Admittedly a slightly inflammatory title for an article about SEO. The lesson that I hope you can take away from this blog is that it is a mistake to concentrate on SEO (Search Engine Optimization.) You will be much better served by concentrating on WSO (WebSite Optimization).
To concentrate on WSO (website optimization) requires first that you divide SEO into two distinct and separate areas of endeavor — 1) website development, and 2) website marketing.
All of the discussion around SEO have confused these two. The topics of website development and marketing of one’s website have been mushed together. This has served (either deliberately or accidentally) to confuse the issues of web development and marketing. This has made it possible for certain service companies to create a niche for themselves that allows them to provide a service that is inherently difficult to measure.
Let’s get back to basics. Let’s have those folks that know the products and services represented by the website spearhead the development — with expert technical help where and when necessary. And, let’s have those folks that know marketing spearhead the marketing of the website. If you happen to be running a one man (or one woman) operation, then get yourself two hats and get down to business wearing only one hat at time.
In my next blog, let’s start assigning SEO tasks to each of these hats.