Not too long ago, one of my prospects asked me to have a conference call with him and his “web” people.  

I was pleased to be included in their consultations. When prospects leave me out of such discussions, their web advisors often dismiss my services while claiming, “We’ve got it covered.” Either I lose the assignment or it’s delayed significantly. 

So I was grateful my prospect wanted to conference call all of us together. When the call was made, predictably, the web folks started in on me. But I know my stuff so I held my own just fine. 

Here is an example of just one of our exchanges during that call: 

Me: When I do a Google search for the company’s primary keyword “X,” the company isn’t showing up in the first 100 results or ten pages. 

Web Person: Maybe they don’t show for that phrase, but search for “Y.” 

I searched for Y and my client did come up within the first five results. 

Me: Are you at your computer? 

Web Person: Yes. 

Me: Go to Google and enter “keyword tool.” When the results page comes up, click on Google’s Keyword Tool. 

Web Person: Got it. 

Me: Okay, now in the box type in my keyword X and your keyword Y. Then type the secret code and hit Submit. 

We wait a few moments for results. 

Me: Do you have the report? 

Web Person: Yes. 

Me: This report shows that my keyword gets an average of 40,000 searches a month and got 90,000 last month. It also shows that your keyword gets 24 average searches a month and virtually none last month. 

The web person was flabbergasted. They had been optimizing for a phrase that hardly got searched. And so it went for about an hour. 

I got the job that day. 

EASY FURNITURE WEB TIP #41: As my example shows, most web technical developers are clueless about web content development and online SEO marketing. This is the main reason most websites, large and small, are not as effective as they should be.  Do not rely on your web technical support for content and Internet Marketing issues. 

Katherine Andes is a consultant who specializes in web content development, including search engine optimization, and landing pages — especially in the home improvement market. You can phone her at 559.589.0379 or email at kathy@andesandassociates.com.