Ethics And Internet Marketing Are You Adding Value?
I got into internet marketing back in 2003. Like most of my ilk I was tempted not by the riches, but by the perceived better way of living. Setting my own hours and full automation is what appealed to me. I started with the old Google Cash business model. Promoting other peoples products on a commission basis using pay per click (PPC) advertising.
I was quite successful at this in the beginning and then had the pleasure of watching the market flood with new entrants, all doing the same thing, forcing keyword bids up. I also had the pleasure of watching Google continue to refine their rules to make their search engine perform better, often at the expense of affiliate marketers. I watched and modified my approach until the time required to exist in the market, was no longer compensated by a justifiable remuneration.
So I changed my approach. I started to build websites and learn about search engine optimization. I still used PPC marketing, but to drive traffic to my own websites while they optimized in the organic search terms. The result for me was half a dozen highly optimized and profitable website businesses. Of these, only one has its own product. The others either promote affiliate programs or sell advertising space.
As my skill grew, so did my reputation. The result of this was a continual stream of business owners who, having heard of my expertise, wanted to hire me to sort out their web presence. These business owners all had two things in common. They all saw the potential the internet had for their business and they all had been taken advantage of by unscrupulous internet operators who took their money yet added no value. So I took them on and applied the same strategies to their websites that I applied to my own. Much to their delight, their websites now create business for them.
There is a real issue with the internet industry, it is packed with these bogus operators. There are graphic designers who put together internet masterpieces, charge a fortune for the website, yet no-one can find it. There are marketing professional who apply all their skills, yet they know nothing about the internet so their message doesn't find an ear to fall on. Our industry is unregulated and we are largely self trained. Unfortunately this has left the industry open to the unscrupulous and ignorant. Our clients have been damaged and the industry suffers also.
Every week I see how these charlatans work. They prey on the assumption that their clients are ignorant. Despite the fact they know so little themselves, they assume their clients know less and therefore can be baffled with a few technical phrases and a pretty graph.
For example, my tourism business hires out surfboards on Australia's Gold Coast. Do a Google search on "Gold Coast Surfboard Hire" or even just "surfboard hire" for that matter. I'm sure you'll find me, mine is Gold Coast Surfboards. Clearly for the product I am selling, I am very well optimised in the search engines.
So I have a website which is supporting a business perfectly. Its optimized in the search engine for the search phrases which are popular and relevant to the service. Despite this, so called internet professionals contact me every week trying to sell me their SEO services.
I've worked out exactly what they do. They find my website and recognize it as a small business. They'll do a few Google searches and see that I really am well optimized, so then they set about finding some search phrases that I am not optimized for. In their belief they know more than me, they then try to scare me into buying their optimization services for the less relevant search phrases. Phrases such as "surf accessories" and "holiday rentals".
Using my two examples above, if I had have used these "gurus", my website would be optimized for 1 specific search phrase which is unrelated to my core business "Surf Board Accessories" and 1 broad phrase that will attract lots of people, most of which are looking to rent a car or a hotel room. These people probably aren't even going to the Gold Coast. I'm sure the gurus would have taken my money regardless.
If you are a small business owner and get approached by an internet marketer who is going to "turbo boost" your business by getting it up to the top of Google, look carefully at the words they are suggesting they will do this for. There are lots of phrases which anyone can get to #1 as there is no competition for them. This is because no-one uses them to search. So before you sign up an internet marketer, try and get a good understanding of what your clients search for on Google when they are looking for your product.
If on the other hand you are not being hassled by these salesmen, yet understand the potential the internet has for your business but don't know where to start, I recommend you start asking around your circle of friends. Try and find an operator that someone will recommend first hand. Just make it clear to them though you are looking for an internet marketer, not a designer. There are plenty of students or graphic artists out there who will be happy to take your cash and build you a masterpiece. It will be such a pity no-one will be able to find it.
And to all the shonky operators in our wonderful industry, please make an effort to bring some standard of ethics into your operation. You need to stop selling for the sake of sales and start selling to add real value. If you can add real value to a potential client's business, great, please do so. Its so nice when businesses speak highly of the internet marketing industry. If you can't add value to them though, leave them alone. They are better off without you.
About the Author
Damian Papworth, concerned with the lack of honesty in internet marketing, promotes ethics before profits.
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