Why SEO Isn’t Just SEO Anymore: We are all Digital Marketers Now!

I sat down this morning to write a proposal for a perspective new client. It just struck me in how much I had to change to define our business and how to redefine SEO. SEO really has mutated and no longer can it be compartmentalized as it has been in the past.

When I redid the website, I started to look for graphics that might help people understand what we do in a quick way. I found this raw graphic, put my own spin on it and I think it sums it up.

I think as marketers we talk a lot about SEO. There was a a time when you could hire a web designer and have a site built. Then go add some keywords to your page and it would rank. I still have some old sites of ours that do just that.  SEO now is dependent on a great web site design and I don’t mean what the site looks likes.

Beyond that regardless if your a small company or a large corporation you have to decide on your brand. I think when we started here I wanted to help people. Our logo’s are designed to let people know what our niche is and what we do. Web Hosting for Idiots continues to be a HUGE brand for us. It conveys what we are do and who we help. When I added the Vertical Web brand a few years ago, people immediately knew what we did and know we are leaders in the SEO industry. Google is now looking for those signals. If you have a strong brand, you will appear in multiple places. You may see the company helping community members, just as we did after 911 and Hurricane Katrina, but on a small scale, we help our clients with Blood Drives, School Supplies and other community outreach events. All of that helps develop a brand. No matter how small all business owners need to worry about this.

Then there is social media. I always say most people don’t know how to do Social. I personally thing Williams-Sonoma is one of the best at an effective social media campaign. Some day I’ll talk just about this, but for now know that Social Media is not about hanging cats and happy TGIF posts. Videos also need to be used and will become more and more important. (just put this here because its a prediction)

And lastly, always Google yourself. See how the world views your company or your brand. You may be surprised but if you don’t have a strong presence, you need to make sure you have strong Reputation Management programs.