Sales always have a voice. Revenue must grow and anything else is a failure.
But now many companies have a near-death experience because the sales landscape has changed radically.
Years ago, a salesperson had a valuable Rolodex. The seller nurtured the relationships it represented with calls, visits and probably more. They met for conferences, happy hours and golf outings. The biggest clients would even be invited to company parties and perhaps retreats.
Of course, the Rolodex has evolved into CRMs and the like. But now it’s just not that useful. The value of a seller’s name list is fundamentally gone.
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What changed?
The COVID-19 pandemic suddenly forced sellers to change their behavior. They couldn’t meet with customers in person anymore. They found that customers who work remotely no longer have a receptionist who can personally message them.
The names they carefully collected no longer answer their phones. But people rarely respond to emails and voicemails.
Getting through to someone is basically a game until they quit or surrender.
As a result, relationships have often come to a screeching halt.
Sales networks just aren’t as valuable as they once were.
So a salesperson who used to rely on relationships, meetings, conferences and calls suffers. And where the sellers still have a loud voice, that voice is now grumbling. Lead sources have dried up and their income is taking a beating.
Who’s to blame?
If sales can’t reach their numbers, everyone in the company is affected. So management looks at Sales and demands an explanation.
Of course it’s Marketing’s fault. Their job is to provide leads.
Or it’s the management’s fault. The company should have seen it coming.
Sales managers should have known that their outside sales force would suffer and the company should have invested more in digital lead management. They should have had a survival plan to target new prospects. They should have taken their website to new heights instead of trusting something to die.
Most salespeople can’t spell SEO or PPC. They have never written content. So when it comes to the company website, they often have a “build it and they will come” expectation (after all, the internet is free, right?).
In their defense, for a long time an outside sales force could be relied upon to increase revenue. The sales processes produced results. That’s why the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach to marketing used to work.
So surprise – your outside sales team is no longer effective.
And then business suffers.
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What to do?
How to solve the drying up of sales? The answer will vary. Or in the SEO mantra, “It depends.”
One way or another, you need to generate leads for your sales team. This requires sharpshooter precision and you have many options depending on your budget.
You can buy ads (PPC) and maybe make some quick profits.
You can buy into the “flood the web with content” approach, with or without a boost from influencers (it might not help, but hey, you’ve got to do something).
You can buy links (but avoid this – it’s the kiss of death). You can accept content hosted elsewhere, sold by snake oil SEOs.
Or you may decide that your survival depends on doing it right.
The most valuable salesperson
So far, it is clear that the world is slow to recover from the impacts of recent years. The telecommuting paradigm is not going away, and sales must adapt. Change is necessary.
It is also clear that a cheap solution is wasted money. And in some industries, the outside salesperson is doomed if you can’t deliver leads.
In today’s sales reality, your company’s website is your most important salesperson.
Do SEO like your survival depends on it.
And whatever you do, don’t hire the cheapest solution and think there is no difference. There is a difference if you want to rank on the first page out of 10 million competitors for any keyword that matters.
Here’s my favorite lead generation analogy: If you want to catch fish, use the bait the fish bite and fish where the fish are. In practical terms:
What is simple is not always easy. An expert SEO consultancy may be needed to help you get that message to a lot of fish.
Then target others, rinse and repeat.
Bottom line, if you find your leads are dwindling, it’s probably because your website traffic is suffering. And that is best solved with SEO.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily those of Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
Bruce Clay is the founder and president of Bruce Clay Inc., a global digital marketing optimization firm that provides search engine optimization, PPC management, paid social media marketing, SEO-friendly website architecture, content development, and SEO tools and training.& #xD ;
Is Google SEO dead?
Clay authored the book “Search Engine Optimization All-In-One For Dummies,” now in its fourth edition, and “Content Marketing Strategies for Professionals.” He wrote the first web page analysis tool, created the Search Engine Relationship Chart® and is credited with being the first to use the term search engine optimization. Bruce Clay’s famous SEO course is available online at SEOtraining.com.
SEO is still alive. It is as relevant today as it has ever been. If anything, it may even be more important. Today, 53% of all website traffic comes from organic search.
Is SEO dead in 2021?
