clicking through an install process.
Good post, and I agree with a lot of what you've said. Just as there are "snake oil" salespeople that give real estate a bad name, or attorneys a bad name, there are some who give SEO and search marketing a bad name. It's a shame all these industries don't have easier ways for consumers to sort out who are the good guys and the bad guys.
The same rule of thumb applies across the board. If someone calls you out of the blue with a high-pressure sales pitch, it's best to ignore that person -- whether it's an SEO company or a real estate agent or whatever. For what it's worth, not one of the really great SEO/SEM providers I know do any sales calls. They have people beating their doors down because they have a track record of proven, measurable success. Like great real estate agents, they can be somewhat choosy in who they work with.
As someone who's been doing search marketing for about 7 years now, I hope you'll indulge me as I comment on the few points you made that I think need some further discussion.
3. How can someone sell you on "SEO" without seeing the log files to your site in advance?
Just as a real estate agent can walk into a house and know within 15 minutes if it will sell at current market rates, I can look at a site and figure out in less than an hour (depends on how big the site is) what level of SEO help the site needs. When you've been looking at enough sites for a long enough period of time, it's not difficult to figure out the basics. Log files are GREAT tools for in-depth site analysis, but they're certainly not required to make an initial determination if the site is in good shape or not.
I do not recommend using SEO companies. I recommend hiring a web consultant that understands the real estate industry and has a grasp of branding, lead generation and how to properly determine the return on investment of a web marketing effort.
It sounds to me like your experience is only with SEO companies who pitch "guaranteed rankings" and other nonsense. The companies and individuals who are the best in our industry are the ones who do exactly what you described as your "web consultant" -- full service from start to finish, emphasizing ROI. Rankings are great, but they're just a means to an end. If the rankings aren't producing measurable results, what good are they, right?
If people are not moving past the main page, your content sucks and no amount of SEO is going to fix that.
Actually, most of us would argue that content development is a primary element of SEO. A good search marketer is going to do the types of research you've mentioned (and more) and develop a plan to create and promote quality content, which would tie in with efforts to acquire quality, relevant links. Come to think of it, right now I'm supposed to be writing a proposal in which 90% of the work is going to be content development and link building.
C.)Use the Overture (Yahoo) keyword inventory tool for
None of the keyword tools alone provide a good enough snapshot. You need to use more than one tool and look at the numbers relatively, not empirically. Overture is screwy because it combines similar phrases, including plurals. I use it, but not as a standalone.
If you can't afford or find a consultant, make an investment in the time to educate yourself on the issue of web marketing
Amen! When I speak on the Small Biz panels at Search Engine Strategies, a portion of my presentation is about this exact idea. If you don't have the money, you have to invest the time. And there are some excellent resources out there that require more time than money for those who are willing to try D-I-Y search marketing.
(you're probably going to need this if you get a call from an "SEO" expert)
If they're calling you, they're probably not an expert. The experts are all quite busy. :-) (Again, just as it would be irresponsible of me to lump all real estate agents into the same group, please don't lump all search marketers into one group, either. There are bad apples in every industry....)
Thanks for the in depth comment. It validates my point. Web marketing is about more than so called "SEO". Real Estate is a vertical that requires some experience when it comes to web marketing.
Michael,
When using the Overture tool to discover popular keywords, what is you next step?
I type in a key word in the overture tool. "San Francisco Real Estate".
Overture returns all the top searches based on those keywords...
Do you now make strategic pages with all those keywords in it?
Adding the proper search terms to the meta tags of any page you host is the first thing to do. You can also add them, albeit sparingly, to the "alt" are of image tags on your site. This is the alternative text that shows up when you mouse over an image. I would also consider doing research on terms that are more specific to a farm area. I'm not sure all agents in the Bay area specialize in the whole SF MSA, so narrowing the choices and seeing what kind of activity those terms are getting makes sense as well. The primary reason to use the tool is to make sure you're not using the wrong key words and phrases. If there is little or no history of someone searching with them, chances are that isn't going to change.
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