I entered the internet marketing industry around 2003. It all started for me with an affiliate program and a pay per click campaign. Back in 2003 there were not many savvy Australian internet marketers so I had very little competition for my campaign for quite some time.
Having had some great initial success, I got a little disappointed as I watched new entrant after new entrant come into the market, copying my campaigns and forcing the cost of pay per click (PPC) advertising up. This combined with Google's enhancements (which did make their search engine work better, just not for affiliates) made the time involved in managing a Google Cash style business, to be way in excess what the diminishing returns would compensate.
So I changed tack. I'd pretty much learned all I could with pay per click advertising anyway. At this juncture I started building and optimizing websites. I spent thousands working out the most successful and enduring methods of search engine optimization (SEO) and applied all the techniques to my own businesses. I still own about half a dozen successful websites. Only one promotes my own product, a tourism service I set up a couple of years ago. All the others sell products in affiliate programs or advertising space.
Over the 6 years I have been active in internet marketing, I have picked up quite a few clients who wanted help with their web presence. I never promoted this service, they all came to me on referral or by word of mouth. They all had two things in common. Firstly they wanted a website that sold their product. Secondly they had been ripped off by an unethical internet marketer who took their money and left them with a website that didn't work.
That's the problem with internet marketing. Its not a university degree, its not a regulated industry. Anyone can and does call them self an internet marketer. That's why internet professionals as an industry have such a bad reputation. Our industry is packed with graphic designers who know nothing about marketing and professional marketers who know nothing about the internet.
These charlatans contact me every week trying to sell their services. I can see clearly their modus operendi. They base all their actions on the fact that most business owners are pretty ignorant when it comes to the internet. Therefore, a few nice graphs and some confusing industry jargon is all they offer and expect it to be enough to make a sale. This is despite their general lack of substance when it comes to delivery.
For example, my tourism business hires out surfboards on Australia's Gold Coast. Do a Google search on "Gold Coast Surfboard Hire" or even just "surfboard hire" for that matter. I'm sure you'll find me, mine is Gold Coast Surfboards. Clearly for the product I am selling, I am very well optimised in the search engines.
So I have a website which is supporting a business perfectly. Its optimized in the search engine for the search phrases which are popular and relevant to the service. Despite this, so called internet "professionals" contact me every week trying to sell me their SEO services.
I think I've figured out what these charlatans do. I think they find a small business website and mine the search engines for "sort of" related terms, until they find one which is pretty low on Google. For my website, the type of terms that they come up with are "Surf Accessories" and "Holiday Rentals". Terms which are related but not really relevant. Once they have found one, they'll construct a sales pitch based on the traffic they'll send my website by optimizing it for those terms. Of course there is always a decent amount of scare mongering in these sales pitches, telling me how much of my business is going to my competitors, business which I can claim for my own.
Using my two examples above, if I had have used these "gurus", my website would be optimized for 1 specific search phrase which is unrelated to my core business "Surf Board Accessories" and 1 broad phrase that will attract lots of people, most of which are looking to rent a car or a hotel room. These people probably aren't even going to the Gold Coast. I'm sure the gurus would have taken my money regardless.
Here's some advice if you are in a business which has internet professionals hard selling their services to you. Think about the phrases your clients use when they search for your services. Ask them what they'd type into Google. Have an understanding of this and then reject outright the approaches from operators who tell you they will optimize your website on Google for different search phrases. These people are selling you services that will not add value to your business, services which may damage the good work you have already done on your website.
If on the other hand you are not being hassled by these salesmen, yet understand the potential the internet has for your business but don't know where to start, I recommend you start asking around your circle of friends. Try and find an operator that someone will recommend first hand. Just make it clear to them though you are looking for an internet marketer, not a designer. There are plenty of students or graphic artists out there who will be happy to take your cash and build you a masterpiece. It will be such a pity no-one will be able to find it.
