Original cartoon by Word Sell, Inc.
Do you sometimes wonder if your SEO plan is a trifle inadequate? You may have embarked on your optimization project with stars in your eyes and many hopeful plans for success. Yet, your results may be proving somewhat less promising than you'd hoped. Do you wonder why the end of 2008 has brought so little growth to your business? That's a very valid question. Yet, a far more important question would be, "What will you do to change that in 2009?"
If you're grasping at mental straws, desperately attempting to convince yourself that your past half-hearted SEO efforts will eventually pay off, there is a better way. Instead of stubbornly hiding from the truth and holding on to the notion that if you wait around long enough some good will simply have to come of your meager search optimization efforts, why not take the following proactive steps instead:
1. Admit that circumstances and conditions aren't to blame when your SEO strategy fails. Not even economic conditions - as bad as they have been of late - deserve this dubious honor. Business isn't a static entity but a dynamic one, which means that the company that has the most flexible plan and the greatest ability to adapt to the rapidly changing economic landscape will be the company most likely to stay afloat in the impending economic storm. No matter how bad things may get, circumstances and conditions don't determine your SEO strategy - you do. And if circumstances or conditions make that strategy ineffective, you're the one who needs to do something about it.
2. Recognize that your optimization plan has been less comprehensive than it's needed to be. It's never a sign of weakness to admit that you aren't perfect and that perhaps you've gone into your SEO experiment with less knowledge or experience than you may have needed for developing an adequate plan. This is a reality you simply must face - or ignore at your peril. Yet, it's also a factor over which you can exert an amazing degree of control - and in fact one that you're wholly capable of changing in the future once you've made up your mind to do whatever it takes change it.
3. Stop making excuses for your laxness in developing a more comprehensive plan. Perhaps the task seemed overwhelming at the time and you hardly knew where to begin. SEO seemed like a foreign language, as you attempted to move your business online and make it successful in an increasingly competitive, Internet-based economy. These facts are certainly valid, and each one places a very real obstacle in our path. Yet, a little initiative can counteract a host of obstacles when we finally come to realize that we simply have no choice but to act. Accept your lack of initiative in overcoming past obstacles - accept it gracefully and forgive yourself for your past SEO naivete. Then make up your mind to change that in the coming year.
4. Determine to learn the SEO strategies that can turn your business around. Make a conscious decision to move forward, making 2009 the year that you actively seek and put into practice the principles that will make your optimization efforts more effective than they've ever been before. Do your research. The search engines work both ways: they can send targeted traffic to your site, increasing your profits many-fold, and they can also send you to the websites that carry the information you need for building your strategic SEO program. Seek out those sites that can add to your store of SEO knowledge and those individuals with expertise in the critical art of SEO planning. Pick their brains, ask for their help, and most importantly, heed their advice. You might even find it worth your while to pay an expert to help you develop and implement your company's SEO plan. If that's what it takes, by all means go for it - but be sure you've done your homework first and are dealing with a reputable company or individual with a proven track record.
If you're a non-conformist or a do-it-yourselfer with an inquiring mind - or you're simply on too tight a budget to pay someone for SEO help - you'll find a host of excellent search engine optimization strategies online.
These three informative posts offer a variety of helpful SEO tips:
If part of your SEO plan is to aim for top billing with Google, the advice on the following site should give you a competitive edge:
If you're a beginner to search engine optimization - and even if you're not - you'll find a great deal of help in this step-by-step, illustrated Google SEO guide:
Now that you have the SEO tools you need to make your optimization plan successful, all you've got to do is use them.
Are you ready to get your SEO program off the ground and make it fly in 2009? If so...Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines - or rather, start using the search engines at your disposal to maximize the effectiveness of your SEO program and really make it soar!
