Is it “Good for SEO”?

Oftentimes, people will ask me, “David, is it good for SEO?” I don’t know how to answer that question because I don’t know what “good” is.

As I was ranting about this, one day, when a colleague asked me, “What do they really mean when they ask that?”

Does It Rank?

When someone asks if something is “good for SEO”, what they’re saying is, “Does it rank?”

While ranking is a great thing, is that really what the goal should be? Because theoretically, we could think of any number of terms for which you might be able to rank. However, rank doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going get a visitor for it. Just because you think of a term, it doesn’t mean that nobody else in the universe is thinking of that term right now as well.

So, rank isn’t the end goal of an SEO campaign.

Does It Bring Traffic?

What clients really want is rank that generates traffic because people are searching for them. However, we could think of any number of phrases that bring in traffic, but that doesn’t necessarily help our clients or their websites because that traffic doesn’t bring new customers.

Bringing in traffic doesn’t mean it’s good for SEO, either.

What is Your Ultimate Goal?

Something is “good for SEO” if accomplishes its purpose. In other words, we have to consider what it is we want the customer to do when they come to our website.

What do you want a customer to do, when they visit your website? Some companies have never thought about this. They think their website is just a digital brochure. No wonder they’re only thinking about “rank” and “traffic”.

If you’re using the full power of your website, the visitor can do something after visiting your site. That “something” should be to become your customer. They should (easily) be able to contact you- whether through a web form or a phone call. That’s the end goal of an SEO campaign.

Of course, you’ll never know if something accomplished this, unless you can track it. You should always know how someone became a customer. This is why web analytics is essential to an SEO (or any internet marketing campaign, for that matter).

Do not get distracted by rank in SEO. Don’t just think about traffic either. Sure, rank leads to traffic. But more importantly, traffic helps accomplish the business goal of your site. And that’s how you know something is good for SEO.