There are two terms which people often confuse when it comes to web page marketing.
What’s more, the confusion surrounding these terms leads to some dangerous myths when it comes to your website and online success.
We will explore the critical difference between SEO and website optimization, and how understanding these terms properly (i.e. correctly) will dispel 7 critical flaws when thinking about your website.
Let’s get started…
Web Page Marketing in a Nutshell
In case you don’t already know, SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” And that means getting your website on Google’s first page for a number of search results.
It’s important for you to understand that SEO is about “organic” search results…
For example, someone types in a keyword and your site shows up on page 1 on the left hand side of the search results.
It does not cover pay-per-click marketing (though most SEO companies can handle your PPC marketing as well).
Now, some fast-talking SEO firms who are basically clueless about REAL SEO but know how to get folks to sign up for their 6 month programs will talk about getting on page 1 of Google for “sponsored” results.
There is one truth when it comes to SEO that you need to know before you hire any SEO firm. And that is: those of us who know SEO use it everyday as a competitive advantage to make money for ourselves DIRECTLY.
You may want to read The Truth About SEO which discusses this catch-22 situation for yourself…
That’s buying traffic.
Any idiot can do that and get you on page 1 of Google as soon as your credit card clears, provided you:
- pay more than your competitors
- have an ad that works (Google penalizes ads that perform poorly, making you pay even more)
However, SEO generally speaking will NOT increase your online sales or lead generation. At least, not as much as you think it will.
And that’s because of the “law of small numbers.”
Basically, if your sales page converts 5% of your traffic on one of your sales pages, you have to throw a ton of traffic to that page to get more business, because your conversion percentage will not increase much at all unless you optimize the copy on the page.
In other words, website optimization involves changing and tweaking EVERY element on an “action page” in order to boost conversions (i.e. leads or sales).
So, in a nutshell SEO helps get more free traffic to your site.
And website optimization helps you make more money from that traffic.
So which is more important?
7 Critical Web Page Marketing Myths
If I had a limited web marketing budget AND my website was getting some meaningful traffic, I would spend my focus on website optimization rather than SEO.
And that’s because once your action pages are tested and proven winners, you can then ramp up traffic to those pages to make more money.
Sadly, most people blindly believe that more traffic will save their online business and lead to more sales.
It just doesn’t happen.
Given the choice, which would you rather have:
- 10,000 visits a month and 2 sales
- 500 visits a month and 25 sales.
Now, if I was in situation #1 I would optimize my pages to generate more sales from the traffic I was already getting. Sadly, people in situation #1 tell me that they need even more traffic.
What?
Dude, if your site is converting less than 1% of your traffic into a sale, you are in serious trouble.
If you need half the population of the Unites States to buy from you to break even, you’re toast!
Seven (7) Website Marketing Myths
- More traffic is better than less traffic
- All traffic is the same
- More traffic equals more sales/leads
- SEO is a thing of the past because Google is dead
- Every website needs a logo/branding
- Personal branding leads to more sales
- Nobody is going to read all those words on the page
If you are not testing, measuring and improving elements on your site on a regular basis, you are leaving serious money on the table. And by optimization I mean testing elements of your “copy” (e.g. language), not changing color schemes or putting up another snazzy logo.
I have several websites that EACH generate hundreds of dollars a month and not a single one of them has a logo.
And zero “branding.”
In fact, the most serious flaw with 99.99% of what you do online results from the mistaken belief that you need to brand yourself. I’ve been hearing that clap-trap since 2004. And personal branding is an even more dangerous fantasy.
I guarantee you that people peddling that crap don’t make a dime online.
Why?
Because the web just don’t work that way.
I’ll leave you with this nugget. No joke, understanding this ONE POINT is the difference between online success and online failure. This one concept is the single biggest reason why my websites continue to generate more and more money each month, and why I:
- NEVER attend business networking events anymore
- NEVER answer my phone, EVER
- Conduct 100% of my business on MY time according to MY schedule
Ready?
OK, here you go…
Do you know WHY people search online?
Because if you don’t INTIMATELY know the answer to that question AS IT RELATES TO YOUR BUSINESS, then you have already lost.
And no, I’m not exaggerating even a little bit…
