Today I have been carrying out some competitive analysis for a proposal we are writing this week and it has taken me further into the world of SEO or Search Engine Optimization for the uninitiated. And once again it has opened up a whole new issue relating to SEO. Lots of companies offer SEO expertise and I presume that they make good money out of it, but there are occassions when paying for a GoogleAd, even when it achieves its aim, is not money well spent.

But why not? Surely if you have paid to sponsor a keyword in Google and someone searches for that word and your website comes up at the top of the page or in the right hand column and then the person clicks on that link it’s a good thing, right? Wrong. Not if the website that they click through to is so poor that they simply hit the ‘back’ button and return to Google immediately. And that has happened to me quite a few times today.

So apologies to the companies who have spent good money on GoogleAds - I’ve just wasted those click throughs for you - but then again why bother promoting your site if you aren’t able to spend the time, effort and yes, money, to have even a half-decent site?

Maybe some SEO expert tells you that GoogleAds are just what you need without addressing the failings of the destination point - but then the cynic in me would say that if they aren’t also selling web design they might not be that interested in what your site actually looks like. Or maybe you pick up on SEO and GoogleAds as some of the latest ‘buzz’ words and think “how hard can it be?” so you do it yourself.

And it’s true, marketing and communications are not some ‘dark art’ and they can be simple and quite straight-forward. You just need a good structure; a strong framework; and a clear, focused strategy and plan to produce integrated and successful marketing and communications. It doesn’t work if it’s piecemeal and it rarely works if it isn’t part of a ‘bigger picture’.

So rather than ask yourself “how hard can it be?” maybe you should ask “where best can I spend my money?”. Thinking about that question and not being swept away by one of the many internet miracle cures will probably provide you with better ROI in the longer term.