January 6, 2008
Technology Solutions That Don't Work
I'm a huge proponent of technology - as you know. But I guess that's like saying George Forman was a boxer, or Hillary Clinton is a politician. However, even though I love technology and know it benefits your business, it doesn't work all the time. It's not perfect.
Gene Marks writes in Business Week is experience with technology that doesn't quite work right.
His fifth complaint is about paying for search engine optimization. He writes You mean for $5,000 I can get my company's name on the very top of Google's search results? Where do I sign? Many business owners have been fooled by the allure of search engine optimization (SEO)—and I'm one of them. I forked over a bunch of dough to a firm in California that promised to get my company's name on "all the major search engines" when someone was looking for products that we sell. How did they plan to do this? I'm still not really sure, but it had something to do with spiders, black hats, and link farms. After a brief flirtation with page 47 of MSN's search results, I gave up. SEO probably does the job for companies with oodles of money, but not for the typical small business.
Search Engine optimization does work.
Companies like Did-It (run by long time SEO guru Kevin Lee) help companies that spend over $300,000 per year on search engine marketing. On the other hand companies like Salem Global help companies with a small business budget.
When you read Gene's Business Week article, don't let it scare you - but do let it ensure you carefully check out who is helping you with technology. Check their references and the progress they made on clients before you.
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Comments
#1 posted by Smallbiztrends, January 7, 2008 2:26 PM
Hi Ramon,
Good interpretation of Gene's article. I think Gene knows technology, but I must say it's not the advice I would have given. You're right: so much has to do with how proactive you as the businessperson are.
Anita
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