I get several emails each week stating, “For $199 a month, you can be No. 1 on Google.†I delete them as fast as any other piece of spam because that’s what they are – shady people misrepresenting the “service†they’re selling.
Meanwhile, I run an agency that offers real SEO – SEO that includes audits, analytics and extensive reporting to ensure that clients understand the value of our work. I know our clients are getting emails like mine, so it’s our job to ensure we are continually demonstrating value.
The newest addition to our toolbox is the latest video from Maile Ohye, posted on Google’s “Do you need an SEO?†help page. The video is a “from the horse’s mouth†testament to the benefits of doing SEO the right way. If that’s you, you can use this video to highlight the differences between good SEO and bad SEO.
SEO Isn’t Black Magic
For a long time, digital teams have relied on the black magic appeal of SEO. But viewing SEO as this magical force shrouded in mystery isn’t good for the long-term success of an SEO relationship.
A black magic approach can work — until a client has to justify to their boss what they’re paying for. If they can’t articulate the value of SEO, it’s a lot more likely to get cut. By being transparent about SEO, you are actually in a better place, since creating a great vehicle for digital marketing is what real marketing agencies are good at — and that’s what true SEO success takes. And Google agrees.
“In a majority of cases,†Ohye says in the video, “doing what’s good for SEO is also doing what’s good for your online customers.â€
Plus, doing great work also feels much more rewarding. Great brand awareness and happy customer journeys in the digital realm is what SEO is about. This is the kind of thing that makes marketing exciting, both as a company and as a marketer.
To tell the difference between good SEO and shady SEO, you only have to pay attention to how integrated the recommendations are to actual marketing goals. SEO efforts and recommendations shouldn’t revolve around high-tech things like canonical tags and robot files, as cool as they sound (and as important as they are). Instead, they should be rooted in providing a great experience to potential visitors to find what they’re searching for because ultimately that’s what Google will reward.
For an agency, this not only opens the door to build a stronger relationship with your client by offering services like brand work and website rebuilds but also opens the door to providing SEO services to clients who’ve already invested in strong initial setup. For someone doing SEO in-house, this means you need to be just as plugged into your company’s marketing goals as you are to the on-page SEO elements on your site.
Article source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/03/20/three-reasons-googles-latest-video-is-good-news-for-agencies-offering-seo/