Realistic SEO Expectations

Those who've been in the SEO biz for a number of years know how much more competitive it is these days compared to a few years ago. The number of web pages indexed by search engines has doubled, tripled, and quadrupled in past years. On top of that, a good portion of site owners and webmasters know just enough SEO to be dangerous. In the golden age of SEO, the vast majority of websites hadn't given a thought to the search engines, and when they did, it was only to place some keywords in their Meta tags. (Which, incidentally, didn't help then either.) Those were the days when anyone who knew even the slightest bit about SEO could easily rank highly in all the major search engines, with very little effort. Even competitive areas were doable with just a little more work than their non-competitive counterparts.

The Competition Is Fierce

These days, it's almost the exact opposite. Even keyword phrases that nobody's searching for can sometimes be difficult to obtain high rankings with unless you really and truly know what you're doing. And even then, those rankings may be here one day and gone the next. The problem is magnified for new businesses and new websites. If your site isn't at least a few years old, your SEO efforts will be less likely to provide the results you want. This is one reason why your website optimization should always be seen as a long-term proposition.

It's About Targeted Traffic, Not Rankings

As we move forward in this industry, webmasters, site owners, and SEOs need to shift their focus from asking how they can get this keyword to this position in this engine to how they can get more targeted traffic and convert it into customers. Unfortunately, a large portion of those looking into SEO services are still seeing the small picture. For instance, on the contact form on our High Rankings site, I ask people to tell me a little bit about their "business goals." A good number who fill it out want something like "top-5 rankings in Google and Yahoo for this keyword." Huh? That's not a business goal! A business goal is more like "Bring more people to my website who are searching online for the types of products we sell." (As a side note, soon after writing this, I got an email from someone whose goal was to have their Flash site be "#1 in all the search engines for the word 'spring.'" I kid you not!)

Don't get me wrong, I very much understand why people would love to move their rankings up from #11 to #1 for a highly sought-after and targeted keyword phrase. I'm quite sure it would very much increase their targeted traffic and their sales (assuming they're doing everything else right). My frustration lies in the fact that there are people who believe that somehow an SEO company can magically snap their fingers or wave their magic wand and make it so.

Even the best SEOs are not magicians. They can't simply place a site at the top of the engines when there are hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of others that offer basically the same thing, and provide basically the same information. If they could, you'd see a whole lot more millionaire SEOs.

Does this mean that SEO is dead?

Absolutely not! But SEO that focuses on rankings for the most highly sought-after keywords in any given space is most definitely dying. This doesn't mean that you have to settle for keywords that receive few searches. It just means that you have to broaden your horizons and see the big picture.

Almost every time I review one of those "put me at #1" prospects' websites, I see tons of opportunities for fixing the site in general so that it will work better for both their users and the search engines. They are almost always so focused on their "money phrases" that they completely neglect many areas of their site. Instead they put their special phrase on every page and never research the thousands of others that are being typed into search engines every day.

Content for Content's Sake

Another trend I've been seeing a lot lately is the creation of content simply for the sake of creating content. What's that all about? SEOs certainly throw the words "good content" around a lot, but why is it that nobody seems to know what that means? We now have a whole cottage industry of companies who will allegedly write "good content" for you. Worse, there are even some that will *rent* you content! Newsflash...good content has nothing to do with the history of your products. Nor is good content a bunch of madlib spam pages where you simply substitute keyword phrases from one page into the other. Good content isn't stuff you write for the search engines.

What Exactly Is Good Content?

Good content is unique. Really and truly unique. It is creative ideas that simply popped into your head which nobody else in your space has thought of yet. The key to good content is creativity. Unfortunately, creativity itself seems to be a dying art. Being creative isn't looking at what your competitor is doing and copying them. It's being a leader, not a follower. It's having your own voice and your own opinions and expressing them, regardless of what others might think. It's pouring your heart and soul into your website, not looking for the next quick fix. And it's (say it with me) making your site the best it can be for your site visitors AND the search engines. It's what brings targeted traffic to our own site for thousands of phrases, and it's what will help your site gain traffic for whatever phrases relate to it. But it's not easy, and it's not fast. And it can't be done with the flick of a switch.

