Wow, thanks for the compliments. At least someone in the world recognizes my genius.

Aaahh I see what you’re saying. I’ve found it can be harder to work with clients who read one snippet somewhere about SEO and just.can’t.let.it.go.

I’m helping as a subcontractor for a firm implementing some SEO copy at the moment, and witnessed this round and round discussion, which was a great example of this. One person there was totally hung up on the url that was going to be used…the kicker is that it was a url that was going to redirect to their main site anyway. So they were all hung on a page….that wouldn’t have the content. So there was nothing on-site to support any kind of formidable ranking for the url. He had it lodged in his melon that the url was what it all balances on.

Which of course, doesn’t explain the popularity of a site with a name like “squidoo.” But, we weren’t dealing with reality here.

Oy. Pain all around.

Do you have a blog yet?

Susan, forgive me if I was unclear earlier, but I have started my own company, the “folks paying me” that I was referring to are my clients. They can be an incredibly short-sighted bunch, and unless I bundle my consulting in or do it for free, they just don’t see the need to pay me to tell them that a particular part of their site sucks and a #3 spot isn’t going to change that.

Then I start talking “conversion rates” and their eyes just gloss over. Like I said though, I’m workin’ on ‘em. For now, they’re paying my bills.

After I commented last time, I cruised the rest of your site (and more of your stuff on other sites) and you’ve got some good things to say. I don’t know how to say it without sounding like I’m gushing all over you (which I may be…) but I dig your style, you rock.

\gush

Nice to see you haunting these parts again.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s just because SEO is a relatively new mainstream marketing tactic…there isn’t the level of education there should be. I also think it’s a product of having firms that focus only in that and don’t complete marketing plans or big picture strategies. Total tunnel vision.

Your analogy about the storefront is great. (Probably better than my enchilada one, but I was hungry when I wrote it.)

Preach on! Preach on . . .

I think eventually people with our mentality will become more prevalent. And hey, if it doesn’t work at your current employer, do what I did and go off to do it on your own!

Sometimes it’s just difficult to be a big picture marketing person working with a group that just cares about/wants to sell their wee chunk.

Please do come back!

It’s only too bad that most folks (particularly the ones that are paying me right now) don’t fully prescribe to this just yet.

Hopefully they will though, I’ll keep workin’ on ‘em.

And just so’s you know, sites like this help heaps. So, thanks.