If you build it, they will come [assuming you’ve done your research right].
SEO is hard.
It’s hard because it seems easy, like yoga or being a racecar driver. Companies can spend a lot of time and money carefully crafting keyword copy only for Google to change its algorithm and boom: you’re on page 18 of search results with an unreadable site.
The positive news is there’s a straightforward way to improve your SEO. It’s not easy, but it’s clear:
Be good at what you do. [Bonus: be REALLY good at what you do.]
The first step to SEO success is defining what exactly it is that your site is supposed to “do.” It can generate revenue, it can improve your brand, it can spread information, it can do anything, really. But before anything else, its purpose must be defined.
Let’s say you want to spread information. For some sites, getting the most people to view the page is the ultimate goal (think sites like about.com). For other sites, you may only want 50 people in the world to visit.
When we created the Navistar Defense website, we didn’t try to target the content to every single user; we targeted it toward the handful of people who have the authority to invest in military vehicles. If we had gotten thousands of hits on that site but missed those key people, we would have missed our goal entirely.
After you’ve defined what you want your site to do, figure out ways to make what you do specific. It’s hard to be number one for the search term “cars.” It’s much easier to be number one for the term “rental cars at O’Hare.” Specificity is your friend. Google’s keyword tool will help you find what people are searching for and how well your site relates to those words.
You should also be paying attention to Google Analytics, which will show you exactly which keywords are bringing in the most traffic and the best traffic.
Sites meant to generate revenue have a built-in indicator for what traffic is the best: revenue. If your website traffic is way down but your revenue is way up, you’re winning. Don’t worry about a low page view count as long as the visits are generating enough revenue to keep the company growing.
In the end, companies should care about only one thing: are we better off than we were before? Are your revenues higher, is your brand image better, and yes, maybe your site has had more visitors. Define “better” and then set off to achieve that goal.
Build your field, know who you want to be there. They’ll come. Sometimes it’s a whole town, and sometimes it’s just Kevin Costner’s dad. But if you build it well and pay attention, they will come.
