Keywords Don't Matter
Posted On: 2010-12-02
Before you all think that I've finally gone right over the edge and am now totally insane let me say that the title of this column does not reflect my thoughts about keywords ... at this point in time. But it certainly is the opinion of one web designer I know of.
That person's advice to his clients is that keywords don't matter ... the search engines will just find you and know instinctively what to list you for. Oh if only that were true ... and maybe one day it will be but right now that's certainly not the case and that person is an idiot for thinking that keywords don't matter.
Right now if you want to rely on search engines for your traffic you do need keywords and lots of people who come into this business come with the intention of relying on the search engines and keywords for their traffic. They think that getting a top spot in the search results is quite easy and they know that search engine traffic is golden so all they have to do is tap into the search engines and their future is assured.
Of course those of us who have been around for a while know that achieving a good ranking in the search engines is not something that's easy to do ... it might have been once ... but it certainly isn't now and those top adult-related spots are hotly contested.
Look behind the bland façade of a search result for an adult term and you will find sites that might look ugly but a finely tuned for the right keywords. You will also find that they are a part of an intricate web of interlinked sites that link to one another in ways that even Google can't unravel but yet give Google all the encouragement it needs to identify those top-ranking sites as being worthy of the top positions that they hold.
Of course ... given enough time ... it's quite possible to replicate that linking structure for your own sites and then you can enjoy some of that golden traffic but when you begin to achieve those top rankings and rely on those top rankings for your income you're beginning to become exposed to a fundamental flaw in your business plan ... a vulnerability that can destroy you.
In the past I've talked about the need for small businesses to identify choke points in their business ... those points where, if something goes wrong, your business dies. Quite a few adult webmasters found their choke point when ePassporte went bad. Those webmasters may have had numerous sponsors but the income from those sponsors all passed through ePassporte and their income stopped when ePassporte hit the wall.
If you get to the point where your business relies on search engine traffic you've just put the future of your business in jeopardy because the search engines have become your choke point. Of course it may not seem like a choke point ... after all search engine traffic is golden and it's going to keep on flowing isn't it?
Of course it will because you're going to keep on developing your sites and ensuring that you keep those top spots aren't you?
Once again it's time for my standard lament ... oh if only it were that simple. But it isn't that simple ... there is no guarantee that the search engines will continue to send you traffic no matter how hard you work.
If you don't believe me just look back at the history of what became known as the Florida Update. Some years back a lot of small businesses were looking forward to a great Christmas. They had all nailed some great spots on Google and the traffic was flowing and sales were happening ... and then came the November update that wiped them out.
Google made some important changes to its algorithm and many of those small businesses lost their rankings and their traffic and their sales and their income. They went to the wall because they had made the decision to concentrate everything on search engine traffic.
They did no other form of marketing ... they concentrated solely on the search engines and when the search engines deserted them they were wiped out.
So not matter how good you think you can be at search engine optimisation ... no matter how many sites you've got woven into your linking network ... no matter how good your rankings are ... it could all come apart tomorrow if Google made a slight change to its algorithm and what will you do then?
Don't fall into the trap of developing a marketing plan that relies on just the search engines. Look at every possible way you can think of to market your business and the products that you sell. Don't think that just because you're working in online adult the search engines, link lists and TGPs are the only way to get your message out.
There are plenty of ways to advertise what you're selling and those who are prepared to look beyond the end of their nose and think laterally are those who will survive far longer than those who concentrate on the obvious because one day we may just reach the point where keywords don't matter.