It can be frustrating to realize the SEO campaign you’ve been working on is simply not meeting its objectives. Failed SEO campaigns are not just limited to unknowing individuals who are trying to save a buck and run their own campaign. There are companies and knowledgeable people who set out to design an SEO campaign for clients only to find out that it did not achieve what it was designed to do. An SEO campaign requires a lot of research in a lot of areas over a long period of time. There are three very basic reasons behind failed SEO campaigns. Addressing these three areas specifically can improve the success rates of future SEO campaigns.
Making the Assumption that all Businesses are the Same
Over the years it has been the mistake of some SEO companies that if one campaign is successful for a business in a particular industry that the same strategies will be successful in any industry or for any business. This is probably the most likely reason for a campaign’s failure. Just because an SEO professional has had success in one niche industry does not automatically mean he will have it in another. The absolute truth is that every single business is different and unique. For the SEO company this means that the strategies and effort needed to get a web site to rank in the top rankings of the SERPs can be very different from another business. Various categories of businesses have different levels of competitiveness. In some categories the competition is so tight and the number of web sites competing for those coveted first page results is so high that it can be very difficult to maintain a successful SEO campaign; and nearly impossible if adjustments are not made for that specific niche market or enterprise.
Choosing the Wrong Niche
It is not possible in the world wide market to be “all things to all people. “It’s just simply too large and competitive. The enormity of it all can sometimes be overlooked by individuals and they forget that they are actually competing with the whole world for a slot. The only way to be truly successful is to choose a narrower niche market that is not being well covered. By focusing on one narrow niche an SEO campaign is going to be more successful. This of course requires putting in some time researching specific industries before developing the campaign. Leaving off this integral research can sabotage an entire campaign. In many cases, an SEO expert simply cannot learn year’s worth of accumulated industry specific knowledge in a short amount of time. But it is not possible to have a successful SEO campaign without obtaining sufficient amounts of information about the industry. There are no short cuts. Focusing on one niche market will help guarantee success.
Keyword Research and Monitoring
Ranking for specific keywords is an essential part of SEO. It’s important to know what the audience is looking for and by failing to conduct keyword research and finding out what users are searching for in your niche market you set a campaign up for failure. This is time consuming but it cannot be skipped if an SEO campaign is going to succeed. But once you have the research completed and the site is up and running, it also takes constant monitoring for those keywords and their popularity. Keyword research cannot just be done one time and then forgotten about. Keywords and keyword phrases are constantly changing in the level of popularity; some are declining in popularity and others are increasing enormously. It is imperative to continuously monitor keyword popularity in order to ensure the site remains competitive. Monitoring is equally important for helping the SEO professional establish new keyword phrases that can keep the site at the top of the rankings. The savvy SEO expert stays on top of what is transpiring on a regular basis. To fail to do so means that they are not able to keep up with the current trends in that particular niche market and are dooming the SEO campaign to fail. By closely monitoring keyword phrases, the SEO expert will be able to accurately judge a campaign and keep it going in the right direction.
