If you still believe that search engine optimization (SEO) is money well spent, listen to this Google engineer on how the world’s leading search engine ranks websites:
“… Google tries to make it so that sites ‘don’t have to do SEO.’ First and foremost is content, and there’s no bonus for having good SEO.”
Turns out that the same thing that benefits your audience most—good content—is what gets you found by search engines. I love it when that happens.
Not to say that SEO optimization doesn’t work. It can be effective, as long as you keep feeding it money. But if your content is boring, or obviously ghost-written, or just plain reeks, you’re not going to keep that audience you bought for very long.
On the other hand, spend your resources on creating good content and you’re building a marketing asset that grows over time—and pays dividends. More viewers. More subscribers. More social media followers. More mentions on other websites. Attention from the press (even the national press).
Paid SEO is like renting an audience. Publishing decent, authentic content is as good or better at getting you search results. Plus it builds real relationships over time. Which would you rather have?
