About the most typical expectations from SEO and why they are not met

Today, most of those who own their own business and need advertising already have a good idea of what website promotion is. Another part of them really understands how much work is behind this concept. But still, from time to time, Internet marketing specialists are faced with way too unrealistic expectations of customers who have some kind of “own” vision of how everything works, or require unconditional guarantees. We'll talk about this today.

And also - we will reveal several storylines about what kind of customer you should not be and what you should not expect from SEO.

We hope you find it interesting and, most importantly, useful. Now for some theory...

What is SEO

SEO (search engine optimization) promotion is a set of actions on a website aimed at ensuring that it is ranked by a search engine higher than other sites, and users see the customer’s website on the first page of the search results for specific phrases that correspond to its products or services (keywords). 

It should be remembered that SEO is precisely a set of actions (and not one or two “secret” tricks) that also require the active participation of the customer. Basically, SEO specialists make sure that the site meets the requirements of search engines: it has a user-friendly interface, optimized texts, a logical structure, competent and varied content. The task of the customer here is to help as much as possible with up-to-date information about their business, its features, processes, unique offers, etc. 

Another term worth keeping in mind for all concerned is relevancy. This is the main principle of getting a site to the TOP of the search, which is as follows: those sites that best respond to the user's query are displayed above. And yes, it is also important here for the customer himself to know his product well and how much does his target audience need it, in order to direct the SEO work in the most correct direction.

Does SEO have guarantees and where can I find them?

Now let's talk about how to make cooperation with SEO specialists truly trusting and effective. 

The work of an SEO specialist can be compared with the work of a doctor who examines a patient, prescribes examinations, tests, medications, monitors the patient's condition during the treatment period... But the doctor CANNOT give guarantees for a complete cure. Why? Well, because many factors affect human health: heredity, the presence of concomitant diseases, lifestyle, the level of everyday stress and much more.

Likewise with the site. What affects the growth of the site in the TOP of search engines?

The first is the requirements and the current state of search algorithms that no one controls.

The second is the features of the site itself: its technical quality, the absence of errors in the code, the presence of unique texts that contain really useful and necessary information, the ease of use of the site, the availability of prices and additional visual content, and a lot of other things that your Internet Marketer or SEO Specialist will definitely inform you about.

An additional factor will be timely support for the site existence:

• timely paid domain and hosting, 
• an active, properly configured SSL certificate, 
• site protection from hacking, viruses, phishing, etc.

Therefore, there are no 100% guarantees as such in the SEO promotion and cannot be. But it's always possible to agree on an understandable action plan that will include all the basic SEO tools you need to achieve results.

TOP-5 typical customer expectations

Also here we would like to share a few stories from the most recent, but typical appeals to our managers and give clarifications on each of them. If you suddenly recognize yourself in these stories, listen to our arguments - they have a lot of useful things for your site!

Story #1

The customer applied with a request to promote the site, but does not dare to start, since there is no forecast for the number of users that SEO should bring to the site in the Nth amount of time.

Our answer: no one can give such an accurate forecast, because everything is individual for each project. Attendance grows along with the site position growth, but in itself it does not give anything ... In addition, visitors will come from a variety of sources at different times. So what will such a forecast give you? 

At the same time complex SEO optimization makes it possible to work primarily on conversions (these are all paid calls and orders from your site), because even low traffic can give good sales. And, unfortunately, vice versa: the first place in the TOP and high traffic can be completely without conversions.

The main things a customer needs to know for cooperation on SEO website promotion:

• look at real cases of a specialist or company - examples of sites of those customers who have already received results with their help (they should be present!);
• sign a formal contract, which will set out the main provisions of your cooperation;
• carefully listen to and follow all the recommendations that SEO specialists will give, because your participation is extremely necessary.

Where to begin? "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are!" - You can take this pragmatic statement of the 26th President of the United States into service and audit your site.

If you are able to do it yourself, then here is a cheat sheet from "SPRAVA" with step-by-step instructions.

Or write to us

Story #2

So, you need to promote the site with a deadline yesterday and you signed an agreement with the company. You wait a month, but the site is still not visible in the first place on the query "plumbing in Kyiv" or "furniture in Lviv". And there is no limit to your indignation: “why do these so-called specialists do nothing for my money?”...

Let's face reality.

