As with a lot of things Internet based there is as much data around the need to optimise a website as is possible to disseminate, understand and put into practice, but, is it possible that there are some companies and websites that need to carefully think about the fallout of a successful Online Marketing campaign.
Existing Internet wisdom would lead you to believe that the only way to do any business on the net is to be listed highly enough through effective Search Engine Placement that your site appears on page 1 of Google. Any and all companies are persuaded to buy optimisation services via a decent SEO Company and carry out a process of making sure that their website is discernable to the virtual market. However an effective Online Marketing promotion may well open the site and the business to far greater numbers of possible clients than can be coped with using the existing business processes, assets and structure.
Unlike traditional retailing, where, to some level, business hours and the accessibility of the items or service can be controlled, the fully optimised website is open for business 24 hours day, across several time zones and with a virtual market of millions. If the optimization process has been adopted as opposed to pay per click, it cannot be turned off. Even if the work is stopped, it will take weeks, maybe a number of months before the firm falls off page 1.
The initial results of a successful Search Engine Placement project will be a big increase in hits on the website and almost definitely a massive increase in the qualification and follow up of larger numbers of leads. The question a lot of companies will have to ask is whether they are able to handle larger numbers of enquiries and requests for information, many of which will not result in a sale.
If the SEO Company has done a good job then increased visitors should, (assuming all other elements of the proposition are in place), lead to massive increase in the volume of sales. Sounds good, but the question is can the organisation support this increased activity, I would suggest there is little that is more irritating for both sellers and buyers than to have a list of people ready to buy and the firm being unable to meet demand. In most cases this will lead to clients dumping the Company in question and going to where they can get the service or product, even if they have to pay more.
The problem of course is that there is not a lot a organisation can do about the volume of visitors once it hits page 1, the question the marketers need to ask themselves in these companies is whether they on page 1 at all.
The often quoted statistic of over 90% of all purchases being made from page 1 is only appropriate if a part of the remaining 10% is all you need to meet your business objectives. Analysis of the market may highlight that languishing on page four, five or six may be all that is necessary. More is not necessarily better.