Hey there I’m John Doherty and I’m the founder and CEO of Credo where we help great companies get introduced fast to the best pre-vetted digital marketing firms. 

If you’re hiring a marketing firm, or thinking about it, make sure you check out our free guide to hiring a marketing firm.

Today we’re going to talk about what SEO is and when you should use it for your business. 

Now there is a lot of misinformation, or just incomplete information, out there on the internet about SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization. You’ve probably heard the term and looked into it a bit, probably coming across sites and tools like Moz, SEMrush, and more.

But if you’re like most business owners or even marketers, SEO is probably a black box for you. You’re not sure where to start, where to invest, who to listen to, or even what it might cost to get you the results you need within a reasonable amount of time.

If you can identify with any of those, then the opportunity in front of you in this video is immense, so I really encourage you to stay through the end of this video.

What you’ll learn

My promise to you is that by end of this video, you will have clarity on:

  • What SEO actually is and what it involves
  • What SEO costs, and 
  • What SEO can do for your business.

I’ve been in SEO since 2010 officially, and tangentially around it since 2007 when I was doing web development actively. As I’ve been building Credo and through my years of SEO consulting, I get asked a lot for clarity around SEO and how it can impact your business’s growth.

I’ve come to believe over the years that SEO is one of the most effective marketing channels because you can target super relevant keywords that deliver qualified traffic time and time again.

SEO traffic can set a base on your growth off of which you can invest in other channels or simply not worry as much about customer acquisition It’s not “free” to get there, but it’s consistent traffic once you’re getting it.

5 point framework for SEO success

Today I’m going to share with you my 5 point framework around SEO and how to get results for your business with SEO.

  1. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is a set of strategies and tactics that vary by type of business that gets your pages ranking in the search engines so that you can attract qualified visitors to your website and try to turn them into leads/buyers/whatever it is your business does.
  2. SEO involves three main areas. Those are technical, content, and links. There’s a common myth out there that SEO is super nerdy and complex and can only be done by professionals. In actuality, SEO is no different from any other skillset or profession. For example, I recently fixed our clothes washer here at my house when it was clogged and not draining properly. I diagnosed it and fixed it, but does that make me a plumber? No, but I also didn’t have to pay a plumber. But if there was a bigger issue or I didn’t have Google to help me start figuring out where the problem was.
  3. SEO is a base. SEO sets a base of traffic off of which your company can grow. While it is a bit risky to just have one channel that is working, have a channel like this that works well consistently and is profitable is necessary for building your business.
  4. Invest from the start. SEO takes a while to start driving traffic and there are always changes/tweaks to be made to optimize your site to help it rank better. No site is ever  perfect, but some are more perfect than others. SEO takes 3-6 months to really start working usually, especially for new sites or sites that have never invested in it.
  5. The best SEO is integrated. SEO works best when the SEO team or person is also talking to the PPC teams and the content teams and the PR teams. Since SEO involves all of it, SEO needs to be a business partner to everyone, and everyone a business partner to SEO.

Review

  1. In review, SEO is search engine optimization which is the practice of ranking websites in the search engines. 
  2. SEO involves three main areas – technical, content, and links. You don’t have to be an expert to know anything about it, but it sure can help.
  3. SEO sets your base of traffic and customers so you can invest in other areas.
  4. Invest from the start, because it takes a while to get going. And it’s a consistent investment over time after that.
  5. The best SEO is integrated and partnered with other marketing teams and channels internally.x`

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