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SEO Forces Ad Agencies to Change Their Stripes
- Eli Minatore
Advertising Agencies are showman. When selling their creative services to a potential new client, they present stylish artwork with creative catch phrases that catch an eye. Long hours are spent putting together flashy Power Point presentations to show their imaginative ability. Advertisements are meant to be attention getting pieces of work that have a call to action. So why are ad agencies having a difficult time selling their Search Engine Optimization services?
Advertisements are planned, created, analyzed, edited, and then approved to be run. Many hours of artistic collaboration are put forth to create an idea that will be a successful ad campaign. Search Engine Optimization is an ongoing service that is either active or not. When an ad agency receives an RFP for Search Engine work, there is not a team of marketing gurus sitting around a table throwing ideas around. More times then not there is 1 person sitting in their cubicle who receives an email with a URL asking for an analysis. The SEO Specialist will review the website, review current search rankings compared to competitors, take into account online ad campaigns as a possibility (Google Adwords, Yahoo, MSN), and come up with a ball park figure on how much work the website will require. The number that the SEO Guru sends off to his superior is then handed over to the Ad Specialists who creatively put together a proposal breaking down all costs by building up all services.
Now you may be thinking that this all well and good, but why is this making ad agencies change their stripes? The answer is there is no end to Search Engine Optimization. There is never that moment when there is a room full of directors and advertisers where the finished product is presented. There is never a final payment handed over for a project being completed. Search Engine Optimization is an ongoing service that is either working or not. Creative advertising consultants make their client feel at ease while the campaign is running. Then a new sales pitch comes along and the ad consultant is on to the next "new idea." SEO strategists are constantly working to increase search rankings for their client’s website. The finished product is the client’s website achieving top position organically.
