NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Search Engine Optimization = Waste of Time
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Search Engine Optimization = Waste of Time
Jeff G. Molander (jgm_at_molanderassoc.com)
Tue, 17 Nov 1998 05:05:05 -0600 (CST)
PAUL BRUMMER WROTE:
>Richard, Joel and the rest of you can have a hay day bashing
>registration services all day long, they are chock full of
>skid balls and money making scam artist's. Web Ignite
>Corporation enjoys a very healthy business of providing
>professional engine and directory listing solutions,
>including optimization which BTW - work very well.
I think that part of the logic behind the bashing has to do
with two issues (aside from the scam artists). One: The
Web, to just about all marketing folk, is this "mysterious
technical thing" that they need to pay people to understand
for them. Hence, they hire the "online marketing agency"
which will help them "drive traffic" (everyone's goal in
their eyes) and get listed high on the search engines so
they "get that traffic." Why is this important to them?
Hell, they don't know. It just IS since they go to IBM's
e-biz seminars and I-World conventions... and that's all
they hear about or read about - getting listed. It is this
"mysteriousness" and techo-phobia that propagates the mind
set - "the Web it difficult." Most importantly, this
eventually evolves to "the Web is NOT like the real world."
(visions of hackers dance in their heads)
Well, as everyone on this list knows, the Web IS the real
world. It IS a marketing channel with interactivity.
Whoopty-do. Duh.
Issue two: "Web marketing firms" that market themselves as
marketing communications firms. I have yet to discover (and
perhaps after this posting I WILL meet) a Web marketing firm
that has actual experience in marketing (as opposed to
programming). What has happened is this (in my opinion):
These firms (born out of the search engine/directory listing
need) have extended their OWN marketing to the point where
they're claiming that they're a one-stop-shop: Integrated
marketing communications - advertising, promotions, sales
support, public relations, etc. Again, the talent that lies
inside these groups is programming oriented. These are not
people who have created and executed media relations or
crisis communications campaigns for the last 20 years.
They're programmers. Okay, maybe they've hired some former
newspaper ad sales people to buy ad space for clients.
Often times, though, the PR end is completely bastardized
with claims that "your release will be sent to 2,000 online
media contacts that have interest in new Web sites..." The
problem is, a close examination of this "campaign" reveals
that it's a blind shot in the dark, often times, with
releases being directed to news_at_wsj.com or
editor_at_usatoday.com. There are no relationships with
editors or placement follow-up calls made to publications -
just poorly written press releases being sent to the masses.
Somehow - I think because of this whole "it's the Web, not
the real world" thing - this is good enough for Mr./Ms. VP,
Marketing at USA, Corporation. Well, it's good enough until
it's time to renew the retaining contract.
I think this is why people take pot-shots at these agencies.
As someone with years of marketing communications
experience and who understands the need for online strategy
development, it's frustrating to call on firms who can
benefit from our services, only to find that they're pouring
$5K and up a month into search engine worries and NO money
into developing online business strategy. The perceived
value on the client end (that Web marketing firms offer via
search engine optimization/placement) is high - I suggest
too high. As is the importance assigned to becoming
dominant on the search engines.
Jeff
Molander & Associates, Inc.
http://www.molanderassoc.com/index2.htm
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