Fat, Old and Too Damn Expensive: Why SEO is Like Van Halen

Elliott can shred. Elliott was the lead guitar player in my last band.

We played some Beatles and some ELO, some Clapton and some Stones.

But mostly we played 80s & 90s rock.

Elliott can make his guitar sound exactly like Slash, or Edge or Slingblade or whatever those guitar players called themselves back then. 

Eruption? More Like Irritation

I left the band after a couple of year because I got tired playing 80s & 90s guitar-centered rock.

And in my “real” life, I got tired of chasing the SEO rocking horse because – frankly – there's a better way, which I’ll tell you about in a moment…

If you just landed on Earth from Mars, and did some research on “internet marketing” without knowing that much about it, you might conclude that better SEO is your golden ticket to prosperity.

And you’d be mistaken.

See, back in the 80s, when you could catch Van Halen in concert for $15, it was an awesome experience and an incredible deal. Today, that band is 30 years older, twenty times more expensive, and a lot fatter...

In the same way, it used to take just a little time and effort to get the top spot on a Google. A top spot won’t pay the bills, even though it feels good. (Kinda like attending a Van Halen concert.)

Back when it didn't cost so much, it didn't matter so much. These days though? That top spot will cost you a ton. And it still won't pay the bills...

SEO = Seriously Expensive Obstacle to Profits

This is the dirty secret of internet marketing today: Your SEO ranking was vitally important 5 years ago. Not so much anymore – save in a few select industries. (If you sell a commodity product, then your SEO better rock harder than Metallica…)

Success in digital marketing is about making sales.

Period.

And if you can generate sales without wasting time, money and effort on SEO, then why fart around with SEO, right?

Question:

Scale of 1-10, how happy are you with your sales & marketing results?

If you're not at least a 7, then pay attention.

The Classics Never Go Out of Style

You want sales. To get sales you need leads. Leads go into the top of the funnel and sales come out the bottom. Pretty simple concept.

It’s what happens in between that determines what – if anything – comes out the bottom.

A good SEO guy can get you that top-of-the-page position on Google. Now – how are you gonna turn those leads into money?

A world-class digital marketing business needs everything on this list, (note that “SEO” does not appear here):

• A proven system for building bulletproof mailing lists
• A continuous stream of compelling offers
• Consistent valuable, free-to-the-reader content
• A proven system for nurturing existing leads
• A proven system for converting leads into customers
• A proven system for maintaining the loyalty of those customers
• A proven system for keeping your offer(s) in front of those people who are not yet your customers

Do you have all of these? Do you have any?

Or are you depending on an SEO guru to solve all your sales and marketing problems for you?

Newsflash: better SEO is not the answer.

Unlike Technology, Human Nature Is Predictable

I don’t need to tell you that technology changes so fast it makes your head spin. A two-year old phone these days is old. A 10-year-old SEO plan is positively ancient.

(And if you're still singing "Hot For Teacher" at the age of 61, that's just creepy.)

By contrast, human nature doesn’t change a lick. Hasn’t changed in thousands of years and ain’t gonna change anytime in the foreseeable future.

So doesn’t it make more sense to build a sales and marketing system that you can’t outgrow regardless of what happens with technology? A system that leverages human nature, rather than ignores it?

If you really want to turn that marketing machine into a selling machines, get busy learning about humans.

We're not rational. We're emotional, tribal, easily misled and fickle. Smart marketers know all of this, and leverage it to the hilt.

Be smart.

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