Let me start by thanking my brother-in-law Jake for teaching me the cathartic wonder of yelling "NAMBY PAMBY" when I run into a situation that is just simply....stupid. You make me laugh hysterically with your unfiltered truth and willingness to call lies to the proverbial mat. I hope to bring the same joy you give me to at least one other person out there, doing their best to make a difference despite our nonsensical world.
To the person out there who has a big heart, is decently intelligent, and has learned the hard way that their intuition is almost always spot on, this series is for you. It's time to own your greatness. I hope you find validation, inspiration, and a few chuckles in these truths.
Googling a random keyword, I assume everyone is searching to find us, will accurately show where we rank on search engines. That's Namby Pamby!
If you've been in the marketing space for more than five minutes, you have likely experienced this situation at least twice.
Let's set the stage for the typical drama.
You are part of a diligent marketing team working tirelessly on SEO strategies. One bright morning, an executive — who charmingly admits their lack of SEO savvy — strides into your standing weekly scrum meeting. Their demeanor is charged with a mix of concern and triumph. Last night, armed with nothing but a laptop and a sense of curiosity, they conducted what they believe to be a 'comprehensive audit' of your company's online presence. They Googled something they are sure others are using to find your organization and are ready to critique. They declare to their dismay (and your impending frustration), "We're not even at the top! What exactly is the marketing team doing?"
Woosah. You can handle this.
You know that their "comprehensive analysis" doesn't quite capture the whole picture, but they don't. Now, you find yourself in the hot seat, tasked with calmly and professionally explaining that their perceptions don't align with reality.
A quick sidebar for any executives who may be reading this. Pay attention. Your marketing team is your ally, tirelessly working to support your goals. You've acknowledged that SEO isn't your strong suit. You might have forgotten that it IS THEIRS. Lean on your team's expertise and trust their judgment to streamline the process for everyone involved....and for goodness sake, get them out of the hot seat and buy them a cup of coffee. They have more than earned it.
Here are four of MANY reasons why the executive's method is fundamentally flawed:
Personalized Results: Google tailors search results based on the user's previous browsing history, location, and even device. The executive saw a reflection tailored to their digital footprint, not a universal truth.
Dynamic Rankings: Search engine rankings are not static; they change constantly due to algorithm updates and the actions of other websites. What's number one today might not be tomorrow.
Incognito Isn't a Panacea: Some might think using an incognito window provides a neutral perspective. However, even incognito doesn't completely strip away personal biases like location, which still influences the results.
Geographical Variance: Rankings can differ dramatically from one location to another. A search performed in New York will yield different results than one conducted in San Francisco.
Now that you've spotted the Namby Pamby in the "strategy" of using personal Google searches to gauge SEO results, let's talk about real, effective alternatives.
Here are a few ways to obtain authentic and actionable insights into your SEO performance:
Use Google Analytics: Monitor your traffic, see where your visitors are coming from, and track how they interact with your site.
Leverage Google Search Console: Access detailed reports on your pages' visibility on Google to understand how you rank.
Implement SEO Tools: Tools like SE Rankings, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz offer comprehensive analytics and keyword tracking capabilities.
Conduct Keyword Research: Identify what your target audience is searching for and adjust your content to match these queries.
Monitor Competitor Rankings: Use competitive analysis tools to see where you stand in relation to your competitors and discover new opportunities.
Regular SEO Audits: Periodically review your SEO strategy and website to ensure they are optimized and compliant with the latest search engine algorithms.
Our team here at Tandem trusts and enjoys using these tools when we are gauging reality on someone's rankings:
SE Ranking: This tool offers a comprehensive suite of SEO services, including keyword rank tracking, competitor analysis, and website audits, making it invaluable for detailed insights.
SEM Rush: Known for its depth, SEM Rush provides extensive data on SEO, pay-per-click (PPC), and social media engagements, along with keyword research and competitive analytics.
Answer the Public: This tool visualizes search questions and provides keyword data around these queries, which is great for understanding what your audience is searching for.
Additionally, we recommend integrating these tools to enhance your SEO strategy and provide a more rounded approach:
Google Analytics: Essential for tracking website traffic and user behavior, helping us understand the effectiveness of our content and SEO strategies.
Google Search Console: Offers insights directly from Google's perspective, showing how the site appears in search results and highlighting areas for improvement.
Ahrefs: Another robust tool that provides detailed insights on backlinks, ranking profiles, and SEO health, allowing us to refine our strategies based on real-time data.
Moz Pro: With features like site audits, rank tracking, and keyword research, Moz Pro helps us stay ahead of SEO trends and maintain a competitive edge.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider: is a desktop tool for crawling website URLs and fetching key elements to analyze on-site SEO. This tool is handy for extensive site audits.
Majestic: specializes in backlink analysis, helping us understand the link-building landscape and enhance our off-page SEO efforts.
BuzzSumo: This tool assists us in content marketing by analyzing what content performs best for any topic or competitor, offering insights into popular content trends and strategies.
Combining these tools provides a holistic view of SEO performance, enabling our team to make informed decisions and effectively measure our impact in the digital landscape.
There you have it—my take on cutting through the namby-pamby approach to SEO and shifting into high gear with strategies that genuinely work. Have questions? Toss them in the comments, and then join us on Instagram. We'll answer as many as possible over the next few weeks. Follow us to stay in the loop!
Talk soon!
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To learn more about our series, visit our Namby Pamby page.
