Is This The #1 Business Mistake To Avoid?

This is a story about a small business getting it terribly wrong…and how you can avoid the same mistake.

My local Chamber Of Commerce recently distributed a brochure on behalf of one of it’s members. The brochure asked…“Does Google ignore you?” It then went on for 6 pages explaining how they could ensure this didn’t happen for your business. Fair enough…they made some good points…they appeared to be a local SEO company good at what they did. They even offered a ‘free Google website ranking check’.

At this point I’m thinking, I like the sound of these guys…they tell me they know their stuff, they have a core focus and are offering a nice little free entry level product. And they’re asking a question in ‘Does Google ignore me?’ which is clearly a question many business owners ask themselves.

So…before I call them I figure I’ll just check that they’re walking their talk. So, into Google I key in their business name…and back they come, front and center. Then I key in typical search terms that one would use to find them…I key in the most obvious…’SEO experts in (insert my suburb)’…NOTHING! I try four more obvious search phrases…NOTHING!

At this point they’ve lost me and a potential new client…instead I decided to blog about the experience.

Guys…if you make a claim in your business…BACK IT UP WITH REAL LIFE EXAMPLES. That makes sense, doesn’t it?

Oh…and just to make things worse here’s a few more things they got wrong and that we all can learn from:

• There was no URL in their call to action…just an address and phone number…Really!
• They had no social media involvement listed either…fundamental for an SEO business I would have thought.
• And when I did go to their website..they had an outdated blog (last entry May 2008!).

OK…enough bagging these poor guys. The lesson? Back up every offer you make with a claim..a case study…a testimonial.

In fact, live by the below saying and you’ll be well and truly on the right track:

“Don’t tell me you’re funny…tell me a joke!”

What do you think? Do you agree?

7 Responses to “Is This The #1 Business Mistake To Avoid?”

1. Matt Says:
   June 28th, 2009 at 4:33 pm

   Yes it is interesting that they forget to look after their on front yard, so to speak.

   I also like the ones who do give examples, but have the most specialised search terms that anyone with no SEO knowledge could get a page 1 and potentially even a rank 1 position (esp in AU).

   Trouble is there are so many out there claiming SEO expertise. I frequent a number of forums and often see basic SEO questions being asked by so called SEO companies.

   To me SEO is the biggest rip off cost for any business. Anyone doing the BASIC stuff will generally do fine as long as they are sensible about it.

   Socail media presence I’m not convinced about Tim….most of it is hype, just like SEO.

   Good business growth is built on gooid business marketing models and internet is just part of it.

2. vicki Says:
   June 28th, 2009 at 6:04 pm

   perhaps they’re just so flat out with other customers, they haven’t got time to concentrate on they’re own site. I know i as a songwriter, i have 50+ songs of my own that i’d love to dedicate time on .. But can’t show anybody my awesome works.. because i’m so incredibly busy working on other people’s awesome works!! My customers come second, right after my busy and awesome family of 5 !!! So i suppose i’m all talk!

3. Tad Says:
   June 29th, 2009 at 1:41 am

   Great article the business world has changed and the consumer has choices

4. Mark Lee Says:
   June 29th, 2009 at 1:49 am

   Great story Tim.

   In fact the SEO team in question have fallen into the same trap as many others. They seem to focus on getting websites up here for when people search for the business name.

   Ok, that’s important – but, unless you have a very common name, it’s very easy and often almost automatic.

   The real skill is to ensure that your website gets found by people who don’t know your name and are simply searching for someone to help them resolve a problem – and it’s one where you can help them.

5. David Says:
   June 29th, 2009 at 3:51 am

   Matt

   Social media presence can BE your SEO! The key page for one of my keywords is number one on Google precisely because I tweet about it regularly. And it’s not the only one!

   This doesn’t cost me a penny in SEO consultancy and I can use a twitter app like tweetlater to set up my tweets for the week first thing on a Monday morning.

6. Luke Says:
   June 29th, 2009 at 8:10 am

   If they are a young business it may be ages before they rank organically for anything SEO specific. It’s a highly competitive area, even on the local level.

   On the other hand, there’s little excuse for not using AdWords to achieve paid rankings for their core search terms on Google.

7. Cat Matson Says:
   June 29th, 2009 at 3:59 pm

   Ahh, it’s the old adage of the plumber’s taps always drip….

   BUT, in this day and age where your brand consistency can be tested in just a couple of clicks, you can’t afford to have ‘leaky’ taps anymore.

   Alternatively, if you do have ‘leaky taps’ that can be forgiven (taking on Luke’s comments that it can ages before they rank organically for even some obvious search terms)…. pace that out in your marketing material…. “we understand where you’re at – we’re a small business too. SEO is an ongoing process…. it’s ongoing for us too and it’s ‘our business’ – we’re still striving for a top spot… it won’t happen overnight but it will happen if you know what you’re doing’ .

   Having said that, if you can’t follow through on your blog… then get it down… it does more harm than good to have the last post be ‘that old’ (give me a couple of minutes before you visit mine won’t you ;-P )

   C

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