Finally, if you are one of those internet marketers who abuses our great industry by running around, trying to extract a pound of flesh from every business you come by regardless of the value you add, change your ways. This industry is big enough for everyone so there is a place for you. But skill yourself up and don't sell your services to businesses that don't need them. Only sell your services where the person paying for them will benefit from them. Your reputation, your business and our industry will flourish if you follow this code. (By the way, its called being ethical)
Having had some great initial success, I got a little disappointed as I watched new entrant after new entrant come into the market, copying my campaigns and forcing the cost of pay per click (PPC) advertising up. This combined with Google's enhancements (which did make their search engine work better, just not for affiliates) made the time involved in managing a Google Cash style business, to be way in excess what the diminishing returns would compensate.
So I changed tack. I'd pretty much learned all I could with pay per click advertising anyway. At this juncture I started building and optimizing websites. I spent thousands working out the most successful and enduring methods of search engine optimization (SEO) and applied all the techniques to my own businesses. I still own about half a dozen successful websites. Only one promotes my own product, a tourism service I set up a couple of years ago. All the others sell products in affiliate programs or advertising space.
Over the 6 years I have been active in internet marketing, I have picked up quite a few clients who wanted help with their web presence. I never promoted this service, they all came to me on referral or by word of mouth. They all had two things in common. Firstly they wanted a website that sold their product. Secondly they had been ripped off by an unethical internet marketer who took their money and left them with a website that didn't work.
That's the problem with internet marketing. Its not a university degree, its not a regulated industry. Anyone can and does call them self an internet marketer. That's why internet professionals as an industry have such a bad reputation. Our industry is packed with graphic designers who know nothing about marketing and professional marketers who know nothing about the internet.
These charlatans contact me every week trying to sell their services. I can see clearly their modus operendi. They base all their actions on the fact that most business owners are pretty ignorant when it comes to the internet. Therefore, a few nice graphs and some confusing industry jargon is all they offer and expect it to be enough to make a sale. This is despite their general lack of substance when it comes to delivery.
For example, my tourism business hires out surfboards on Australia's Gold Coast. Do a Google search on "Gold Coast Surfboard Hire" or even just "surfboard hire" for that matter. I'm sure you'll find me, mine is Gold Coast Surfboards. Clearly for the product I am selling, I am very well optimised in the search engines.
So I have a website which is supporting a business perfectly. Its optimized in the search engine for the search phrases which are popular and relevant to the service. Despite this, so called internet "professionals" contact me every week trying to sell me their SEO services.
I think I've figured out what these charlatans do. I think they find a small business website and mine the search engines for "sort of" related terms, until they find one which is pretty low on Google. For my website, the type of terms that they come up with are "Surf Accessories" and "Holiday Rentals". Terms which are related but not really relevant. Once they have found one, they'll construct a sales pitch based on the traffic they'll send my website by optimizing it for those terms. Of course there is always a decent amount of scare mongering in these sales pitches, telling me how much of my business is going to my competitors, business which I can claim for my own.
Using my two examples above, if I had have used these "gurus", my website would be optimized for 1 specific search phrase which is unrelated to my core business "Surf Board Accessories" and 1 broad phrase that will attract lots of people, most of which are looking to rent a car or a hotel room. These people probably aren't even going to the Gold Coast. I'm sure the gurus would have taken my money regardless.
Here's some advice if you are in a business which has internet professionals hard selling their services to you. Think about the phrases your clients use when they search for your services. Ask them what they'd type into Google. Have an understanding of this and then reject outright the approaches from operators who tell you they will optimize your website on Google for different search phrases. These people are selling you services that will not add value to your business, services which may damage the good work you have already done on your website.
If on the other hand you are not being hassled by these salesmen, yet understand the potential the internet has for your business but don't know where to start, I recommend you start asking around your circle of friends. Try and find an operator that someone will recommend first hand. Just make it clear to them though you are looking for an internet marketer, not a designer. There are plenty of students or graphic artists out there who will be happy to take your cash and build you a masterpiece. It will be such a pity no-one will be able to find it.
Finally, if you are one of those internet marketers who abuses our great industry by running around, trying to extract a pound of flesh from every business you come by regardless of the value you add, change your ways. This industry is big enough for everyone so there is a place for you. But skill yourself up and don't sell your services to businesses that don't need them. Only sell your services where the person paying for them will benefit from them. Your reputation, your business and our industry will flourish if you follow this code. (By the way, its called being ethical)
About the Author:
Damian Papworth, appalled by the lack of ethics in internet marketing, promotes ethics before profits. Don't reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
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