"I want to make more money with my website but I don't want to change anything about it." The above statement is an actual quote. I don't know...maybe I was wearing my silliness magnet shirt this week, but not one, not two, but three people expressed this. Frankly, if you were to be honest, it's not too far from how you feel too, is it? (Come on, you can be honest.)
But, to me it's the worst approach to improving your website.
Don't even get me started about the old joke about how many psychologists it takes to change a light bulb (only one, but it has to want to change).
Don't make me quote Steven Covey or any other self-help guru that reminds us that we are what we think.
Don't make me find who actually coined the definition of insanity as continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results. (Yeah, I'm talking to you...)
No! Please, please, please don't make me go there! Can't you feel how much pain I am in here?
I read an article by Shari Thurow about how not to work with an SEO (search engine optimization) firm. It's a no-nonsense look without any gloss on it about how to get on the bad side of an SEO professional.
Shari surveyed top companies about what their biggest client challenges were in their business. One of the top complaints from professionals (whose sole purpose is to help you improve your website success) was that people expected results even though they were unwilling to change their websites.
How is that supposed to work? I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't had the same exact mindset repeatedly expressed to me this week. But, it is obviously not an isolated issue.
I wondered to myself why people may feel this way. After some bit of reflection, I came up with the following things:
**You've spent a lot of time, money, and effort to get your website where it is now. (And besides, those cute flash graphics are so you!)
**You would rather be doing your core business than than managing your website.
**You have a life and would rather be doing anything other than changing your website.
Perhaps you can add to this list. And please, realize that I do see these concerns as valid. But, I have a hard time saying that they are ok enough excuses...uh, I mean reasons...to not fix your site's content, navigation, and search-ability issues. I do, however, understand the viewpoint now.
There are many techniques to drive traffic to your website that aren't centered around being number #1 in the search engines. In fact, I firmly believe that many small business owners can never make the financial and time commitment necessary to be in the top 20 in their field-- it's just too competitive. And search engine ranking is not the only way to make a great living off the Internet.
So what do you do? You go at it a different way. You use paid inclusion, customer contact systems, integrated marketing, and direct referral, just to name a few techniques. But regardless of how you approach it, not being willing to change is still the worst approach to improving your website. Don't get caught in that mind trap.
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Contributor's Note
These tips are for beginners on the web. I hope you enjoy them.
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