Google SEO guaranteed?

SEO Snake Oil and Squirrel Tail Nuggets

Did you buy guaranteed SEO? If you did, keep reading.Hey, have you heard this one yet?

GUARANTEED Top Keyword Placement in the largest Search Engines

It’s a claim very similar to that of the snake oil salesmen who would sell elixirs guaranteed to cure everything from baldness to arthritis.  You discover it’s completely bogus once you look into what it really does.  And yet for all the solid, established information about true search engine optimization and effective digital marketing practices, people still fall for the cheesy one-liner and the slick marketer promising “guaranteed” top search rankings.  Let it be known: no one can guarantee meaningful top rankings any more than winning lottery numbers.  And don’t buy their magical SEO tool either.

You know what twists my keywords in a knot?  Automated keyword tools.  These things are a bane and a blessing.  When used with human perspective they can provide useful starter keywords that describe a particular website or subject matter.  But they aren’t the end-all and be-all of keyword research, and you certainly shouldn’t pour marketing dollars into keywords straight out of a tool.  Oh, hell no!  The results from your tool of choice (I suggest this free one) need to be evaluated against human intelligence and refined to discover keywords that make sense for your business and actually have a chance of being searched by your target audience.  And let’s face it, the human factor rarely conforms to the logic of an algorithm.

A squirrelish example of the tenacious tree-residing scurry of SciurusBut what if you fell for the pitch and paid for a list of guaranteed killer SEO keywords.  Did some of the results seem a little squirrely to you?  Sure you could probably get top placement for “squirrel tail nuggets“.  (NOTE: Since this was published–this post is now the #1 ranking for squirrel tail nuggets) And even if it’s squirrel season, it’s too bad that no one actually knows of, cares about or searches for the elusive culinary delight known as squirrel tail nuggets.

It’s okay to market for very low volume keywords if they are relevant and make sense for your business.  But what if they are just plain weird?  If no one cares about obscure off-target keywords why should you?

So after you have finished pondering the mysteries of squirrely fine dining, let’s start thinking about your digital marketing focus.  Are you concentrating your limited time and budget on keywords that really make sense, that work for you, and will attract people that are interested in your products and services?  If you’re not sure, perhaps it is time to call upon experienced digital marketing professionals, people that know about this sort of thing and can guide you in the right direction.

contact-usWe can help. Instead of snake oil, we’ll be serving your favorite caffeinated beverage.  Contact us for more information.