The Saturated Web

Over the weekend, due the cold weather I found myself stuck inside; pondering. First, I apologize for the length of this post. Some topics just do not fit in 2-3 short little paragraphs and this is one of them. Secondly, I wanted to find a way of relaying the reality of what of the current online environment entails so that you have your head tightly screwed on for the year ahead.

Since the start of the “Webolution” I have been extremely serious about the issues that ensure clients are aware of all the business variables that succeeding online would require from both sides. Back in the day it was relatively easy to get a your site found if you worked with a developer who knew the basics in regard to clean code and search engine algorithms.

From the start my goal has always been to translate to my clients the necessary information, skills and knowledge acquisition that they needed so that their online business could thrive. This was never a passive gig. The information I supplied back then included the details about how to get found through search engines and ongoing marketing strategies that had to be employed. Providing this information was naturally a part of my programs then and still is to this day.

Fast forward to the closing of 2008. Every day as I consult businesses on the reality of what it takes to get network exposure in the current environment — most seem stuck in the mid to late nineties. I hear in their voice that they don’t like the reality of what I advise will be required.

I don’t blame them for wanting to believe that what was, still is. Or to think the latest spam has some validity. Yes, back then a bit of effort and a few submissions fees and you did get found. It was relatively inexpensive and required minimal effort. You also probably only had a handful of competitors who had a presence worth worrying about.

The past was a piece of cake compared to current times. Still I pushed clients to create content rich sites, to update their presentation to look better than their perceived competitors and to brush up on their technology skills so they would be taken seriously. Funny how some things never change. Now these issues are no longer a consideration, they are a must as you have to be the best you can be to stand a chance of succeeding online.

Everyone I’ve talked to about spam hates it – except when it is lands in their inbox preaching easy money, top ten rankings guaranteed, no effort online success! I get spam every day purporting to be able to get me new business, new customers, hundreds of orders each day if I followed their program or bought their eBook.

Let’s just get it out on the table – there is no magic wand! Getting found is black and white as we come to the end of 2008. There are no stealth doorway pages, continual fiddling with the keyword tag, tricks or code snippets you can add that will “fool” the search engines into giving a crummy, outdated, commonplace or otherwise uninteresting site a top page listing. Only those content rich valuable and popular sites that I am constantly talking about are the ones that garner good “organic” (free) listings. And, P.S: If you think you will survive by relying on free search engine listings alone — you won’t.

For almost every search your potential customers may make, you will find tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands (in some cases millions) of competing sites pulling for the very same search terms. This means you need to do your due diligence, have a strategy, a niche, something unique that is tweaked and tested continually to find the right mix that produces for your specific market. No strategy? No traffic.

I can hear you on the other side of the screen… “So what’s the point of having a Web site if you can’t get found?” Good question. You certainly can get found but don’t kid yourself – you have to work at it — almost every day for perpetuity.

The Web still offers abundant advantages for any business that is serious about leveraging the benefits of technology for commercial gain. It’s just that now, you have no choice but to be rabidly involved or the results are non-existent. If your competitor’s sites are more current than yours, are engaged in social media and networking, have more valuable information and functionality, you can count on the fact your site visitors are using their Back button when they hit your site.

If you don’t look like you’re in the “now”; you don’t have credibility.

Search engines are an automated process run by computers that don’t think — you are listed based on an ever changing algorithm. You need to be know how that works (or work with someone who does) so you can use it to your advantage. Then you add to the mix that PPCs are not only a “science fair project” to setup and manage, but the fact that the costs are way beyond what most small businesses can entertain and I understand this very quickly becomes a frustrating marketing dilemma. But it is what it is…

The saturated Web requires time, skills, knowledge and cost factors to participate if you want to rise above the noise. Knowing what they are, embracing them and how to best use them to your advantage is the only way you will get found and experience any sort of ROI moving into the new year.

I’m not being glum; I’m being realistic. I am still as excited, challenged and engaged with a sparkle of wonder in my eyes each and every day I go into my office and start working this keyboard. When you know what you are up against and embrace it with passion and commitment the sky is still the limit.

At your service,
Judith

Tags: Business Tips