Putting SEO into Perspective
In random fits of uncontrollable self-importance, SEOs (myself included) sometimes get quite a rush when they consider the power they believe they wield over SERPs. But in a recent conversation, I had a chance to put that power into perspective.
A few months ago, I was talking with a VP at a large agency who handles PPC (along with having a hand in offline media) for a large organic client of ours. We were lamenting that despite the strongest rankings ever, along with really current keyword research and a constantly fine-tuned PPC campaign, traffic was lower than expected.
And it wasn't just us. He had some nice, subscription-only Yahoo Buzz Index charts showing that industry-wide, there was less demand than usual for the important terms we targeted, even after adjusting for seasonality.
Finally, he shrugged it off. "Well," he said, "I guess what I need to do is to get more people searching for this stuff."
And he did.
SEO capitalizes on what people search for. This guy dictates it. Now THAT'S power.