SEO Malpractice
SEO malpractice is everywhere. Since more than 96% of all web sites have never even been read by anyone other than the owner of the site, millions, if not billions of dollars are wasted every single year on web design and development. That same money might as well be flushed down the toilet. With the rapidly growing number of so-called website design experts, amateurs-turned-expert are everywhere. Perhaps it’s the ease of entry into the field. Pick up a book or two on Amazon and you may think you know all you need to know. Unfortunately, that’s how most web developers got their start. While web development doesn’t require an 8-year academic degree from Harvard, it does require lot and experience to do it right. And all of you who have paid for websites that have failed to perform, you have been the guinea pigs for the web masters in training. Essentially, you paid them to learn how to do it. That’s so backwards. The web masters should have been paying for their education but instead, they were paid by you to get their education. And the real cost to you was probably far greater than just the money you paid the novice web master. When you stop to consider the years of lost business and the loss of market share and the cost of regaining market share it’s a staggering number. If 5 years ago your competitor found a competent designer and you wound up with a novice, your competition has likely been growing each year while your online sales have been flat. They now have a 5-year jump on you in SEO, not to mention a larger loyal customer base.
So you may have saved a couple hundred or even a few thousand dollars by using the cheap guy, but what did it cost you in the long run? Now you’re gun shy, and rightfully so. You’re afraid to hire another guy to fix it or even re-do the whole site because it’s hard to know if Mr. New Web Guy knows his stuff or not. After all, you trusted the last guy and thought that he sounded like he knew his stuff. He sure knew a lot more than you did so you fell for it.
As the adage goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” You’re not about to let that happen again. But considering that 96% of websites pretty much suck, how can you find the small number of web developers who know their stuff?
Over the next few days and weeks, we’ll be developing a series of blog posts designed to help you avoid SEO malpractice, so you can find the right developers who know their stuff. So stay tuned. I hop you enjoy.
Chadd Bryant
