SEO Packages Taste Like Cookies

Abhishek Bhardwaj says SEO isn’t about packages. Eh, it maybe kind of is.

Okay, fine, SEO isn’t about the type of cookie-cutter, this-is-what-you-get-no-exceptions packages that he’s talking about in his post. You can’t buy your SEO by the pound like you can a guy (what?). Ordering X keywords, for Y months, at Z price isn’t going to get you the SEO results you’re looking for.  Rankings, like life, take more effort than that. You have to work for what you want.

SEO’s not rocket science but it’s not like baking a batch of sugar cookies either.

Or…on second thought, maybe it is.

Think about it. Your mother (or Michael Gray) and Martha Stewart may both have a favorite sugar cookie recipe. And the basic ingredients are probably the same, but it’s the finesse and the details that make Martha’s cookies trump your dear old mothers (even though your mom’s cookies contain 100 percent more love). The same is true for SEO. The rankings are in the details and the finesse.

When done correctly, SEO packages can help make sure those details aren’t missed. There’s something to be said for a multi-part, packaged SEO strategy. One that contains many different ingredients and flavors that combined create a much tastier cookie. Something that melts in your mouth and gives you far better Internet marketing success than you could have gotten independently.

I suppose I just take issue with the term “package SEO” being used to mean something bad. It doesn’t have to be dirty. The package refers to the ingredients, not the actual measurements for how much sugar, flour, and, um, whatever else is in sugar cookies (I know. I fail at being a girl. This is why I’m single.) goes into it. We may offer you a “package” of SEO services that we think you’d benefit from (some content creation, a heavy helping of social media and just a dash of reputation management), but that doesn’t mean those service aren’t customized for you. They absolutely are.   The package was created based on your individual needs.   We looked at your site, ran it through our spice cabinet of services and then took out the ones that we think would complement you best.  (I’m beating this analogy to death, aren’t I? Okay, I’ll stop.)

I like the packaged SEO approach because I think it ensures you’re covering all angles.  By designing a multi-part SEO strategy that includes SEO reporting, link building content creation, etc, we know you’re creating a stronger campaign. A campaign that takes everything else we’re doing for you into account so that it’s being done in unison and in the right order. That’s the kind of SEO we believe in and what we want to offer our clients.

So don’t be turned off by the term SEO package. Or at least not until you hear about how that package is created and what goes into building it. If the SEO company you’re talking to is only offering you an out-of-the-box strategy, then you have my complete permission to take that box and hit them in the face with it. But there’s a chance they’re offering you something much more. Like the greatest sugar cookie ever created. Mmm…

Social Media Links On The Brink Of Extinction?

I think I’m missing something…

Right before the New Year, Michael Gray asked if social media links were on death row, citing Google’s SEO guide (pdf) which includes a line about not “involving your site in schemes where your content is artificially promoted to the top of these services.” He comments that Google was once all about social media sites like Digg and didn’t realize that people would sell their first born for votes. Now that they are, they’re tweaking their stance.  Is a “report social media spam” call-to-action about to be added to the Google Guidelines?

If there is, it’s your fault. You helped put it there.

When I first read Michael’s post, I rolled my eyes and moved on. Seriously. What the heck did you think was going to happen once social media manipulation became commonplace?

The circle of life here in SEO looks something like this:

  • New ranking factors are created.
  • SEOs manipulate them.
  • The weight given to those factors is reduced.
  • We find something else to manipulate.

If Google felt the need to add a disclaimer to its Guidelines about not “artificially” promoting your stories, we did that. We need a time out.  Not Google.

Have you been present the past two years? We have search marketers creating fake avatars. Speakers on panels giving the audience tips for how to “beat” social media and manipulate it for their own gain. We have incestuous, circle-jerk voting armies. We have marketers paying kids in electronics to Digg stories. People creating dummy accounts to push worthless content.

What did you think Google was going to do? What else can they do?

I don’t even understand why this got attention. It’s like paid links all over again. Google was in favor of social media because they thought it was a natural way for the good stuff to rise to the top and that the bad stuff would fall away. It was our new toy. Then Google realized we were popping the head off and choking on it. Damn straight they’re going to put a warning label on it.

And that’s all they’ve really done. Social media is still listed as a recommended tactic. They’re just asking you to not be a jerk about it.

Once upon a time, social media meant something. Getting a story to go hot meant that the community read the story and voted it to be there.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that today. Today social media is about profit. It’s gamed. It’s where marketers went when they realized they couldn’t buy links anymore.

Google’s watching it. However, if you can get your story promoted without using these means – Google’s watching that, too. And if you can, you’re going to be rewarded for it.

You want to do yourself a favor?

