SEO has always stirred up conflicting reports. Some claim you can’t achieve online success without it, while others say this was true in the past—that SEO is obsolete and isn’t worth your effort. The truly good SEO companies don’t claim they’ll have you on the first page of Google within a few weeks. Instead, they point you to strategies that will complement their efforts.

You Need to Understand SEO.

The basics of SEO aren’t difficult to grasp. Your customers demand a user-friendly website, which works as well on their tablets and smart phones as their desktops. They want you to serve up the information they are seeking. It’s important to quantify your expectations and evaluate the channels available for promoting your product and services. Even those who struggle with technology can grasp content concepts such as keywords and title tags.

Nick Stamoulis, owner of Brick Marketing and frequent blogger on SEO topics, points to the benefits of understanding the basics of SEO across the entire company. 

Understanding SEO increases the efficiency of anyone within the company who uses the internet for research. When you know how to find the information you are looking for because you understand keywords within your target industry, you spend less time searching and more time gathering the information you need.

Accuracy of search engine data analysis surges as the grasp of SEO goes up. As deeper insights into each target market increases, the ability of more team members to play a positive role in marketing expands your company’s marketing resources. Instead of only one person or department focusing on marketing, every employee becomes a part of the marketing culture.

Stamoulis points to another side-benefit of investing in educating your entire staff. It fosters improved inter-department transfer of information. Eliminating a silo approach to online marketing is tremendously beneficial to any company. When the person who selects products (or offers a service) knows what customers are using to find those products (or services), it empowers that same person to recommend appropriate keywords for pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. Those insights also benefit the webmaster and content writers.

You Must Understand the Culture.

Why do customers use search? To find information and/or solutions to problems. The bearing this has upon SEO strategy cannot be undervalued.

For example, video is a major player in the SEO space. However, a misunderstanding of the culture could undermine your SEO results. Videos which push the merits of your product or service aren’t going to compliment your SEO strategy as well as videos which “give something away. The primary focus of your SEO efforts must be on meeting perceived needs rather than trying to create a need.

The contribution of social media to SEO continues to grow, especially as these popular sites have embraced embedding video and graphics into their user experience. The social space offers multiple ways to enhance your contacts with customers. Integrating the same things which create positive face-to-face experiences into your social media presence is something an SEO company may enhance, yet you’re the one who must decide on what your brand will be.

You Must Participate.

Hiring an SEO firm is a positive step, however, expecting an outside company to do all the work instead of you is going to lead to angst. You know your product or service. Even if the SEO service you hire has other clients within your industry, it doesn’t guarantee they’ll understand what makes you unique. Differentiation is a key component of successful SEO.

Work with your SEO company as they seek to help you brand your business. A good firm has a tremendous wealth of information. When you collaborate, the ROI will grow exponentially.


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