Stop Falling for the Free Website Analytics Pitches
Stop falling prey to the free website analytics and “we can get you on the first page of Google” pitches. A company trying to sell you a free web analysis typically knows little about your business and almost never asks about your company’s larger objectives and business strategies.
If you’re like most professionals, you know your business and the benefits of your products or services. What you might not know as well are the ins and outs of marketing and public relations – especially digital marketing – which has changed dramatically in recent years.
Just like dieting, there’s no magic pill and especially not one that will get you to the first page of Google and keep you there without long-term commitment.
I’ve been operating a strategic marketing and public relations agency for nearly two decades. We’ve witnessed the dot com bust, the recession in 2008, the rise and fall of social media platforms, countless Google search algorithm changes, and myriad changing dynamics that affect a company’s strategic marketing overall.
If you are interested in evaluating your online performance, your SEO ranking and value, don’t fall for the free analytics trick. It’s the same method used in gimmick diet marketing.
A company trying to sell you a free web analysis typically knows little about your business and almost never asks about your company’s larger objectives and business strategies.
Here’s a partial example of such an email that one of our clients received this week (typos and grammatical errors included):
If you are like most attorneys, you have probably searched for your own firm on Google. And if you aren’t currently investing in search engine marketing then chances are the results weren’t exactly what you were hoping for.
You have probably even seen some of your competitors ranking higher than you for your own firm name. Let’s See Where You Stand.
Go to Google.com and type in the name of your law firm. You most likely rank pretty well for a branded search like this, but let’s take a look at the other people ranking for you company name. Do you see other competitors in the results? –Answer… Yes you do!
Now type in a generic search—let’s try “practice area + location” so maybe it’s “Personal Injury Attorney Charlotte, NC.”
Who has the first spot, the second spot, and the third spot? Change your search a little bit. Now who comes up? Right now, you may be wondering how the heck is it that the same firm seems to be outranking everyone for every practice area keyword + location that you search for.
So How Is This Firm Outranking Me for Every Variation for Every Keywords + Every Surrounding Location?
….
Take advantage of our extensive free competitor analysis. We can take a look at what your competitors are doing and why they may be outranking you and then help you to consistently close all the gaps.
Get Your Free Site Analysis At XXXXXXXX [intentionally omitted] -Or Just Reply or Give Me a Call.
The first step to evaluating your SEO ranking and value is to understand your strategic goals. What are you trying to accomplish? You must then be able to articulate your key messages or positioning and who you want to reach. Without identifying this information, an ad hoc analysis of your SEO ranking means very little.
For example, I asked one such company to run a free analysis on our website and they came back telling me how poorly we rank for “business view.” I still shake my head wondering, why would we want to rank for “business view?” What does it even mean? Our SEO goals are to rank high for specific searches that pertain to the types of services and benefits we provide and the problems we solve for industry-specific clients in various regions throughout the U.S. We do this by employing integrated marketing practices, which include SEO, into all of our communications for our agency and our clients.
Remember, like dieting, there’s no magic pill and especially not one that will get you to where you want to be and keep you there without long-term commitment.
