Optimize Schmoptimize!

“In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it.”
- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
English Author, Lexicographer

With all the talk in regard to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) one could come to the assumption that all you have to do is optimize your pages and Shazam! your site is in the Top 10 and the orders/contacts/conversions will flow in!

I believe this comes from a desire for that hype to be true. Many feeling that by just optimizing their site, then crossing their fingers or wishing on their lucky search engine rabbit foot, that rankings and therefore orders or conversions will happen.

Now fast forward to the reality of now and optimizing is one of the most talked about silver bullets. Just optimize — that’s all you have to do! However, all too often critical considerations are being ignored or flat out disregarded before “optimizing.”

Here are just a few:

• Do you having a quality, consistent design to optimize?
• Did you investigate if you are entering an overly saturated market?
• Are you continually adding new unique and valuable content worth linking to?
• Is your pricing competitive?
• Do you have a USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?
• Is your shipping and handling overpriced?
• Do you have a strategy, methodology or business plan?

Need I go on? Without the above, optimizing is a waste of time and the site owner’s money. Regardless of what Spam or the Black Hat SEOs want everyone to believe, optimizing is futile without having your ducks in a row on these important issues first.

Optimization is an important part of getting rankings — but not the end-all-be-all. Not the silver bullet, not the magic pill, not the miracle cure to getting solid rankings for a poorly conceived Web site. Just a piece of the puzzle that includes well written optimized content catering to site visitors first, then search engines, while making sure all the other important variables are also in place.

Yes, optimizing your content is a smart thing to do. But you can’t optimize your site to the point where the text is no longer readable to human beings and expect to get orders, contacts or conversions. You can optimize your site to death, however, if you have a product or service that is not in demand, or at the wrong price on a poorly designed site — you’ve just optimized a site that will not produce regardless of its rankings.

Optimization is only part of having a comprehensive marketing program — not the Holy Grail as so many would have you believe! You need to look at your overall site marketing strategy, which should include all the tools available to you to market your interactive site for best network exposure.

From Blogs to Social Networks to autoresponder campaigns, to content that grows like a corn stalk; without these added to your program, you can optimize until the cows come home but the fat lady will never sing.

Don’t optimize before you strategize!

At your service,
Judith

You might also like...

1. Where Are Thee with the Top Three?

Comments are closed.