Determine Your True Goals

So please...if your pet phrase isn't ranking highly enough, don't call me and don't email me. In fact, don't call or email *any* SEO company. Instead of calling, you need to reassess your goals. No SEO company in the world will be able to help you unless you are ready to forget about what you think you want, and learn more about what you really need. Read that last sentence again until you really understand it. Forget about what you think you want, and learn more about what you really need.

Beware of SEO Companies Who Will Tell You What You Want to Hear

And remember, there are plenty of SEO companies that will say they can do whatever you want them to do. You want to be #1 for "spring"? Sure, no problem. They will happily take your money, do some work, and promptly get no results. Don't blame them though – they were just telling you what you wanted to hear.

A Logo Isn't A Tattoo!

As a business owner, one of the most important business decisions you'll make is choosing the design of your logo. Whether you design the logo yourself or hire a designer, you'll have to make some decisions during the design process.

But you want to make sure that the logo you decide on will work well. Many business owners make the mistake of basing their logo choices on their personal preferences. But your 'likes' should have very little to do with your logo design.

Before I go into why this is the case, let me tell you a story of the most difficult logo designs that I ever did. This logo was for an entrepreneur who was running a very small spa.

Now, this project didn't start out difficult. I'd done several logos for spas in the past and during the course of those projects I had learned a lot about the industry. The business also had a good, solid brand definition, and the business owner had filled out my branding worksheet thoroughly. So I thought that the project would go smoothly and that I'd create a fabulous logo for her in no time.

I designed her first round of the logo to reflect the brand that she'd been setting up for herself. But, when she got the initial designs, I got an almost immediate call back — she hated them! We talked a bit about her brand, her clients and their tastes, and all of the things that I take into consideration when designing a brand. And we talked about how the sketches reflected those considerations. But then the real problem came out — she actually had a bigger vision for her logo.

She wanted to have the final logo tattooed onto her hip!

She wasn't just looking at the business effectiveness of this logo — she wanted a sexy personal symbol! This was a whole different challenge.

She was set on designing a 'tattoo' logo, even though I didn't recommend it. We wound up taking a whole different approach to the project and we did come up with a logo that she loves. Luckily her clients still react well to the finished logo, so it works for her business. But if you design your logo from your personal perspective, instead of taking your clients' viewpoints in mind, you might be setting yourself up for disaster.

So, what's the best way to decide on your logo design?

• First, define your business' brand. Your Brand Definition will guide the design of all of your brand identity materials, starting with your logo. The most important things to determine before designing your logo will be:
  • Who You Are, your business' mission, vision and purpose.
  • What You Do, the products and services that you deliver.
  • Who You Can Best Help, or your target audience.

  For more information how to create your Brand Definition, you can download my "Define Your Difference" Branding Worksheet.

• Then boil your full Brand Definition down to the most essential elements. Logos are small. Creating a clean and straightforward logo is essential to making sure that it communicates well. Most Brand Definitions are complex. Trying to pack too many details into a logo can create a muddled mess. You want to make sure that you narrow yours down to the few most important characteristics. That will enable you to create a concise, focused logo design that will tell your business' story clearly.
• Keep your Brand Definition in mind as you design your logo. Weigh your designs against the characteristics you've chosen. Think about every choice you make and how it affects your logo's icon, font choice and color scheme. The most important piece of the Brand Definition in this step is "Who You Can Best Help". Your logo has to connect with your clients. The design and overall feel of the logo has to communicate to them. Their perspective is the most important. If you're targeting clients who are similar to you, then it might be okay to design the logo for yourself, but often that's not the case. Be sure you're designing for them and not just for you. You may even ask some of your clients about your logo options to make sure that the final logo works for them.

Going through this process doesn't always result in a logo you'll love. For example I don't love my logo. But it communicates what I do — creating designs that help small businesses stand out from the competition. And my clients get the message (or a message that's close enough and still works!). They like my logo so it does its job. Of course, I never wanted to get it tattooed on myself!