Excuse the title of the post, it suggests that SEO and Marketing are actually two separate endeavors, but they aren’t.

True search engine optimization is an element of marketing. When you break down SEO into it’s pieces (the efforts typically undertaken by an SEO/marketing firm) they certainly are not tasks you would want someone to handle for you if they were not in close communication with your marketing department. This may sound odd coming from an independent SEO firm, but it demonstrates our philosophy.

Imagine hiring someone to write content for your site, and they’re unfamiliar with your message. The worst case scenario is a public relations nightmare, but at the very least you could be communicating all the wrong things, the wrong way, to the wrong people.

Then there’s link building and online advertising. Without understanding your business’ audience, you could be reaching the wrong people, drastically reducing your return on investment. Let’s say, at a high level, you sell clothing. Imagine no more than that has been communicated to your SEO firm. Where do they advertise? To whom do they reach out to? Working to get links on a men’s site would be fruitless if you sold women’s clothing.

The example may seem an extreme not worth considering, but these mistakes can happen on many levels. If you sell women’s clothes, are they high-end or very affordable? For plus-sized women? Is your marketing department targeting senior citizens, high-schoolers, or a twenty-something crowd looking to push themselves professionally?

If the company you have chosen to help with your search marketing isn’t asking these kinds of questions, you may want to look around for another. Often many search marketing efforts can be handled in-house with a knowledgeable marketing department, and a little consultation to help push you in the right direction.

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