SEO is a Task for Marketers, NOT Web Developers

The SEO industry has surely been put through the ringer over the years. There seems to be an ongoing debate about web developers and SEO and how they all connect together. Don’t get me wrong, proper web development is a very important step when launching any new business online but it is important for people to really understand that SEO is not just all technical. It is actually much more on the marketing side of things than people think. I have seen it many times over the years, where excellent web developers that are amazing at coding and design but not the best marketers think that their website building steps is everything a client needs when it comes to SEO. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Almost every aspect of SEO requires a person to really step into the shoes of their audience. How can you craft well written meta-tag that will be clicked on by your audience without putting yourself in their shoes first? When a person or business takes a real strong marketing approach to their SEO efforts they minimize their potential for penalties from the search engines and increase their potential for very strong and effective company branding. Web design and development is still very important for the user experience along with website conversion aspects but SEO should really be left to a marketing brain. Having a clean coded website is very important but that clean code will only benefit you once you start trying to get your website ranking in the search engines. Rankings alone do not generate business; marketing and rankings together generate business in a great way. Yes rankings are very important but if your website is not built with the user experience in mind also than all the rankings in the world will not allow your website to convert properly. Buyers need to see more than a just a website ranking in search results. A press release written by a marketing person and distributed through the right channels could get you a story in an online or offline publication. A press release written by a technical SEO person for the sake of rankings will most likely not get picked up anywhere and virtually no positive effect. Search engine and visitor trust factor is something that not only the search engines need to see but also your audience. A potential customer will be much more inclined to purchase from you or give you a call if they see you in multiple areas, the only way to really be visible in multiple areas is to come to the party wearing your marketing hat. A marketing approach to building your rankings will not just build your rankings but also build your business. What is more important to build rankings or business?

Oftentimes web developers miss this fundamental step in building a business online. It is more than just technical efforts. The search engines are slowly eliminating individuals who only take a technical approach to SEO. Change your SEO style to start building your brand and business and watch your rankings increase naturally the right way over time.