The conversation below has been aired in my direction on several occasions recently, so I thought it might be helpful to you.
“I keep getting emails telling me I should be using SEO Nick from SEO companies (wow – there’s a surprise). I have had so many I think I should do as they say.”
First, what is SEO.
SEO is Search Engine Marketing or Search Engine Optimisation. In short, it means getting your content to the top of Google’s search listings.
The trouble with this whole concept now is that it is flawed in two major ways:
- The top of Google’s organic results is not what it used to be. If you manage to ‘manipulate’ Google to put you in position one of the free listings, you are at the very best in position five but usually in position 10 or worse of the search results. The reason for this is that there are now four Google Ads results above you and often quite a few Google Places listings. Who is going to scroll past 10 listings to find you on the unlikely event that the SEO company actually gets results for you?
- SEO is ‘manipulating’ Google to put your website in position one. I used to be really good at ‘manipulating’ Google. I paid a SEO company around £2,000 a month for several years and got to position one in the organic results consistently, in the days when number one actually meant number one. However, if a SEO company does somehow manage to ‘fluke’ some results for you now, you can bet Google will soon change the rules and send you back down the listings.
However, these two major issues don’t even touch on perhaps the most obvious one:
SEO is about getting to the top of Google for the services that you provide. If you are successful the idea is that you will get as many clients as you want for your services. So, tell me this. If these SEO companies are so good at the service that they are trying to flog you, why are they spam emailing you or cold calling you telling you that you are missing out if you don’t use their services?
WHAT THEY SAY: SEO works. It is really good. If you don’t do it you are missing out on loads of business.
WHAT THEIR ACTIONS REALLY TELL YOU: We haven’t got any clients. Even if we are in position one of Google this isn’t producing any volume of visitors for us any more because it is position 10 or worse. We are struggling. SEO is dead!
So, if SEO is dead, what should you be doing?
You should have a good website that follows all of my training from the Website Lead Generation System. You should be using email marketing every single month to talk to clients and referrers, old and new. You should be building a solid, trackable and measurable referral system, and you should be using Google Ads.
I show you how to do all of these things, properly and consistently in Marketing4Solicitors (which includes the said Website Lead Generation System training).
I also offer a done for you Google Ads management service.
Here are the links if you would like my help:
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Please call 0117 290 8555 to arrange a mutually convenient time for a telephone discussion, Email me or complete a Free Online Enquiry. There is no cost or obligation. We will have a chat about where you are and where you would like to be and I will suggest some things you can do to get there quickly.