Search engine optimization doesn’t matter at all in your business and in this video I’m going to explain exactly why.
Hi, I’m Mikel Erdman, President and CEO of MySmartBlog.com and let met tell you, search engine optimization, it really doesn’t matter in the vast majority of businesses in America or around the world today.
Here’s the truth, most businesses, especially small business or service-based businesses for things like real estate and the mortgage industry are done by referral.
In fact, statistics show that over 70% of all transactions nationwide are done through repeat and referral business year-after-year-after-year, and that’s validated through studies that are done every single year through the National Association of Realtors.
But also if you just go and talk with any high producers and ask them, “Where does your business come from?” they’re going to tell you, repeat and referral business.
So, the interesting thing with online marketing and the disconnect is anytime you talk with marketers they generally tell you the first thing you have to do is get to the front page of Google.
Well, let me tell you, it is great to be at the front page of Google but there is no trust or credibility in a click so you’re just one of ten options on that page and there’s a big line of things that have to be done in order to get leads to convert and to create actual deals in your pipeline.
And the fact of the matter is, most people who are in business for themselves don’t have the time or the technical knowledge or want to invest at the level to get that online lead conversion happening.
So what should you do?
What you really want to do is what we call Sphere of Influence Optimization and that simply means taking your online marketing and actually making it replicate what you already know works offline.
So if you already know that most of the business that you get in your offline business comes from repeat and referral business, actually building an audience and staying in touch with those people consistently, the best marketing plan you can possibly implement online, at least at the foundation, is something that replicates that experience.
And so what we teach you to do is use content to stay in front of that audience on a consistent basis, usually through social media networks which is where people find themselves most consistently and then actually do that over time to build trust and credibility.
See trust and credibility comes from your consistent appearance in front of people and they learn to know, like and trust you and then what ends up happening from there is that they end up – you build a relationship overtime and those people become advocates out in the marketplace helping you share your message and that’s what gets that phone ringing so that you get that business coming in.
So, again, focus on Sphere of Influence Optimization first. The best way to do that is through a content marketing system, usually through a blog-based Web site like WordPress and we can help you set up your systems and do it automatically so that you don’t have to sit at your computer and do it yourself.