Why Does Some SEO Fail to Deliver and What Can You Do About it?
SEO has manifold benefits but is also fraught with potential pitfalls. How can you leverage all the gain without the pain?
If you have spent any amount of time researching digital marketing, you will know the benefits that a good SEO campaign can bring. Higher rankings on the search engines, more traffic to your site, increased conversion rates and better brand awareness all spell improvements to the bottom line and profit margins.
So it might come as something of a shock if you have dived into an SEO campaign full of enthusiasm and achieved nothing except a depleted budget and some expectant looks from the Chief Executive.
Here we share the main causes that lead to a campaign letting you down, and how you can avoid the elephant traps before it is too late.
Don’t Be Impatient
The first piece of advice is to remember the Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Don’t panic! How long have you given it to decide that it is not working? SEO experts will tell you that you should start to see tangible results to organic methods in 4-6 months. And that is just the start.
The solution? Manage expectations. Any reputable SEO consultant will be open and realistic with you, and you need to ensure the same level of transparency is passed up the chain of command.
The Site Must Be Right
Site architecture is critical for success, in particular if you are running an e-commerce store. If your website is anything less than easy and intuitive to navigate, then you will always be fighting an uphill battle.
As a general rule, every page should at most be three clicks away from your homepage, and ideally fewer.
If you think this might be a problem for you, it is really time to sit down with your web designer and get it fixed. Try to look at it from the visitor’s perspective, and also, don’t be afraid to take a peep at what your competitors are doing.
Remember The Power of Social Media
Today, an estimated 2.3 billion people use social media. That’s over 30% of the world’s population. Put bluntly, you would have to be mad to ignore the power of social media as part of your SEO campaign.
Social media engagement brings unprecedented visibility and engagement with your audience. It is also great for increasing traffic and getting people talking about your product or service, all of which can have a big impact on your SEO.
The solution is simple – make sure you have a presence on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and ensure that you have a formal, documented process for keeping them on-brand and current.
Improve Your Content to be Contented
The cornerstone to every part of your digital marketing strategy is your content. It needs to be unique, relevant, interesting and sufficiently in-depth to satisfy both your visitors and the search bots.
If you have not done so, carry out a content audit as soon as possible. Weed out any duplicate content, as it can confuse the search bots and make sure that what you have is detailed, relevant and not just there for the sake of it, to avoid falling foul of Google’s infamous panda algorithm. Get in touch today to get your SEO campaign back on track.