SEO is not a strategy
August 11, 2009 by ian
Today I ran an SEO copywriting clinic at SES San Jose. Lesson: We all need to remember that SEO is not a strategy.
SEO is a tactic. It's how you generate 'foot traffic' once you've created your product.
Before you start an SEO campaign, you need to:
- Know what you're selling.
- Know why it's unique.
- Have a well crafted story. Not a lie - a narrative about your product/service/campaign/whatever that tells the audience why you're unique.
- Already know how you're going to motivate your audience.
- Have great copy. Don't write for SEO. Write first. Then optimize.
- Have a well-crafted web site that was built with your audience in mind.
Only then should you invest in SEO. Or in any other tactic.
A million years ago I wrote a post about the fact that SEO is a tactic, not a strategy. This bit is just a refresher.
Join the Conversation:
Sean Morrissy says:
August 12, 2009 13:55
Good stuff, I speak to far too many people who consider SEO their one and only "strategy" for getting traffic.
I love SEO, but more people need to realise that it should only be one feather in your cap.
Thanks,
Sean
smith says:
September 1, 2009 23:08
I absolutely agree with you.I have seen people worried more about researching keywords from SEO POV rather than selecting keywords fulfilling the website's motive,only to increase the traffic and get a better page rank.SEO has to be given importance,but a proper understanding of the own site must be done before that.
Nice and necessary information.
Thanks for sharing.