Sphinn - State of the nation

49
Sphinn It!

Went Hot: April 20, 2008 - 10:45 am
Posted By: nowsourcing 178 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.timnash.co.uk)
Category: SEO

Tim Nash schools some individuals to see if they know what SEO, PPC, and more. You might be surprised by the results. But they just KNOW that the Internet is the future :)

7 Comments

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from planetc1 178 days ago #

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"Will you be budgeting for online marketing this year?" I wonder how many businesses reply "no" or "I don't know." Seems crazy that they wouldn't.

from tnash 177 days ago #

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You would be surprised but many of the business in the room just were not interested in marketing online, either because they thought they were primary a local business but more because tightening of their belts and the first thing to go was the peripheral marketing. But to answer your question out of the 40% that said they wouldn't be budgeting for online marketing it was probably 80|20 no, don't know but that is based more on what people were saying then concrete figure.

The vast majority of people in the room started the evening with, "I have a website what else do I need?" attitude remember the poll was also done at the start of the evening with the exception of the final question.

Do remember this was a straw poll, done in a room which had cheese and wine.

from Jill 177 days ago #

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This is a good case in point as to why it's nearly impossible to try to market search marketing services to local businesses. They're just so far behind the curve. It would probably cost more to educate them about the need for SEM than one could make back in services!

from tnash 177 days ago #

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I think that says more about you then the people in the room ;)

Teasing aside, education does have a cost associated with it, but spending time educating potential clients and indeed existing ones IMO saves you money in the long run. 2 people from that night have since contacted me asking for names of people to contact. So that 30 minute education snagged 2 potential leads for some one. Now they are going into the discussion with an open mind even if they are less keen on opening their bank wallet and should be easy to convert. All of the people in the room saw the need to expand online after the 30 minutes, even if they have forgotten the next morning.

So I think what I'm trying to say is there is no point marketing until you have educated, but remember once you have they are far more likely to come back to you again and again at least that is my experience.

Just thought I should add I never went into the room with the intention of marketing to them but if I had I would have done exactly the same thing, education as a loss leader is for me a sensible strategy.

from Jill 177 days ago #

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Yes, definitely agree with all that. Which is why 2/3 of my time (or so) is spent educating the world at large about SEO/SEM.

What I was saying in the previous comment, however, is that the best clients are those who have already been educated in some way. For me with my clients, generally the best ones have been High Rankings Advisor newsletter subscribers for awhile. They already have some idea about SEO, but more importantly about my specific take on it.

from Infomonkey 176 days ago #

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I'm always interested to confirm my findings in the wider market place. Customers know they should be doing something online, but often don't know where to start, how much money they should be spending and the ROI that they are likely to achive as a result. Education is essential and I always make a point of selling the idea into an organisation at a senior level as this ultimately leads to a much easier ride...

from emanuelh 176 days ago #

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@ infomonkey - And what is the ROI a client who pays for SEO services devoted fully to rankings in the organic results is likely to achieve as a result?