SEO for an existing site – It’s like baseball
Performing SEO for an already live site is much different from integrating SEO during a ground up site build.
Analogies are a simple tool that we can use to explain technical SEO concepts to our clients. Here are a few that I’ve found myself using recently with a baseball analogy that have been well received and gotten the point across.
1. You may strike out…and that’s OK
Generally speaking, professional baseball players strike out two out of every three times they step up to the plate. On average, if this was the only indicator of success, they are failures.
Despite striking out two out of every three times, runs are still scored and the game always ends with at least one team with one or more runs. Each team gets a minimum of 27 times at bat. Some strike outs are OK, and long as there are some hits in the mix.
Not every site tweak or change will get you ahead. Due to the massive complexities and mystery surrounding the algorithms and data, some changes may even set you back. You should never hinge an SEO project on a single change. A multifaceted approach is key. On the whole, you will still end up ahead.
2. Don’t always swing for the fences
Not every hit is a home run. If fact, most hits only get you to first base. It is entirely possible to win a baseball game one base hits alone.
In SEO, not all site changes will equate to homerun traffic increases. Many small traffic improvements can add up. In fact, I’ve more than tripled traffic for an established site without achieving a single high volume keyword ranking.
If you try for a base hit each time up at bat, you are more likely to succeed than if your strategy is to swing for a homerun every time.
If you target popular high volume keywords phrases to the exclusion of everything else, you may bite off more than you can chew and, in the end, have no traffic increase at all!
3. Base hits are investments in future potential runs
Runs are all that count in the game of baseball. Nobody ever wins for getting players on base.
Search optimization is about getting runners on base and waiting for them to come home. This is not a game of short feedback loops. Although the timing of things is getting shorter, you may not see the results of specific optimization changes for days, weeks, or even months after a specific change is made. If you sit around on your keister waiting for results before you make the next change, you’ll only ever take baby steps.
You must continue making changes based on the belief (based on experience) that the optimizations you are performing will pay traffic dividends down the road. If you perform a single optimization then wait to see results before doing more, you will lose the game. The feedback loop takes too long.