Biggest SEO Mistakes Made By Entrepreneurs, CMOs and Business Owners Costing Them Over $100,000 Per Month

Through my work ranging from Fortune 500 companies to high-growth start-ups, these are some of the biggest mistakes that I found entrepreneurs, CMOs and business owners making when it comes to SEO:

1) Not valuing and budgeting for SEO. SEO is almost an afterthought.

2) There is a time to do SEO in-house and a time to hire an expert. Getting that wrong and hiring in-house employees for SEO when you should really be partnering with / outsourcing to an industry expert or specialist who guarantees results translates to lost time, money and market-share.

3) Ineffective keyword research. Targeting the wrong keywords.

4) Doing it alone.

5) Getting caught in "SEO trends" based on what you read online from some "SEO guru" who has written 3,000 word articles on "How To Rank On Google for XYZ" etc, but has never actually ranked anything in their entire life / has no skin in the game. 

6) Creating a lot of content and thinking your awesome content will rank without optimization and link-building.

7) Bleeding through PPC ads when you can get an SEO expert to rank you for your keywords for 1/2 to 1/3rd of your PPC budget. There is a time to invest in paid traffic to rent digital real estate, and a time to invest in SEO to own your digital real estate. Getting that wrong hurts and is just not... smart.

8) Investing in SEO without valuing the importance of Conversion Rate Optimization.

9) Expecting immediate results.

10) Getting frustrated with SEO, giving up and not continuing and maintaining an SEO program.

11) I could go on....but I'll keep it at 10 for now.

These are some of the biggest mistakes that are costing entrepreneurs, CMOs and business owners at least $100,000 per month or more in lost revenues and lost market share to their competitors.

Here's what I would do if I were you:

1) Educate myself about SEO via the right sources. I would go talk to an expert. If you are talking to a true SEO expert, she/he isn't really trying to sell you on anything / forcing you to work with them. Much like a doctor, they are merely trying to diagnose you and your business first before prescribing any solutions. I would ask specific questions about SEO that I need clarity on and discuss my business goals. And try to connect how SEO can, ultimately, help me achieve those business goals.

2) I would define a clear SEO and Inbound Marketing Vision (Short and Long-Term). This isn't just "I want to rank for XYZ keywords", but more "My monthly business revenue is at X. I want my monthly business revenue to be at Y. What SEO steps should I outline and execute upon that will directly tie my results to my ultimate business outcome?"

3) Set aside a budget specifically for SEO and mentally prepare myself that it is a long-term investment.

4) Find and invest in a strategic partner / inbound growth SEO Specialist who actually CARES about my business goals over mere rankings. And guarantees me results. Yes, that's correct. That's the whole point of working with experts. To be able to get guaranteed results. (Please note: I said results. Not rankings. Rankings ≠ Results).

5) I would stay away from anyone who wants to tie me into fixed, long-term contracts. I hate the feeling of being tied down to anything I don't want. If I am paying top dollar and my consultant / expert is failing to deliver, why should I be forced to be with them? I work with all my clients on a month-to-month contract pending performance.

5) Unless I can invest at least $80,000 - $120,000 towards SEO over 9-12 months, I shouldn't be getting involved with SEO / having unrealistic expectations as to why my SEO campaigns are not yielding results.

6) I would go after the low-hanging, easy and quick wins within the first 3-4 months that could generate quick bursts of revenue. (You can forget about this if you are a brand new business / website. Read the next point)

7) Reinvest towards a sustainable, long-term SEO strategy of 9-12 months.

If you are seeking to grow and monetize your organic search traffic, and have questions pertaining to SEO, let's talk.

And if you are one of those suffering from past trauma incurred from dealing with "some SEO" who did not get you results, and insist on blaming them and not want to take any personal responsibility / ownership of your own inability regarding how to hire an SEO, definitely book a strategy session with me. And let's see if we can identify the real reasons as to what is keeping you from achieving growth.

As part of one of the best SEO masterminds in the world, comprising of the world's best SEOs, I discuss strategy, what's working and what to move away from when it comes to dominating revenue-producing organic search traffic from Google. But SEO is just a way for me to serve my target market and fuel my passions. And there's a lot more to life beyond SEO. If you ask me, I'd rather be making music with my electronic / jazz band than write long, boring SEO articles:

.....or be competing in pool tournaments with my team-mates.

SEO just happens to be my ONE business skill-set that I am a master at. And I derive a deep, quiet satisfaction in helping entrepreneurs, creatives, niche-specific industry experts, CMOs and business owners have less stress, enjoy more freedom and live a better quality life directly because of my ownership and accountability of their SEO initiatives.

So let me know if I can help you.