The answer is probably “yes.” The search marketing business is already incredibly large and growing fast, and because of how lucrative it is, it’s attracting all types of “snake oil” salespeople. According to a Forrester Research study done in July 2009, the search marketing industry is expected to grow to a $31 billion dollar industry by 2014, with 21% of that total on advertisement spending like Google AdWords. This most certainly is related to the fact that over 85% of all products purchased started with an online search.
It’s also amazing how such a large industry is still very much in its infancy. Google launched their first version of a search engine in 1998, so the industry is really only 12 years old; yet what’s fascinating is that what you knew back then almost certainly doesn’t apply now. For instance, in the early days you used to have to “submit” your site to Google in order to let them know you existed. Today all of that is done automatically through “crawling.”
The other fascinating thing, at least in the SEO world, is how disparate the expert opinions can get. One says keyword density is a myth, the other says it’s important. One says the h1 tag matter the most, the other one says it’s the title tag. It’s enough to make a skeptic out of anyone. Who should you believe? And why do they charge so vastly different for their services? One SEO consultant will charge $400 per month, and another one won’t take you unless you spend $5,000 per month. How are you supposed to evaluate the differences between costs and expertise to make sure you get a “bang for your buck?”
Let’s look at a few basics that you should understand from your SEO:
