The Five Stages of SEO
Learning to love and live with search engines
Ah, search engines. Nothing makes me feel more like Sisyphus than trying to figure out what makes Google tick. We all think that we know how to break the code but just when we think we've got it figured out, the search engines go and change the game. Don't get me wrong, here at PoolDawg we love the search engines. Natural search drives a good 40% of our traffic, but it can be beyond frustrating at times.
Fear not fellow online marketers, for I have developed a foolproof five step process to search engine optimization.
Denial - "No, my SERPs couldn't be that bad! There's got to be a quick fix to get us to #1". We've all been there. It's the most important term (in the eyes of you and/or your boss) and your site isn't anywhere to be found. You've heard about some "quick fix" solutions and you put them into action, only to find that your quick fixes didn't really help at all. This leads to...
Anger - "I changed my title tags and doused pages with keywords and we're still not ranking on Google! What gives??" Anger is bound to happen. After all, you just read an article about SEO and applied their strategies so why shouldn't you expect to be #1? After the steam has stopped coming out of your ears and nostrils, you then start...
Bargaining - "Who do you know at Google? Is there any way we can buy a top ranking? There's got to be some way to work with them... maybe if we spend more money advertising?" Don't worry, this is a natural part of the process. Of course, as we all know, there is no bargaining with Google. Either they like your site or they don't, which leads to...
Depression - "This is hopeless. I tried all the tricks from that article and nothing is working. Woe is me and my poor, unloved site." Again, this is a natural feeling. You tried a few things, you even asked Google to take your money in exchange for a good ranking and you've found nothing but dead ends. Your site still isn't on page 1, but fear not for there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it isn't the proverbial train coming to squish you. Once you realize this, it leads to...
Acceptance- "Well, all the shortcuts didn't work and we couldn't buy a #1 ranking, so I guess we'll have to do it the old fashioned way." This is when you roll up your sleeves, start producing lots of good content and work on building links.
Once you accept the fact that there are no shortcuts to SEO, that is when you'll start to see your site gain some traction. Search engines love good content and your visitors might dig it too. Build the good content and people will find it. If it's really good, people will link to it. The more you become an authority, the more love Google and the other search engines will show.
Before you know it, you'll be on Page 1 not because you found a shortcut that works, but because you created content that is valuable and authoritative. Nobody knows how all the different parts of the Google algorithm work but we do know that if you create valuable content, Google will eventually see it as valuable and will rank you accordingly. Even if you do find a shortcut to getting high rankings, chances are Google will see it as an exploit and fix it, putting you back at square one. Just keep in mind that SEO is a marathon, and as Rosie Ruiz taught us back in 1980, there just isn't a good way to cheat and win a marathon.
1 Comment
Stephan Spencer says:
I love it! It's like a 12-step program for Google addiction! ;-)
40% of traffic coming from natural search -- that is impressive! Nice job!
