Marketing organic search marketing

The identities of those mentioned will be kept intentionally vague to protect someone who should have more knowledge than they do.

I was recently talking to an online search marketing professional and he was relating an episode that shows that the level of knowledge of the online world, within business, is poor. You probably knew that. But it strikes you that there is something drastically wrong if it involves someone that is actively involved in digital media that has a deficit of knowledge.

The online marketing professional had to relate a case study to a fellow digital marketing professional that utilised organic search marketing techniques, such as reciprocal linking and the use of bookmarking sites.

After a thorough explanation, which by his account was described in plain English, the digital marketer was no better informed. The response was, "What about the pay per click?"

The concept of building traffic to a site, and better quality traffic, through another means, was beyond his comprehension. He could only think in narrow terms of reference. For someone that is involved in a field that changes all the time this is a poor sign.

When you have to not only sell yourself, the company and the level of service it makes the task much more challenging when the actual concept / service / product is completely new. And not only that, not even understood.

In such circumstances the professional in question would have to educate the market before the prospect even knew if it is of interest.

In such a scenario the PR and marketing resource will have to accommodate the role of educators as well as promoting the company. This weighs more heavily on resource.

In such instances the chances of a successful campaign to promote the service can be more risky. Not because the product or service is of insufficient value, quite the opposite, but because the PR and marketer have to create the market as well as convince the market that their client has the best offering. It is a big ask for one or two agencies and their marketing resources to undertake.

However, should it be successful the rewards can be worth it.

My future references will be less vague because if the guilty party was named it would be shocking.