Stay away from the quick fixes. The paid links, the gaming social media attempts, and anything else that you know in your gut isn’t smart to be doing for a client or yourself.  If you don’t manipulate the system and you use techniques they way they were designed to be used – you should be okay.

And if Google does create a ‘report social media spam’ section in its Guidelines. Do everyone a favor and don’t use it. It’s not cool to rat out your own. Even if they maybe deserve it.

‘Overheard on Twitter’ Friday

Happy 2009, Friends!

I hope you celebrated safely and had someone pretty waiting for you to kiss at midnight. Personally, I got a kiss on the head from Rhea and then broke my foot the next day.

Hmm, can I start 2009 over? As Jim said, it could have been worse. I could have broken my hand. [Hey, QualityGal -- remind me to "accidentally" hit Jim with my crutch, okay? Thanks!] Or maybe I could have tried to kill myself like Matt Cutts? So far, 2009 blows.

In non “omg-i-broke-my-foot” events:

On the silly side:

Okay, that’s enough out of me. I think it’s time for some candy. Er, I mean pain meds.

Looking Back on 2008

I know. I twittered that I wasn’t going to read any posts with 2008 or 2009 in the title because I think they’re silly and cliché and unoriginal…but that was before my brain started swirling with all the things I’ve learned this year.

I’m ending my third year in search (which, in itself, is crazy to me).  I’ve blogged a lot this year and been lucky enough to sometimes bring you with me. Together we’ve overcome Google’s mood swings, Yahoo’s failed attempts to suck less and Microsoft’s…Microsoftness.  We’ve shared rants on ethics in SEO, ethics in social media, and talked on end about those damn fake avatars.  And through it all, I’ve learned some pretty big lessons.

Google Is Flawed, Imperfect and with Bias (like all of us)

There’s a point when you’re a kid when you look up and realize that your parents aren’t superheroes. That they screw up. That they make bad decisions. And that they totally lied to you about that Santa Claus thing.  There’s also a point in your SEO career when you realize the same thing about Google.  Welcome to 2008.

For the first time, I could feel myself getting angry at Google. Don’t get me wrong, I still love them.  I owe them my life for Gdocs (no, I do. You don’t even know), but I want to kick them sometimes. Like when the does Google filter results Google Groups thread broke out and JohnMu came in to close it down saying that he has never seen Google hand edit anything (adding the disclaimer that just because he hasn’t seen it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened). Oh, c’mon. Who are we kidding?

I don’t think Google is evil or bad, but I absolutely know they hand edit results when it suits them. I don’t think they cave to big corporations, but I do think they consider “all angles” when they make decisions. They showed with Twittergate this year that they know how to throw their weight around and spread the FUD. I don’t think it’s their preferred way of doing things. I don’t think they want to. But there’s no doubt in my mind that they can and will manipulate/edit/”fix” anything they choose.  And it’s their index so, really, they get that right. But can they just own up to it? I just want to be able to trust the results I’m seeing when I do a search.  And when I can’t, I want Google to acknowledge that maybe I’m not so crazy after all.

Good People Can Disagree (and both be right…and wrong)

I’m getting stronger in my search convictions.  I’ve drawn more lines in the sand in 2008 than ever before. There was that whole SMX Advanced was too black hat thing, the fake avatar thing, the Ask is dead to me thing, the Jerry Yang is a flippin’ moron thing and probably lots of other things that I’ve suppressed.  I know that not everyone thinks like I do. And when we have those disagreements and go to head-to-head, sometimes I’m the one who’s wrong. And sometimes we’re both wrong. And every once in awhile, we’re both somehow right.

This year, Danny Sullivan taught me a lot about being responsible with my words and he did it in the best possible way – with his own. He’s reminded me that people are listening. He’s helped me to understand that I’m not always being fair when I throw out a quick comment in the heat of the moment and that sometimes I can use Twitter as a weapon. I have an enormous amount of respect for Danny and I take what he tells me to heart, especially when he’s right.  Responsibility will be one of my biggest lessons from 2008.

Speaking of taking responsibility, Marty Weintraub and I spent a good chunk of this year throwing things at one another. We have completely different opinions on what is right and wrong in social media (or so I thought. Turns out we may be closer in viewpoint than I realized.).  We’re both passionate about it. We’re both willing to fight it out and to stand up and ‘protect’ the people we think we represent. And sometimes in doing that this year, we both acted like jerks (we can admit that now, right, Marty?).  These days, Marty and I are friends. Hell, we’re buddies. We realize that even though we may disagree, neither one of us is evil. We’re simply passionate. Sometimes dumb and passionate, but passionate.  And really, how can you stay mad at Marty? Behind that fake avatar, he’s one of the nicest guys in search!