Since its start, the Google search engine has repeatedly changed the principles of work and interaction with users. In the most “wild” times, the system really allowed many sites to quickly “shoot” in the TOP with the help of purchased links packed in keyword texts, artificial winding up of transitions to the site and similar “guaranteed” black SEO tools. But these times are over and today search robots have learned to understand not only how your sites are written, but also WHAT is written on them, what video is attached, what image is added, etc.

The uniqueness of the content and its compliance with the needs of users began to play a key role. And for all kinds of abuses in Google there are more than 15 different filters - systems of control and sanctions, which are most often applied to the site without your knowledge if something is wrong.

Accordingly, in order to avoid well-known traps and suddenly not fall under Google's filters, a professional SEO specialist will have everything going according to plan and fairly clear algorithms. And you will definitely receive instructions on what to do in the next few months. 

Not a single adequate specialist working in Internet marketing will promise you a quick way to the first page of the search. On the contrary, he will set you up for consistent work for at least 6-7 months to get the first (FIRST) tangible results, and then for constant support and content of the site.

Story #3

The SEO specialist has selected a list of queries for promotion (most often they are “popularly” called keywords). Work began on optimizing the site for these queries. Positions are gradually growing. Everything goes according to plan. And then the suspicion creeps in: you might have been fooled somehow, because all these keywords have not yet provided an avalanche of visitors to your site. “Something is wrong here...”, you think, and start asking the SEO specialist for the expediency and reasoning of promotion for each word.

The resolution option here will really be an open dialogue with your specialist, who can set the record straight. But for this you need to be open to new knowledge, because you need to learn the difference between low-frequency, mid-frequency and high-frequency queries. And you will also need to distinguish between commercial and non-commercial queries related to your business: 

The group of non-commercial queries includes all words and phrases entered by users who are looking for certain information (for example, "beech wardrobe" - for such a query, a person can search for a store - then it can be your potential buyer. Or he can search for a photo to see design options, or instructions to make a wardrobe yourself - this is no longer your target audience). That is why such queries do not always bring the target audience to the site, but often your potential customers are among them.

Commercial requests include all queries that, as a rule, use the words “buy”, “order”, “price” and “cost” - they lead an audience that wants to purchase a particular product or service. 

High-frequency requests are called so just because they occur most often. They describe the scope of the company as concisely as possible. It is for them that there will be the highest competition in the search. 

Medium-frequency queries are slightly less popular, but are quite often entered by users in the search. The competition in the TOP for them is still high.

Low-frequency queries usually consist of more than two words, are rarely used, but allow you to bring to the site an audience that knows exactly what it needs. It is easiest to promote a site for such queries, but they do not give a lot of traffic.

If you are aiming at selling goods and services, then the semantic core (this is a list of all promotion queries ) should include keywords of different frequencies. Promotion only for high-frequency requests is not always justified, because it usually takes maximum effort, time and budget. Promotion only for low-frequency queries is not always able to provide a good level of sales. You should also be careful with the mid-range frequencies, because it is here that there is a risk of bringing the wrong audience to the wrong place.

If it’s difficult for you to figure out on your own the frequency and the number of queries for your website promotion, ask your SEO specialist or manager (or us) to give a detailed explanation of your semantic core and continue to consistently work on the result. 

We should also warn that the desire to promote the site in the first month for one keyword, and the next for others, will lead to chaos in the work and, conversely, may lead to a decrease in the site's position in search results. You may also have top-priority queries that are better placed to rank higher than the competition. But pay special attention to those words that can generate more new conversions.

Among the words that describe your products or services, choose those that will be more understandable to ordinary customers - potential consumers of your product. You should not use specific terms or overly general phrases that will make your site compete with Wikipedia or infotainment portals. An example here is the medical field, where the term "ultrasound" is quite well known today and can give a large flow of visitors to the site, but the term "esophagogastroduodenoscopy" will be ineffective.

Story #4

Today's life in a consumer society encourages all of us to seek maximum benefit with minimum effort. Because of this, a certain type of customer arises, from whom you can often hear: “I want to pay so that nothing bothers me” and “if you are specialists, you must do everything yourself.”

But in SEO it doesn't work that way. Specialists of the online marketing company, who you pay to promote your site, usually cannot be experts in your industry. Only you can tell the fullest about the features of your service and product, provide important data about the interaction of your company's employees with customers, describe your unique selling proposition…

Therefore, website promotion is a constant and close cooperation in which the customer plays a key role. Just dumping all the work and the responsibility on someone else will not work. Everyone who is really interested in his business developing and flourishing should actively interact with all the links on which the emergence of new customers depends. 

