Here are some honest web thoughts from our SEO web guru Mike Tekula.
Sometimes the bitter pill is the one you most need to swallow.
If you’re about to launch a new website or a campaign to build your business online, there are some inconvenient truths you’d better accept right now.
1) Nobody cares
Seriously. So stop writing about the features of what you’re offering and how you do business. You’re not out to lunch with a new friend.
Seem harsh? That’s the reality.
Your users aren’t interested in hearing about your company and the features of what you’re offering. They’re interested in how sticking around and using your site is going to benefit them.
There are no “hard feelings” if someone hits the back button and leaves your site. And most of the time, they don’t come back.
So the question you need to answer quickly is: why should they stay?
2) There is no such thing as “foot traffic” on the web
For the local ice cream parlor, foot traffic matters. People who happen to walk by will make up a good portion of this business.
There’s no such thing on the web. Your site can, and will, exist in a void if you let it.
The only avenues on the web are built through relationships.
Search engines won’t rank your pages if nobody links to your website. Likewise, if nobody links to or talks about your website, no other websites are going to refer users your way.
If you’ve got a nice site, that’s a good start - now you’ve got to build relationships.
3) There is no one “right” metric to measure
I’m often asked what metrics people should be looking at to determine whether their blog/website is a success.
I almost always answer this question with another question: “what is the goal of your website?”
Metrics are pretty meaningless on their own. Yes, we all look at the number of unique visits to a site, but that isn’t a metric that you’ll be able to tie to success or failure. That’s only part of the picture.
Your website needs a plan with specific goals. Once you’ve set those goals, you’ll find that the metrics you need to measure become obvious - or at least easier to identify.
4) There are no “easy and quick tricks” to gain high-value traffic
You know that old general tip people give you about investing in the stock market - the one that tells you, “when the cabby is recommending buying a stock, it’s time to sell?”
It’s pretty basic: by the time a “hot tip” spreads widely enough that everyone talks about it, it’s dead.
The same goes for building traffic on the web.
By the time a new method of gaining traffic/links/whatever becomes common knowledge, it’s basically useless.
What still works?
- Getting editorial links by creating and marketing great content
- Building tools/resources that satisfy a real need of your market - and that people can’t help talking about
- Establish relationships with influential bloggers and other webmasters and finding ways you can help each other
But none of these is easy or quick.
5) You get what you pay for
People who charge a high hourly rate are usually worth the extra cost.
For example, I’ve repeatedly seen this happen: 2-3 people are spending hours trying to figure out a problem they don’t understand. They’re beating their heads against the wall, ready to throw expensive equipment out the window, etc. Then, they suck it up and begrudgingly call in an expert to take a look. The expert solves the problem in 15 minutes.
How much is that expert’s time worth?
This general formula applies to just about everything: Time x Skill = Value.
Apply this formula to the web: you’re about to launch a new web marketing campaign (or build a new website). Who do you hire? The kid down the block who took a class on web marketing and will work for $15/hr, or the expert who charges $85/hr, but who will work faster and more effectively and will bring in a better return on investment?
I may be biased, but having once been the kid down the block myself I can say from experience: you almost always get what you pay for.
Consider this before you start comparing web marketing services on price alone.
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