Modern Marketing Blog

"I'm not doing the SEO thing yet" was a comment from a small business owner on Twitter. He has a website, participates in social media, creates videos but he's not doing the "SEO thing" yet.

As a marketer, his comment baffled me. Isn't it common knowledge that any business online MUST be doing SEO? I guess not.

And this got me thinking: why isn't he doing the SEO thing yet? Is it because he doesn't have the time? Is it because he doesn't know he should? Is it because he thinks he needs an expensive SEO firm to help him?

I concluded it must be at least one of the three if not all of them.

Oh, if only he knew it doesn't have to be that way. If it's because he doesn't have the time to devote to SEO, well, he can hire me to implement the strategies for him. (shameless self-promotion, I know!)

If it's because he doesn't know he should then I understand that too. SEO is a mystery to many people, especially those who aren't marketers. But, here's the thing: if you're a small business owner with little to no employees then you are a marketer. You just don't know it. Or you don't want to admit it, in which case, that's a problem.

Small business owners like me need to do their own marketing because they don't have the budget to hire a marketing team to do it for them. (unless they hire me. More shameless self-promotion) Even then, they must at least know their own marketing strategy if they're going to outsource the implementation. Otherwise, they need an Inbound Marketing Consultant to help them figure it out.

But I digress. SEO is all about getting your website found by your prospects and customers. It's about keywords and links to your website. It's about creating content on your site that your customers want. Yes, it takes time. But, isn't the success of your business worth it? Isn't it about time you started doing the SEO thing? 

You don't need an expensive SEO firm to do it for you. (unless you're a huge fortune 500 conglomerate, which I'm sure you're not if you're reading my blog) You can do SEO all by yourself. It's not hard, but it is time consuming. There's no way around that.

Eventually, the end justifies the means. The hours spent on keyword research, optimizing page content, writing articles and blog posts, rinse and do it again, will result in lead generation and customer acquisition. (if you do it right)

In these early days of internet marketing few business owners really know what's involved. It's a great time to learn how to do it correctly because it will give you the competitive edge. If you don't do it, your competiton will. In fact, they already are. Where does that leave you and your business?

Photo by Danard Vincente 

I got an email the other day from a fellow virtual assistant asking me "how do I get clients? Where can I find them?" My answer was - don't waste your valuable time looking for clients. Use your valuable time creating a trail for clients to find YOU!

Huh? Are you shaking your head wondering what I'm on about...well don't. It's simple really. You see, "clients" are people just like you. They know what they want and they seek it out. Think about it - when you want to find something online what's the first thing you do? You Google it - right? (or Yahoo it, or Live it, or whatever search engine you use) The point is, you're looking for an answer to your question. 

A really smart and savvy virtual assistant will make sure her website gets shown high up in that Google search. But how? Well, the first and best strategy is to properly optimize your site for search engines using keyword phrases. The second strategy is to create quality content for your clients via content rich web pages and by blogging. The third strategy is to get involved in social networking like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and forums. The fourth strategy is link building.

Remember the movie "Field of Dreams" and the line "if you build it, they will come"? (or something like that) That's true on the internet, if done properly. Build a well structured, optimized website with lots of quality content, participate in social networking and the clients will come. It won't happen overnight because nothing decent ever happens overnight. But if you build it and nurture it, eventually, they will come.