SEO – First Doesn’t Mean Best
Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by admin in Advice, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization
Open up the Yellow Pages to “Insurance” and you’ll see the problem right away. The Yellow Pages list businesses alphabetically, and insurance companies’ entire marketing strategies seem to revolve around being first. So you get listings like this:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaable Agency…
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaable Agency…
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaable Agency…
… and so on. To the customer it’s annoying. It’s also a disservice, both to the customer and the agency itself. To the customer, this sort of gaming-the-system is insulting. Rather than trying to attract your business by offering great products and service, the agency assumes that you’ll call the first insurance company you see (how do they say their name on the phone?).
And the business hurts itself by missing an opportunity to stand out from the crowd. These listings scream “Look at us! We’re just like everyone else!” Yes, I know insurance is a commodity product but your company doesn’t have to be a commodity company.
I see a lot of this in online marketing as well. Companies will spend a small fortune trying to be first in Google search results. They’ll hire big time SEO (Search Engine Optimization) firms, do expensive link building campaigns, and buy lots of traffic through pay per click campaigns, all in pursuit of First. Don’t get me wrong, First is great! But that can’t be your entire internet marketing strategy. First will get you a lot of traffic. First will get you a short-term boost in visits. And First will give you SEO bragging rights at your next industry conference. But First doesn’t do anything for conversions. Its long term effect on your brand is minimal; and First does nothing to build trust and customer engagment.
At the risk of sounding like Seth Godin here, our advice at Appsalon is rather than focusing on being First for your keywords, instead focus on being Best. Let the other guys blow their marketing budget on being First. Then read their ad copy and visit their site and ask yourself how can you give your site visitors a better experience?
The answer to that question is your internet marketing plan.