Is SEO worth it in 2022? Yes, SEO is worth it – in 2022, in the future, in the past and always. As long as there are websites and search engines, SEO is necessary. SEO in 10 years will likely be very different from SEO today, but you must always make sure that your website sends the right signals to search engines so that you can be found.
Is SEO dead in 2022?
Don’t be fooled: SEO isn’t dying, but it’s evolving into much more than it was years ago. If you’ve been debating whether or not to invest in SEO for your business, read on to find out why SEO isn’t dying – but actually thriving – in 2021.
Is SEO still relevant in 2021?
So will SEO be dead by 2022? Once again, the answer is no. This article was written by GA Agency, a London-headquartered agency offering SEO consulting services. GA Agency is a multilingual SEO agency with years of experience working with many leading international brands.
Will SEO exist in 5 years?
So is SEO still a good investment in 2021 and beyond?! Short answer: YES! SEO is more important than ever! It remains one of the most potent digital marketing strategies that drive long-term results.
Does SEO have a future?
SEO will not be eliminated in the next five years because social media and search engines will more than likely merge. Facebook has already started to do this: they average over 1.5 billion searches every day. Twitter has done the same; they joined in partnership with Google.
How long will SEO last?
SEO is now considered a long-term investment for businesses, with results showing gradually over time. SEO is considered almost dead by many webmasters and business owners due to the latest search engine algorithms. They believe that SEO is no longer effective and will never yield fruitful results.
Is SEO dead in 2022?
SEO should show results within a period of 6 to 12 months. By results we mean a measurable increase in traffic and associated leads or conversions.
Does SEO have a future?
So will SEO be dead by 2022? Once again, the answer is no. This article was written by GA Agency, a London-headquartered agency offering SEO consulting services. GA Agency is a multilingual SEO agency with years of experience working with many leading international brands.
How SEO will change in 2022?
SEO is now considered a long-term investment for businesses, with results showing gradually over time. SEO is considered almost dead by many webmasters and business owners due to the latest search engine algorithms. They believe that SEO is no longer effective and will never yield fruitful results.
How can I improve my business SEO on Google?
In 2022, you can expect SEO rankings to be more competitive in providing high-quality content that is useful to internet users. Content that only tries to fish for their audience by linking unnecessary sourcing will not be effective as it is today.
- How to improve your local ranking on Google
- Enter complete data. Local results favor the most relevant results for each search. …
- Confirm your placements. …
- Keep your hours accurate. …
- Manage & respond to reviews. …
- Add pictures. …
- Add products to the store. …
- Relevance. …
Is SEO job difficult?
Distance.
SEO is simply not as difficult as people make it out to be; you can get 95% of the effort with 5% of the work, and you absolutely don’t need to hire a professional SEO to do it, nor will it be difficult to start ranking for well-chosen key terms.
Do I need coding skills for SEO?
Is SEO a good career? ‘ Yes. SEO is a good career option as it is among the most sought after careers in digital marketing. There are several organizations around the world that hire SEO professionals to generate better content and thus produce more leads.
Is SEO require coding?
The short answer is: no, SEO typically doesn’t require much (or any) hands-on coding. You can absolutely do great SEO without touching code.
Is coding necessary for digital marketing?
The short answer is: no, SEO typically doesn’t require much (or any) hands-on coding. You can absolutely do great SEO without touching code. But the longer answer is that yes, a good sense of how programming works, or even an ability to do a bit of coding yourself, is always a useful skill to have.
Is SEO analyst a stressful job?
Coding is not necessary to learn digital marketing. This can be done through a variety of channels, including email, social media, search engines and websites. Coding is not necessary to learn digital marketing, but it can be useful to understand how the process works and to create more effective campaigns.
Is SEO high paying?
However, it is not as stressful as IT or other programming-related jobs. However, whether you do SEO in-house or for an agency or clients, your path to becoming an SEO specialist must start by mastering the skills with the help of an SEO course.
Can I learn SEO in 2 months?
On average, an SEO specialist earns $49,000 per year, and the median salary of SEO managers is significantly higher, around $63,000. At the high end are SEO Directors, who typically earn between $70,000 and $120,000, and SEO Team Managers and Campaign Managers, in the $50,000 to $100,000 range.
Can You Learn SEO in a month?
It takes 1-3 months to learn SEO at a basic level and as long as 6-18 months to learn SEO at an advanced level. How much time it takes to learn SEO depends on the number of hours each day you can study search engine optimization.
