I love old Clint Eastwood western movies. They were always on TV when I was growing up and I would instantly get sucked into a ~3 hour movie, along with all those commercials. Hey, I figure there were worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon.
I've probably watched The Good, The Bad and The Ugly about 10 times by now. To be honest I can't always tell which one of Clint's movies I'm watching until they reintroduce it after a commercial. They all include gunfights, signature one liners from Clint, and some timely, precision tobacco spitting. My kind of movie. :)
Even if you haven't watched the movie, you can probably guess there's a good guy, a bad guy, and an ugly guy. I'll spare you the details and jump right into how this relates to online marketing. In my experience, online marketing plays all 3 of those roles: Good, Bad, and Ugly.
I've probably watched The Good, The Bad and The Ugly about 10 times by now. To be honest I can't always tell which one of Clint's movies I'm watching until they reintroduce it after a commercial. They all include gunfights, signature one liners from Clint, and some timely, precision tobacco spitting. My kind of movie. :)
Even if you haven't watched the movie, you can probably guess there's a good guy, a bad guy, and an ugly guy. I'll spare you the details and jump right into how this relates to online marketing. In my experience, online marketing plays all 3 of those roles: Good, Bad, and Ugly.
The Good
The good is usually what draws businesses to online marketing in the first place: It's affordable. In some cases, it's downright free. For example, any business looking for local customers can set up and optimize a Google+ Local page and within about a month get free exposure in Google's local business results. No upfront fees. No ongoing fees. No fancy software to learn. Just free exposure when local customers are searching for you. Hard to beat free when it comes to driving new business!
Even advertising is usually more affordable online versus offline. With Google AdWords you only pay per click so there is no big upfront investment like there is with TV, print or radio ads.
Of course, affordability isn't the only reason online marketing is good, but I think that gets the point across just fine. Now let's look at the bad...
The Bad
The bad news is that online marketing is always changing! Just when you think you've mastered search engine optimization (SEO), Google will go and change their algorithm. Or just when you've built up a hefty Facebook audience, Zuckerberg decides to tweak their EdgeRank algorithm so you have to pay to get your posts in front of your prospects and customers.
Scroll through this list of Google algorithm changes to see just how frequently the search engine landscape changes. Trust me, it's nearly impossible to keep up, and I do this for a living. There's just no way a business owner can stay on top of all the trends and best practices without help.
And Google is just the tip of the iceberg... Have you looked at all the options available with online marketing? Talk about overwhelming. There's SEO, local SEO, search advertising, display advertising, Facebook advertising, email marketing, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, press release services, website conversion optimization, tracking and website analytics. I could go on and on but you get the point.
Now, let's turn to the ugly side of online marketing...
Second, there are many low quality (and even unethical in my opinion) online marketing providers. For example, I've talked to many business owners who paid and lost thousands to an SEO company that guaranteed #1 rankings. My spam folder is full of these prospecting emails so I know how tempting it can be for businesses. However, the reality is that no one can guarantee #1 rankings. As soon as you see or hear that phrase, run away, hang up, or click delete. That's a red flag that you're not dealing with a reputable company.
Even advertising is usually more affordable online versus offline. With Google AdWords you only pay per click so there is no big upfront investment like there is with TV, print or radio ads.
Of course, affordability isn't the only reason online marketing is good, but I think that gets the point across just fine. Now let's look at the bad...
The Bad
The bad news is that online marketing is always changing! Just when you think you've mastered search engine optimization (SEO), Google will go and change their algorithm. Or just when you've built up a hefty Facebook audience, Zuckerberg decides to tweak their EdgeRank algorithm so you have to pay to get your posts in front of your prospects and customers.
Scroll through this list of Google algorithm changes to see just how frequently the search engine landscape changes. Trust me, it's nearly impossible to keep up, and I do this for a living. There's just no way a business owner can stay on top of all the trends and best practices without help.
And Google is just the tip of the iceberg... Have you looked at all the options available with online marketing? Talk about overwhelming. There's SEO, local SEO, search advertising, display advertising, Facebook advertising, email marketing, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, press release services, website conversion optimization, tracking and website analytics. I could go on and on but you get the point.
Now, let's turn to the ugly side of online marketing...
The Ugly
First, there's the glut of information available. There are books, blogs, articles, videos, and podcasts published online daily. Some of it is sound advice. Some of it is applicable for certain types of businesses. And some of it outdated, or simply inaccurate. Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible for a business owner to know who or what to pay attention to, which leads to poor marketing decisions.Second, there are many low quality (and even unethical in my opinion) online marketing providers. For example, I've talked to many business owners who paid and lost thousands to an SEO company that guaranteed #1 rankings. My spam folder is full of these prospecting emails so I know how tempting it can be for businesses. However, the reality is that no one can guarantee #1 rankings. As soon as you see or hear that phrase, run away, hang up, or click delete. That's a red flag that you're not dealing with a reputable company.
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