Marketing News & Expert Advice
SEO (Almost Always) First
Robin Neifield | August 26,
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Marketers now have a dizzying array of options in online tactics and channels from which to create their plans. They have choices to fit each budget,
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If you think of SEO more generally as a mechanism to absorb online demand already in existence, either by virtue of brand strength, or created by current effort exerted in all channels online and off, then the prospect of an effective, integrated program without SEO becomes absurd. Why would you jump through hoops and expend precious resources to create demand and then neglect the primary mechanism online to benefit from that effort?
SEO First From a Chronological Perspective
SEO should be one of your first considerations as part of the building process for any online destination. Websites, social sites, microsites, blogs, video or mobile sites, apps, and other online destinations all exist to inform, entertain, or connect, but in order to do that they have to be found.
Addressing SEO goals early in the process requires some valuable internal dialog to produce consensus on goals. SEO is about meeting audience content needs; answering their implied or typed questions. If you think through your SEO objectives in the very early stages of your build then the right technology choices will be made to ensure visibility, the right content will get created, and the right keywords will find their way into your site navigation and copy, making the project visible to search spiders and valuable to your visitors.
Building sufficient organic traffic as an early priority also allows you to better analyze site usage, audience patterns, and other important data points. You can then use that knowledge to better target all efforts to build better and more effective programs for your business goals.
SEO First From a Priority Perspective
Regularly paying attention to SEO means that your site is current; that content reflects the needs and wants of your audience. There is a penalty for stale and stagnant content in SEO that gives us an artificial push to do the right thing and prioritize the needs of our audience. There is also a credibility bonus from consumers for a natural listing that again incents us to use effective techniques in building online properties and to create relevant content.
SEO First From a Budgeting Perspective
Budgeting for a complex integrated online program has to weigh many factors,
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While SEO is not truly free (it takes time, expertise,
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"SEO first" should be a mantra that we all chant whenever the latest online programs come across our desks. Taking care of the basics has to come first and that approach will return multifold to the diligent optimizers out there.