SEO is Only Part of the Equation by Julie Friedman Bacchini

The Dream: You launch a search engine optimization (SEO) campaign and immediately you have millions of hits and your web site crashes because of the traffic and - of course! - the sales. You never have to do anything again except sit back and relax: hundreds of thousands of people will visit your site every day from now on, buying everything you care to offer. Oh, and did I mention? The SEO campaign itself was an inexpensive, quick, do-it-yourself kit.

The Reality: The above scenario is nothing more than a dream … in fact, nothing more than a pipedream. Sorry to disappoint you, but it's time to chew a stick of the reality gum and get down to business:

1. SEO is not a silver bullet. The fact is, there is no silver bullet when it comes to marketing. It's easy to think that the next "latest and greatest" is the answer to all your marketing prayers: SEO, enewsletters, blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter … every one of them has been touted as the be-all and end-all of marketing. But the truth is, they are all tools. Tools that have to be weighed carefully to determine if they will work effectively with your business strategy to drive your target market to your door. Some will work for you, some won't.

2. SEO is part of your overall marketing strategy. Because there are no silver bullets, every available marketing tool should be analyzed to see where and how it may fit with your overall marketing strategy. And remember, all those tools then become interrelated: SEO, blogs, direct mail, TV and radio advertising, print ads, etc. A careful marketing strategy examines both the tools available, and their potential interactions in order to gain the most bang for the buck. Accordingly, SEO may very well be a part of your overall marketing strategy, but it is still only a part of what you need to do to get the word out about your business.

3. SEO is a unique part of your marketing strategy. Another important point to consider is that SEO is unique in its position in your marketing strategy. Basically every other marketing strategy is about getting your name out in front of your target market. You send emails, letters, ads, commercials, billboards … all hoping to catch someone's eye. But SEO is different: in SEO, your target market comes looking for you. Instead of you reaching out to them, they are reaching out to you. It is vital that your overall marketing strategy includes both these outward pushes (traditional marketing) and inward pulls (search engine optimization) - and plans for them to work hand-in-hand.

4. SEO is a deliberate, methodical process. If you decide that SEO is appropriate for your business, then set realistic expectations about how it is going to happen. Search engine optimization is about promoting your unique company and your unique benefits to your unique market … there's nothing cookie-cutter about that goal, so there is nothing cookie-cutter about the process. This is not about making a phone call, shoehorning some keywords into your site, and sitting back. A search engine optimization strategy must be tailored to your precise needs and goals, and that takes research, time, and effort.

5. SEO takes time to generate response. "Sign up now! For $299 we'll put you on the front page of Google in a week!" You remember the old adage? "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Certainly, that's the case for SEO. SEO is a time-intensive process. Not only is it time-intensive when it comes to developing the initial SEO strategy: it is then time-intensive in actually working that strategy out. An SEO campaign involves getting your site re-indexed, tracking results, modifying keywords and copy, consistently adding new content, and much more. All that takes time. But the good news is, the results are powerful - and lasting.