My Skin Still Isn’t Thick Enough

I’m an emo baby who cries emo baby tears. I need to stop taking things personally, to reach out quicker and stop thinking that the world hates me just because they didn’t Sphinn my article/put me name on that list/tell me I’m pretty. ‘Nuff said.

I’m Still Not Comfortable With Social Media

I know there are tons of wonderful benefits to social media. I know that I should love it and dream up visions of unicorns and bunnies and knee socks when I think about it….but I don’t. I’m still not comfortable with the effect social media has had on Web content and I don’t like what it’s been doing to good people in our industry.

The lesson this year has to be to surround myself with solid people. People that will keep me in check when I have a hard time making it through doors or when I’m feeling like someone kicked my puppy. Folks who know more and buy into less. You people know who you are and you’re priceless.

Change is Scary (but Good!)

I’ve learned to embrace not be so afraid of change.

At We Build Pages, we’ve been making some incredibly large changes this year.  Most notably, we stopped buying links and started transitioning into a full-scale Internet marketing company. And for awhile, that was kind of terrifying. It’s hard to leave a model that has been ridiculously successful and go a new way, even if we know that the “new way” is the “right way”. But we did it. And I think we’re better for it. We’re a better company. We’re a stronger company. We’re more dedicated to one another because we’ve all rolled our sleeves up to make things happen.  It feels good to be good. It feels better to work with good people.

On a personal note, this has been a huge year of change for me.  After spending more than two incredible years at Bruce Clay, I realized I couldn’t fight my heart any longer and my heart longed for the East Coast. So I moved back and took a job working with Jim Boykin and some of the coolest people I’ve had the privilege to meet. Since I’ve been here, it’s been a whirlwind. Everything that could have happened has happened – kitty near death experiences, weird grownup holidays, apartment mishaps, heart aches, etc – and is still happening. But I’m happy here.  It’s not easy to leave people you love, but my spirit needed the change and I’m glad that I did it.  Which is good. Because I’ll be paying off the moving costs for another couple of months.  :)

Those were my big lessons of 2008. I thank you guys for coming along with me, for teaching me, and most of all, for putting up with me.

What did 2008 teach you?

[And yes, I realize that this post isn't innovative, but it’s snowy and billowy outside in historic Troy, NY. Days like that lend themselves to being introspective.]

Content, Social Media Spends Rise For 2009

We’re in a recession. Budgets are being cut across the board. People are getting laid off. Puppies are finding themselves without food or shelter. It’s a scary, messy place out there. Well, unless you’re in search marketing.

If you’re in SEO, you seem to be doing okay (er, you’re not employed by Yahoo, right? No? Okay, then you’re cool.). And if you’re in the content creation space, well then you’re really doing okay.  Hell, the content creation folk are rockin’ the heck out of this recession.

[dances smugly]

Don’t believe me?

According to a new study from Junta42, 56 percent of marketing and publishing decision-makers will increase their content marketing spending next year. Hear that, writer friends? We can eat!

This news excites me not only because I just moved across the country for a content job (thanks, Jim!), but because it’s a sign that companies are paying attention. They’re getting it. Here are some of the stats we were privy to with the new report:

  • In 2009, 31 percent of marketers will significantly increase content spend.
  • 68 percent of marketers will up their social media spend.
  • 56 percent will invest in blogs.

Those are stats that make me happy.

Clients are getting smarter.  They see their competitors showing up in new areas in the SERPs and they want to be there too. They’re more educated. They’re reading things. They’re looking for ways to diversify their ranking portfolio (sorry, our 401k guy was here this morning…) to give users more ways to find them and to lessen their dependence on the almighty Google.  They’re paying more attention to their brand and realizing that, whether they like it or not, people are talking about them and maybe that means something. Maybe they should be tracking it and analyzing it and figuring out what it means to them.

Looking internally, I can see that our clients are following suit with these trends. Demand for content is through the roof.  They want blogs and they want them yesterday. They’re hiring us for online reputation management services and to help them monitor the conversation around them. They’re buying customized reports that pick apart their sites, identify marketing holes, and that highlight areas where their dollars are best spent.  Sure, they’re investing in SEO training and consulting, but they want a comprehensive Internet marketing strategy for 2009. That means SEO, plus all the other stuff. They want the tactics that are going to help them rank long term and that make them a more interesting company.

Mark Evans asks if next year will be the year of reputation management.  I think it’s the year mainstream companies wake up to the online conversation, in far larger numbers than they have previously.  And that means paying attention to their online reputation and creating content in all the different areas that are available to them today. The stats offered up by Junta42 make sense. The market in which we’re all competing is growing at a phenomenal rate. And you need to create content to compete across the board.   In 2009, when budgets are getting tighter, these are the areas where you should be focusing your energy and your investment.

Our clients are. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed by Junta42 are. Are you?

If not, where’s your budget going?

Older Posts »