Internet Marketing Strategies = Cross the road when you have a walk sign!

Relevance, Relevance, Relevance. They couldn’t have repeated it more. That was the word of the day yesterday at a search engine optimization conference we attended. Of all the tricks, keywords, etc that one could use and that they discussed, it all seemed to boil down to relevance. Are the links tied to your site relevant? Are the keywords you are using relevant? Is the title to your web pages relevant? Is the traffic hitting your site relevant? What I thought was interesting as well was the honesty and ethics both speakers showed. There was one from Google and another from a local SEO agency.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect them to be sleazy, but I thought they may have covered a few “hints” or “tricks” to get your website rated higher in a search. Nope, nothing of the sort. Quite the opposite actually. What they did discuss and present instead was the point that any “evil doings” in terms of tricks and things of that sort would actually work against you. This ultimately results in a lower page rating or worse (“black listed”). They both discussed insightful ways for you to look at your online marketing in a more holistic sense and determine what works best for you. One great point they made was that increased traffic doesn’t mean increased sales/leads/etc. You could have a ton of people going to your site but if they were looking for something else than what you are offering, they will quickly leave (relevance!).

I was also impressed with their desire to really make sure that the internet and a search engine digging into it were of value to the public and something that the public would have faith in continued use. The cynic in me says, of course they would, it means big bucks for them. But even if there intentions are self serving, it still means a better experience for everyone involved and the optimist in me likes that.

So, what did I learn from the conference, other than a belly full of delicious food (thanks Gibson’s!!)?


Follow the rules and no one will get hurt! Have a great weekend!