De Mystifying SEO and Its Role in the Marketing Mix . .
I may be in the minority, but of all the elements of marketing, specifically digital marketing, probably none have held the intrigue and pseudo-secrecy that SEO does.
As the accompanying excerpt from SearchEngineLand.com notes, SEO is now a part of virtually everyone’s marketing mix and yet, likely due to the perception created during its more formative years, when the mere term conjured up images of techies along the lines of Lazlo in Real Genius (. . . it’s still considered somewhat of the Holy Grail of nerd movies, by the way) emerging from their collective offices and typing in a few secret characters that allowed our content to dominate the search rankings for an unsuspecting audience.
Things have, of course, evolved over the years, and SEO has been (partially) demystified in the process, but just how to quantify its impact on the bottom line, as well as its ROI, remains a challenge for some.
And just how to demystify the rest of it? Search Engine Land’s solution seems reassuringly familiar. . . . . Decide just what your metrics will be IN ADVANCE and stick to them.
“SEO is now a digital marketing activity used by 94 percent of marketers, and it’s estimated that companies will spend just over $65 billion on SEO in 2016. Yet despite the increasing usage of and growing investment in this digital marketing channel, measuring the ROI of SEO efforts can still present a considerable challenge for marketers. For brands to maximize the impact of SEO, they need to be able to communicate the value of their efforts and show just how well SEO is performing”
What does the CMO want to know?
“CMOs do not want to see slides with information about the latest Google algorithm update or the steps being taken to avoid duplicate content penalties; instead, they want to know how the actions taken by the SEO team are directly impacting the bottom line.”
Their suggested playbook for doing so?
Understand what your brand leaders want to see. In other words. . . Know what it is you intend to measure. “Your research and presentations should reflect the understanding that CMOs are not interested in day-to-day SEO tasks or changes. They are driven by numbers, specifically numbers that tell them how the brand is performing and how SEO is directly impacting that outcome. They also want numbers that make it clear how the brand has been growing within the industry space, including market share and share of voice.”
Have an intimate understanding the available digital channels. “Your CMOs want to understand the entire story of your brand’s progress. . . its growth and success.”
Show how insights can become action items. “Not only do the leaders of your brand want to see the ROI for your different marketing efforts, but they also want to know what steps you will take moving forward to continue to grow.”
Be able to position your brand against the competition. No surprise here. There isn’t a well-managed brand that doesn’t want to know where it stands in its own marketplace.
– SEARCH ENGINE LAND, AUGUST 10, 2016
Originally published at jonflee.com on August 11, 2016.
Jon Lee is a Los Angeles-based marketing, marketing communications and events professional and the former Director of Marketing for the LA Memorial Coliseum and Sports Arena. He can be reached at Jon@JonFLee.com
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