The search engine marketing industry has a big problem. A BIG problem. And as far as I can tell, there are only a very few seo firms or seo “gurus” out there who address this problem, or who position themselves to fix this problem… correct me if I’m wrong.

So what’s the big problem Jim?

99% of SEO firms fail to help their customers solve the right problems.

Rather, they focus on selling their customers “more traffic”. This is the wrong way to approach selling search services, and I believe that search firms are losing millions of dollars in service fees because of it.

Look, if you’re a search guru, or seo firm, you need to stop talking about “the first page of Google”, and “higher rankings, and “getting more links”, and instead start talking about things like “increasing sales”, and “conversions”, and in general things that show a return on investment.

But you guys don’t do that, and I can’t figure out why not? It makes no sense to me. It’s almost is if you’re trying to make search so confusing so that your customer just throws up their hands, hands you a check and says “Ugh, I know I have to do it, and it’s so hard to do, I hope it works. Get me on Google.”

Do you understand your customers? Do you really? I don’t think you do.

Because in my experience as someone who’s been in the online industry for 10+ years, that is exactly what those customers are doing and thinking. Your customers hate you, and they love you. They hate you because they have to cough up a lot of money for you to do your “magic”, and they love you when you return “results”.

But those “results” are all wrong, and therin lies your failure to really do what your customer needed, which was to solve their problems.

No, SEO isn’t bullshit as Jason says, but you know what? SEO firms sell it like it is.

You guys have a better product than that. Start selling it in terms that your customers understand. Start solving your customers problems with search (no, getting on Google’s first page is not a problem to solve).

Quit being stupid.

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