Comments on: SEO Should Not Look Like Science Project

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:20:28 +0000

Hi Chris,
Excellent points and I agree with you 100% about ecommerce sites that require a username and password to proceed…this generally provides a very poor user experience.

By: Chris Berkeley

Chris Berkeley — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:57:06 +0000

One thing (I think – aplogies if I missed it) to add to Christy’s comprehensive list of tips – have an unequivocal call to action on product pages. Often I see sites where I think I’d like one of those and am unsure what they want me to do next.

Another thing that drives me nuts is e-commerce sites that don’t have a contact phone number and an inquiry form that delivers a nice confirmation page with a reference number.

Sites that have shopping carts that insist that one complete a detailed registration before letting you proceed are stupid especially when you know that you will only ever buy one widget in a lifetime and who remembers the password six months later any way?

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:11:41 +0000

Hi Website Promotion Blog,
Very true in many cases they are indeed not in the realm. And awareness and education is always a good first step!

By: Website Promotion Blog

Website Promotion Blog — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:08:32 +0000

Interesting point! Many people who are kind of potential clients contact SEO companies and experts asking for things that aren’t in the realm of search engine optimization.

I think one major step that needs to be taken is more awareness of the nature of SEO so that site owners learn what to look for when they order SEO packages.

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:11:38 +0000

Hi Louise,
Thanks for the comment…you are 100% correct!

By: Louise Desmarais

Louise Desmarais — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:54:36 +0000

Math has never been my forte. But writing solid web content to motivate readers that has been properly optimized for the engines is. It’s not really any more complicated than that.

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:16:24 +0000

Hi Christy Taylor,
Thanks for the additional tips and thoughts!

By: Kelli Swan

Kelli Swan — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:04:53 +0000

Nice article! I agree – to me quality SEO and search marketing is as much “Art” as it is “Science.”

By: Christy Taylor

Christy Taylor — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:10:04 +0000

Hi Andy, Thanks for this post and informing everyone to what online marketing should really be all about. Just because a site might be the first on Google’s SERPS definitely does not mean that it will convert those site visitors over to being paid customers. It definitely has a lot to do with conversions. Many SEO companies guarantee their clients that if they get to the top of the SERPS then they will be on their way to making lots of money. This is such a “myth” because if the company’s site isn’t correctly set up to convert those visitors, then the point of generating traffic to the site was worthless. Couple tips: Have a secure site, offer multiple payment options, offer information that is valuable to the reader and not just written for the search engines, visit other competitors sites to see what their sites are set up as, offer special bonuses and discounts, and at least have an opt in box above the fold so that people can leave their name and email address for future promotions. Finally, if a site doesn’t seem to be converting well, consider making some changes to it and start tracking the mechanisms and analyzing the conversion rates on an ongoing basis!

By: Ashish

Ashish — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:48:27 +0000

I agree on that. If you find yourself struggling to explain the difference between Google rankings and Google PageRank, that means there is something wrong the way you are handling your SEO projects.

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:56:45 +0000

Hi Andy,
Thanks for sharing your sites as examples. This is very true indeed, every site, product, company, etc is totally different and the SEO and marketing strategy behind it should be totally customized.

By: Andy Fling

Andy Fling — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:17:48 +0000

I agree! Search engine optimization should not be a recipe. One of my websites it thriving (150,000 visitors per month)through the use of blog posts and YouTube.com videos. Another website, an art website, is experiencing nice growth by hosting the same images I have on my site on Flickr.com.

Consider what your product/service is, and then consider your marketing strategy.