How SEO Is Supposed To Work

Over the course of the last year I have found myself speaking at events about a topic near and dear to my heart: how to get found on the internet. Typically, the discussion touches on a variety of topics: the interconnectedness of the internet, thought leadership, social media, blogs, inbound link building, search engine marketing, search engine optimization and their relationships with an overall marketing plan.

The non-believers

When we get to the subject of search engine optimization, there are usually of few in the audience that question the return on investment of working the long tail - continuously creating content and optimizing it for high rankings in search engines like Google. Creating the content takes a lot of work - and requires a particular point of view. Optimizing it for search engines can be tricky, too. Which is why these non-believers ask the question, “Why bother?”

Because SEO works

One of the key search phrases Wanderlust competes for is “Destination Branding”. For the last year or so, we’ve ranked in the top five on Google for this phrase, often number one (rankings ebb and flow, but if you pay attention, you can maintain your ranking over time). About six months ago, Paige Williams, Director of Tourism for The Chickasaw Nation, was looking for a destination branding agency. She started where most people looking for something start nowadays: she Googled it. Since we consistently rank in the top five for the phrase Destination Branding, Paige found us.

And a month later, she hired us.