Is there a shortcut to Google success?

As you might imagine, the work I do for clients covers a broad spectrum.  A basic project typically involves research to establish the most popular keywords associated with the company’s products or services.  That is usually followed by a domain name research, and then configuring the domain, installing the blog, adding email addresses and other one-time set up tweaks.

Once this setup work is done and the website and/or blog are configured and optimized I will then meet with the client and show them how to use WordPress and manage other aspects of their domain.  I encourage all of my clients to buy my book, SEO & Social Media Marketing Guide, not because I need the $10, it’s because everything they need to know at this point is detailed in the book.

Additionally, I go to great lengths in the book to explain what they need to do and why these things are necessary to get traction online.  I also cover the basics of WordPress usage and optimization, which will serve as a great reference source as they assume management of their website.

The project I just described is something I do for clients who are looking for someone to help them get started.  As a result, once this has been put in place my relationship with the client usually ends…temporarily.  Unfortunately, people who hire me to provide this “starter package” often contact me again a few months down the road.  Their questions or pleas for additional assistance are usually the same.

I heard from two such clients this week, both asking me virtually the same questions.  In essence they wanted me to tell them how they could avoid all the hard work and jump to page one on Google.  At this point, I usually ask a client if they have read my book and followed of my instructions.

No doubt you can guess their response.  Their negative reply is usually followed by a number of reasons that include their busy schedule, commitments, this lousy economy and a host of other excuses that quite honestly are all valid.

The problem with starting from scratch is that there is nothing to compare it to.  In other words, if a person had a website and it was generating sales or business leads and website disappeared for some reason, you would know that the work involved in rebuilding had a payoff equal to X sales dollars or X business leads.  Justifying the time and work required would be much easier.  When you are starting from scratch the big unknown is how much work and time will be required before you start seeing a return.

What usually happens during this building phase is that those things that we know generate business tend to require more of our time.  The end result is that the new website or blog and the effort required to manage them loses priority.  The client, like the rest of us, has only so much time they can devote to an additional project, and this is usually when I hear from them again.

My schedule does not always permit me to take on a new client (or an old client for that matter) but there is one suggestion that I give to all clients.  Take my book and give it to your receptionist, secretary or hire a college kid and tell them to read the book and follow my instructions.

SEO requires time and effort to implement. 

Social Media marketing demands interaction and personal involvement. 

There is no silver bullet or way to cut in line and land on page one of Google search results.  However, if you follow my blueprint you will obtain your objective.  It requires time and involvement, but the payoff he is exactly why you contacted me in the first place.

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