Internet Marketing 101- My Misconceptions Revealed Part II
Yesterday, my post about digital marketing discussed the different (and often wrong) ways people interpret the elements of digital marketing like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing and Website Usability. My own past personal experience revealed large misinterpretations of digital marketing which has since changed recently when I began working for a digital marketing firm.
This series will touch on the main elements of digital marketing and discuss the common misconceptions of each discipline and the lessons I’ve learned through my own personal experience. We begin with SEO and its definition as defined by Advertising Age’s supplement, 2008 Search Marketing Fact Pack:
SEO is the practice of using a range of techniques , including augmenting HTML code, web-page copy editing, site navigation, linking campaigns and more, in order to improve how well a site or page gets listed in search engines for particular search topics.
Misconception #1: SEO work is something anybody can do.
Yep. It wasn’t too long ago when I launched my own freelance business and thought about adding SEO to my list of services. I went to my local bookstore and thumbed through the latest SEO for Dummies book to get a quick handle on the subject. Google also offers a load of free tools for SEO keywords and phrases so, naturally, I thought that anybody can jump on the SEO bandwagon.
Not to mention, many of the graphic designers I’ve worked with in the past “claim” to do SEO for clients and, not knowing much about the subject, I just assumed they were really delivering on that promise. Let’s also not forget the myriad of companies that “claim” to do the same thing for an exorbitant amount of money.
What I’ve learned: SEO is a discipline that requires time, dedication and loads of experience so not everyone can do it well.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that SEO is not an easy add-on to a list of services that most graphic design, marketing and advertising agencies provide. It’s a discipline all its own.
I laugh now, remembering my trip to the bookstore and my naiveté that I could jump into the SEO game. SEO is a discipline that requires constant vigilance and study. It’s a moving target, so to speak, that is constantly evolving. And it’s not for everyone.
In fact, if you have no background experience, you may be harming the chances of your site( or your client’s site) getting ranked or helping SEO efforts.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post and find out whether being ranked on the first page of Google is really all it’s cracked up to be?
