Land Promotions, Earn More, and Drive SEO Results

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I’ve been vocal about this before: if you’re using jargon like “canonical tags,” “robots.txt,” or “crawl budget” to explain SEO to the C-suite, you’ve already lost the battle.
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Today’s tip is to use real-world analogies to simplify complex SEO situations and get leadership buy-in. Steal mine below 👇

My friend Ross Hudgens encouraged me to share an analogy I recently used in a client conversation.
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We’ve all had large enterprise SEO tool reps approach our bosses or clients, promising that their tool can “do all the SEO” and save on in-house SEO or consulting resources. 😠
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Naturally, leaders are intrigued and come to you for your opinion. Here’s the analogy I give them:

“When you opt for surgery, are you paying for the scalpel or for the knowledge and experience of the surgeon who uses it?”
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These enterprise tools have their value, but in this case, you’re paying a premium for the “scalpel” while dismissing the need for the real expert—the surgeon.

It’s the same with SEO. Tools are great, but they’re only as effective as the people who use them.
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Personally, I’d rather trust a surgeon with a butter knife than let an SEO with a fancy scalpel do a procedure on me. 😂
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I’ve yet to be replaced by an enterprise SEO tool. 😉

 

Nick’s been an SEO consultant for 15+ years, working with brands such as Saatva, Keurig, Apartments.com, and Sun Country. Subscribe to the #SEOForLunch newsletter to get his weekly consulting tips sent directly to your inbox.