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It truly amazes me when I hear clients and prospects dismiss Google Analytics as a second-tier analytics platform, unworthy of being mentioned alongside longtime titans like Omniture or Webtrends. That may have been the case a year or two ago, but it’s simply no longer a realistic viewpoint. Here are five reasons why:
As a link builder, we all come to the point some days when we literally feel as if there are no more quality, third-party sites we can approach regarding having our client listed. Particularly when you work with a client’s site for a long period of time, you begin to feel as if you’ve exhausted every search term, link clean up opportunity and directory possible.
This past week, I was given a somewhat unusual assignment. One of my clients asked me to advise him on the best website grader tool - you know, the ones that tout their ability to grade your site for SEO friendliness - so that they could use it as a baseline for a new SEO program that we’re about to launch for a new site.
In an economic climate that makes each and every customer extremely valuable, search firms put a lot of emphasis on finding a methodology that not only brings in new business, but more importantly makes current customers happy. However, the real question is whether that methodology should focus technology, automation, or the service delivered by a true professional? Obviously, there’s no one answer and it is the blend of a group of competencies, but what should be the cornerstone?
A colleague of mine recently passed along a PDF copy of Forrester’s latest report on U.S. search agencies. In it, Forrester asserts that three agencies have set themselves apart from the rest of the pack; iProspect, iCrossing, and 360i (ironic that all three have the letter i as a foundation for the brand, huh).
As a search engine marketer, one of the most useful reports you can show to a client is an increase in non-branded traffic to their web site. This tells the client you are capable of getting their site ranked for keywords other than their brand mentions, and that the keywords you’re optimizing for are bringing in additional traffic to the site.
A few months ago on a client visit, the new CMO was questioning why he should pay for link building services when he could just pass this task on to one of his interns. This comment stuck with me and has been bothering me for months. Although I might have agreed a few years ago that an intern was capable of handling a task like link building, I’ve since learned that this is not a good idea for several reasons.
Especially in a down economy, clients are demanding accountability in each and every one of their marketing programs. SEO campaigns are not exempt from this scrutiny; in fact, it can be argued that interactive marketers face more pressure than print mediums because clients can actually see the direct results of a campaign in the form of rankings, visits, and conversions.
