While walking this weekend in our balmy, balmy 62 degree NE Ohio paradise, I crossed paths with one of my college professors. Being residents of the same neighborhood, this isn’t a completely rare occurrence; I see Professor S about once a year, and he always asks how I am. Perhaps it’s because he is an English professor, perhaps it’s because I was an English major, but in these tough economic times, liberal arts degrees are weak assurances of decent livelihoods. Perhaps that’s why this weekend Professor S kindly asked if I had a job.
“I do,” I said. “I market Web sites.”
A few years ago, the response to this would be similar to if I said I was a haberdasher for gnomes and fairies with exceptionally large heads and horns. I’ve noticed in the past few years, however, my job doesn’t sound that outlandish and fantastical. People don’t ask follow-up questions (“You do what? But, really, what do you DO?”); instead they nod and say something snarky about Google.
On the one hand, that’s too bad because I would like to appear exotic. On the other, it’s testimony that this industry is digging its heels in and declaring itself vital across the board. The environment now is such that if you have a Web site, and you want to leverage it to build your business or organization, you must entertain an online marketing campaign.
Why?
Because everyone else is doing it.
Online marketing has been a viable solution for over ten years. At that time the simplest of online marketing techniques pushed you full-steam ahead because there was no competition; not many sites were effectively optimized.
Not anymore.
It’s been a fast ten years; techniques evolved to take the industry from a hap-hazard, trial-and-error, no-one’s-talking-about-this-stuff state, to one where constant clamoring and vigilance are required to stay at the forefront. This is true for the online marketing experts that lead the other online marketing experts, and it’s true for the Web site owners who must match marketing wits with competitors.
This isn’t, by the way, an attempt to instill the fear of Google in your heart. It’s an attempt to display that like print, TV, and radio before it, the Internet is the go-to guide for many consumers of many industries. If they can’t find your business online, they’ll find your competitors’. Ultimately, ignore Mother’s advice to not do something because everyone else is doing it. In this circumstance, just do it better.
(Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatbettertime/34888598/)
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You summarized a full blown PLR course in a few sentences.
The cost/benefit ratio is clear. Time to do it is likely the limited factor. But I noticed, by doing it, it seems to go faster each time. And once done it is a site almost on auto pilot.
FreePLR Giveaway Round 6 has great products. So much better then what is available at a price elsewhere.
You’re right: optimization of a site may be streamlined as time wears, when, for the most part, tweaks and slight polishing keep a site on the up-and-up.
I would advise, however, against any site moving to full-on, auto-pilot mode during a campaign (I do see your “almost”). Not only do competitors constantly up the ante, keeping a site on its tip toes, but engines’ algorithms change, too; meaning what might have worked for optimization six months ago, is now a defunct technique.
That’s a beautiful story, Joanna. I too am surprised when I tell someone (who I think won’t even understand the combination of words coming out of my mouth) I am a Web marketer. They then throw a quip about how their brother-in-law does search engine optimization for his company.
It’s a fun evolution to watch.
Crazy how times change, ain’t it? I used to start the answer to the question, “What do you do?” with “Well, I DON’T design websites, I . . .” It is nice to just be able to tell people what I DO now instead.