If you stubbornly want everything to happen without your knowledge, you risk getting far from the result that you could count on with active participation. A site can be in the TOP for certain keywords, but at the same time not give your potential customers real value. It can contain many good and working tools, but all this will be much less effective if it does not include you, your experience and your participation. In order to make a profit from the site in the future, you will have to invest not only money, but also time and intellectual efforts.

Story #5

This option applies to people who don't seem to know (or think they don't know) how to present themselves online. In this case, you can hear something like: “Well, you will write to me correctly, as it should be?”, “How do I know what my advantages are, everything is like everyone else... but you invent something " or "Well, write something similar, like others, because there is a lot of information on the Internet."

And again, you need to understand that promotion in this way will not be able to work effectively. 

Firstly, because search engines have long been focused on high-quality and unique textual (and not only) information. And outright plagiarism will send your site under sanctions in a short time, which will practically annul all previous efforts. But there are not always resources and motivation to start all over again with the site. 

What should be kept under control for each customer so that his site moves to the highest positions in the search:

• Not only an SEO specialist, but no other person in the world is obliged and can not know your business better than you! Especially subtleties, which are often its advantages. This type of information should be carefully studied, analyzed and periodically reviewed by you for the sake of the viability of your business as a whole. It is you who must clearly articulate this not only for yourself, but also for your potential customers who will come to you for value and benefit. The site is just a tool, and it is also up to you to use it correctly and effectively.
• Proofread all the texts that copywriters create for your site and analyze them in terms of relevance and correctness for your industry. The texts should be really useful, filled with interesting facts, figures, tips and other valuable data, by which the user will get an idea about your level of expertise, quality of service, etc. And often only you can really control the compliance of the texts with such criteria.
• Initiate the addition of the new articles to the site. These articles should reveal the scope of your activity better. Even if you have certain problems with grammar or punctuation, you still have the main thing - invaluable practical work experience, which you can talk about with pleasure. And believe me, there are many people who want to know about it.

Therefore, the site is still the best place for a full-fledged presentation of yourself. And with the help of a team, including copywriters and SEO specialists, you will be able to attract the attention of an interested audience faster.

Story #6

You have a new site. You have invested a lot in its development: you have thought of a modern design and bright colors, worked on texts, etc. But you understand that both a car without gasoline and your site will not reach the coveted TOP without promotion. And as soon as you signed an agreement on cooperation in promotion, it started: your site lacks this thing and that, also you have to add this one, and there are errors (“Oh God, on a new site!?..”). Bad guesses creep up vaguely - instead of helping you make money, they decided to make money on you...

But the “truth of life” is that the vast majority of sites are not created for SEO promotion. The development team usually does not have an SEO specialist who could help with practical advice. Therefore, most often it is another specialist  who can see on the finished site the shortcomings in usability (ease of using the site), insufficient quality of content and other details that are missed or not provided at all during the development process. So keep that in mind and be patient. A website, like many things in this world, cannot be created once and for all. This is your "office" on the Internet, which will also periodically need to be "cleaned" and "repaired", to create comfort and an appropriate atmosphere for your customers, who, by the way, are becoming more demanding and selective.

Therefore, your SEO contractor is really your guide in the sea of various Google (or other search engine) criteria, to which you will need to constantly “refine” the site so that it stays in the TOP and generates sales. This is the main function of the site, which requires close cooperation on your part.

Positive at the end (no happy ending in any way :)

We know that you are an unconditional fan of your business and a wonderful partner No doubt you are also a great potential client of ours, but perhaps you have had similar hesitations or doubts on the way to understanding SEO in general and the fate of your site in particular.

Therefore, we propose to take into account the recommendations that we have developed over many years of interaction with our clients:

• do not look for guarantees - work in tandem, your participation is necessary and important;
• It takes time for a website to rank on the first page of Google. And no, it's not fast;
• there are no “magic buttons” and “secret techniques”, there is a well-chosen semantic core that will help visitors find your site;
• you won’t be able to get rid of active participation, so it’s better to lead your movement to the TOP;
• A SEO specialist knows about some things... but in reality, about many things which are needed for your site;
• a new site is really only the beginning, but it is also your calling card 24/7;
• whether your site will be a full-fledged tool for generating profit in business is up to you.

If you decide that it's time to take your business to the next level and start exploring the Internet, we are ready to help with this with our experience and a team of great specialists.