SEO is an Investment!
“SEO is an investment. SEO is an investment. SEO is an investment. SEO is an investment. SEO is an investment. SEO is an investment. SEO is an investment. SEO is an investment. SEO is an investment. ”
– Me in pitch meetings
SEO is a long term investment. Drink it in.
Clients often come to Adster hoping to engage in an SEO program (good move, smartypants) as a means of meeting their short term marketing goals. That’s just not the reality of search engine optimization. No matter what the other guy tells you – both he and I cannot get you onto page one of Google in 90 days. It’s not how the SEO game is played. If you want leads now, I can introduce you to Adwords; if you want SEO, buckle up friend.
You’re Going to Hate Us
9 times out of 10 people are shocked to find out that they won’t see the fruits of our SEO labour for six months, best case scenario. If you have a less than best case scenario – lots of NAP inconsistency, big technical or onsite issues, spammy back links or .. dun dun dun… a penalty – your timeline of success may be measured in YEARS.
Oh yes!
We do what we can to manage timeline expectations upfront. Before we even get started, we talk about typical timelines, provide honest and accurate estimates of how long their specific project might take based on experience, and will literally tell a potential client that “for the first six months, you’re going to hate us.” As with any long term investment, it takes time, but it can pay off for those patient enough to wait.
No One Controls Google – Not Even Google
Rankbrain, heard of it? Don’t worry, that’s our job.
But, if you’re curious, it’s part of Google’s search algorithm that uses machine-learning to help process search results. Basically, it teaches itself using search behaviour to make new connections and provide better search results.
All this is to say that, while no marketer was ever privy to the secrets of the search algorithms known only by some Googlers, Rankbrain’s artificial intelligence means that now Googlers themselves don’t have a 100% complete knowledge of the algorithms.
If an SEO tells you they know exactly what it takes to get you on the first pages – run. It takes time to get it right, but it could only takes a couple months to get a penalty.
IT. WILL. PAY. OFF
After all that, not only will begin to pay off – unless you or someone you hire does something to compromise your site, it will continue to pay off for a long time.
Real clients. Real results – if you make the investment.
Yes yes y’all!