When More SEO Isn’t the Right Answer
If you’ve read my last few posts, you know that I really value solid and strategic SEO.
But sometimes, SEO strategy is more trouble than it’s worth.
In this article, I’m going to dive into why not all SEO is equal, and how to know when it is—and isn’t—necessary for you.
When the experts get it wrong
I was talking to a friend recently about her content marketing strategy when she said, “Well, my SEO guys never want me to write the articles that I want to write.”
…
If you were standing near me, you could have heard the brakes squealing in my head.
“Wait, what?”
She repeated it. Then, clarified, “Well, I want to write about what my friends and I are talking about, but my SEO guys tell me those ideas aren’t “searchable.”
And I shook my head.
Because I’ve heard this before.
Her SEO guys want her to research topics that her ideal clients are searching for and write about them.
Which is great, right? People will be searching for those things. Google will send you to the top of their search results. They’ll visit your site and you’ll get more customers!
Right?
Right. But if you only use that strategy to create content, you’ll end up writing a lot of “How to” and keyword-rich posts, and not a lot of posts with your insights, thoughts, and musings.
For example, you’d probably stop yourself from writing about how current affairs affect our health or how an alternate medical practice that you find harmful affects our well-being.
After all, not many people who want chiropractic care are going to find you searching for “How to fix my anxiety after watching the news.”
But maybe that’s exactly what your ideal clients would find fascinating!
And they’re not going to find it searching for it on Google, but they will find it when their friends share your blog post on social media!
See where I’m going here?
Creating content that is “searchable” isn’t the whole answer. It misses some real opportunities, like creating shareable content and also robbing you of some pleasure in your work.
This is the biggest issue I have with almost every SEO and website professional...
If the only tool They’ve got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Her SEO experts were giving her great advice.
For SEO.
Not necessarily for her business.
Here’s the deal: not all SEO is necessary for every kind of business.
The role of SEO changes depending on whether you’re building a 1:1 biz or a one-to-many biz, which means that not all SEO is equal.
Let’s look at the differences.
SEO for a one-to-many business:
A one-to-many business markets to thousands of people and is based on a series of products or leveraged services. It typically offers some low-ticket offers and it depends on selling a lot of those offers.
In this kind of business, you use SEO to bring in lots of people, most of whom haven’t heard of you before.
A business like this needs a well-honed marketing strategy and online presence because you need to befriend all those strangers into to buyers without ever talking to them.
A business like this needs a list, a pretty big one.
And to build a big list, you need traffic.
A lot of traffic.
It’s a great system, but it requires big numbers to convert people from strangers to buyers. SEO is hugely important for this kind of business, and you need a sophisticated content strategy to capture as much traffic as you can.
SEO for a 1:1 (one-to-one) business:
A 1:1 business is service-based and works completely differently.
In a 1:1 business, a list isn’t as important, (the business coach in me wants to tell you that every business needs a list, but frankly, it’s possible to have a comfy six-figure business offering a service without anything more than a list of your past clients) because in this kind of business, you’re not trying to build a list of thousands, you’re trying to sell your service to a few.
And to do that, you need to leverage the hell out of your network and convert people in person or on sales calls, instead of attracting a bunch of strangers to your website.
This model relies a lot more on personal customer service, referrals, and/or getting traffic into your brick-and-mortar.
You don’t need your content to do all the heavy lifting of a virtual sale to a stranger. You’re going to do that in person!
And how do you get those people to pick up the phone or walk in the door? How about content about what you and your friends find interesting and are talking about? You don’t get better marketing than that.
You just need to build buzz, let people know what you’re doing, ask for referrals, and if you have a brick-and-mortar shop, get a Google Business profile.
You don’t need a sophisticated and keyword-rich content strategy for SEO. You can build a hugely successful six-figure 1:1 biz with a tiny list and small social media following.
Which is what I wish those SEO experts had told my friend.
Why does all this matter?
Because my friend did everything right.
She went to a professional (probably a very good one), who should know. They were an expert in SEO, and likely great at bringing in traffic and increasing rankings. Which is one hell of a hammer.
And just like her SEO expert …
A coder might tell you that your website theme is bloated.
A graphic designer might tell you that your site is outdated or off-brand.
A digital marketer might tell you that you don’t have a clear launch strategy.
And here’s the thing: they might be right!
Just because they have a narrow viewpoint, doesn’t mean they’re wrong.
But when you get advice from a professional, you need to make sure that you’re taking the entirety of your business strategy into account.
What’s your overall business goal?
What do you really enjoy doing? Are they considering that?
Examine the lens they’re looking through. What’s their past experience, and what are they considering when they look at your business? Are there important aspects of your business that they ignore or don’t see?
Telling my friend that she wanted to write the ‘wrong’ blog posts ignored both the kind of business she was building and the fact that it was what she wanted to do!
The benefit to having a business coach design your site is that I’m asking questions, like my favorite, what do you want to do?
I’m looking at your entire business and your goals and getting your website and marketing strategy to match those, not the other way around.
I would never discourage a client from creating something they really wanted to create.
If you get a lot of traffic, even for something off-topic, Google will notice that you’ve got traffic, which is great, and who knows how much of it will build your biz?
Plus, and probably most importantly, you’ll have fun doing it!
Doing what you want to do matters
Don’t ever let an ‘expert’ talk you out of doing something you want to do.
I guarantee that you know more about how to make your business successful than anyone else.
And posting something ‘off-topic’ that’s interesting or important to you will almost always also resonate with your audience and ideal clients.
Don’t we work hard enough in our businesses? Shouldn’t we cultivate enjoyment in our work? Yes!
Because joy naturally sells.
My point is that almost any content that you want to create will be fantastic for your business. Don’t let anyone discourage you from creating something you really want to create.
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