Let's not mince words... SEO marketing is dead--bigly
Time of death: February 1st, 2021 sometime around 2pm PDT
My condolences.
When you see what happened, I think you'll understand. This is not clickbait... As a business growth strategy, it is as dead as the linkfarms it rode in on...
So, before you invest time, energy, or money into that SEO online marketing campaign, know the difference between what you're investing in vs an actual business growth strategy.
It's actually pretty easy.
After making some significant changes to our home page yesterday, I logged in to Google Analytics this morning to see if any early behaviors jumped out to me. Low and behold, a massive jump in traffic... at 2:00 pm. Curious.
So, I began poking around, and I found this:
Now, what on EARTH could this be about?
What is this /bot-traffic(dot)icu?
There is no page on the Orange Pegs website with that URL path... and when I clicked on it I was given a 404 error code.
So, I took it a step further, and I typed bot-traffic(dot)icu into my browser... (do so at your own risk... this shit is so filthy fake scammy, I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying to install malware).
And wouldn't you know it? It worked! On the other end was a website that sells website traffic.
Yes, let me repeat that... they SELL WEBSITE TRAFFIC!
No... not SEO services.
They. Sell. Website. Traffic.
Of course, if you scroll down to the dislcaimers, they admit this is fake traffic that won't actually buy anything, and they don't claim that it will help your Google ranking... although, they don't outright refute it either... there is definitely an implication that it might.
(guess what? Google HATES tactics that sidestep their algorithms, and have a history of penalizing websites that deploy them).
Not only can you buy traffic... but you can also geo target that traffic and control time on page, bounce rates, and more.
Here is their menu of services:
- 6,000 hits every month
- Return rate control
- Bounce rate control
- Session time control
- Desktop/mobile traffic
- Traffic type control (Direct, Organic, Social, Referral...)
Why? Why would ANYBODY want this?
Strategically, as an investor in growth, you wouldn't.
Simple.
But if all you care about is SEO... or the result of SEO and nothing more... sure... why not? Who doesn't love a pretty looking report?
Pretty looking report for YOU!
Pretty looking report for YOU!!!
Now, I suppose if you're paying an SEO online marketing company to generate traffic, and they're not hitting the mark on their bullshit guarantees (this is why growth marketers and growth agencies don't put up fake guarantees to get your business), they may actually really like having a service like this to fall back on.
In other words, it's a con.
And it's why I am making the proclamation that SEO MARKETING IS DEAD!!!! I don't care how much that new service provider is touting the importance of site maps and relevant URLs while proclaiming how more traffic is the magic bullet that will solve all of your growth woes...
You cannot pay bills with traffic... or site maps... or backlinks... Even. When. It's. Real.
"SEO Marketing Strategy" is not a strategy at all... it's an oxymoron. The litmus test on strategic investments is simple... if it does not stand by itself, no matter how great those SEO companies spamming you say it will.... and it's not a strategy. It's a tactic. (I expand on this idea HERE: "Respond to Changes Faster with Agile Marketing")
(yes, the technical stuff still matters... somewhat... your website needs to be readable... but Google spends a lot of moolah every year improving its algorithm to produce relevant results that are based on behavioral outcomes, not the stuff that is becoming increasingly trivial, and they HATE it when websites think they can cheat to win)
So, stop with the tunnel vision!
Stop focusing on tactical outcomes that play NO role in your success as a business!
The same goes for ALL of your other tactical growth investments... such as;
- SEO
- Social media
- Blogging
- Paid media
- PR
- Email marketing
- Growth hacking
- Lead generation...
What YOU need is an actual strategy--a plan that helps you attract leads, close deals, retain customers, optimize outcomes and removes bottlenecks at all junctures, and everything in between... that also includes plans for developing synergy and sparketing creativity.
Rant over.