How long does it take to get Google SEO certified?
Although it’s a career-long journey, you can actually learn SEO in about a month – enough to make a huge impact on your website and therefore your business as a whole.
Why SEO is important on a business?
This course is divided into 26 modules and takes around 40 hours to complete, with a certification offered after completing a 40-question exam. The course is accredited by the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe and The Open University.
SEO has great benefits for websites and can lead to long-term exponential growth. Brands that invest in SEO can build credibility and trust with their audience, making it a key part of a digital marketing strategy.
What is SEO and how it works for small businesses?
Is SEO worth it for small businesses? The short answer is that SEO is very effective – not only for generating traffic, but also leads and sales. Do not worry. The long answer includes research and data, not just empty statements. Most SEOs get too caught up in search-specific metrics like SERPs (search engine results page), rankings, and organic traffic.
What is SEO and how it works?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is how you help customers find your website when they search on Google, Bing and Yahoo. By building your website the right way and optimizing your keywords, you will get more traffic to your site and generate more sales. Here are 10 tips to help you rank higher in online searches.
Why is SEO good for small businesses?
Well, SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimization’ which is the process of getting traffic from free, organic, editorial or natural search engine results. It aims to improve your site’s ranking on search results pages. Remember, the higher the website is listed, the more people will see it.
What is the future of SEO in 2022?
If you’re a small business trying to reach customers in your area, SEO is important because it enables them to find you first. 97% of people learn more about a local small business online than anywhere else (Source: SEO Tribunal).
In 2022, you can expect SEO rankings to be more competitive in providing high-quality content that is useful to internet users. Content that only tries to fish for their audience by linking unnecessary sourcing will not be effective as it is today.
Is SEO still relevant in 2022?
Will SEO be around in 5 years? SEO will not be eliminated in the next five years because social media and search engines will more than likely merge. Facebook has already started to do this: they average over 1.5 billion searches every day. Twitter has done the same; they joined in partnership with Google.
Will SEO become obsolete?
Will SEO still be relevant in 2022? Yes of course. Although some SEO tactics that were effective in the past have stopped working, SEO continued to evolve. Constantly reinventing itself to try to match user intent better, reduce spam, ineffective tactics to improve.
Does SEO have a future?
Don’t be fooled: SEO isn’t dying, but it’s evolving into much more than it was years ago. If you’ve been debating whether or not to invest in SEO for your business, read on to find out why SEO isn’t dying – but actually thriving – in 2021.
What is SEO and why is SEO important for every business?
SEO is now considered a long-term investment for businesses, with results showing gradually over time. SEO is considered almost dead by many webmasters and business owners due to the latest search engine algorithms. They believe that SEO is no longer effective and will never yield fruitful results.
SEO is not only about search engines, but good SEO practices improve the user experience and usability of a website. Users trust search engines and having a presence in the top positions for the keywords the user is searching for increases the trust of the website. SEO is good for the social promotion of your website.
Why is SEO still important?
What does SEO mean? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is the process used to optimize a website’s technical configuration, content relevance and link popularity so that its pages can become easily accessible, more relevant and popular in relation to users’ search queries and, as a consequence, search engines rank them better.
Is SEO still important in 2022?
Optimizing your website for SEO means you are more likely to generate organic traffic that will turn into customers buying your product or service. When people google they typically carry out very specific searches, for example ‘Honda specialist garage in Walthamstow’.
What is SEO and why is it important today?
Will SEO still be relevant in 2022? Yes of course. Although some SEO tactics that were effective in the past have stopped working, SEO continued to evolve. Constantly reinventing itself to try to match user intent better, reduce spam, ineffective tactics to improve.
What is SEO in business?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. In the simplest terms, good SEO optimizes your visibility online. This means that the more people see your website, the more your online traffic increases and the better your chances of delivering your product or service to a larger number of people.
What is SEO and how it works?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is how you help customers find your website when they search on Google, Bing and Yahoo. By building your website the right way and optimizing your keywords, you will get more traffic to your site and generate more sales.
What is an example of SEO?
Well, SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimization’ which is the process of getting traffic from free, organic, editorial or natural search engine results. It aims to improve your site’s ranking on search results pages. Remember, the higher the website is listed, the more people will see it.
