Firms Tend Not to Follow SEO Advice

Marketers may seek outside advice on search engine optimization, but there's a fair chance those suggestions won't be implemented without some kicking and screaming. Nearly two-thirds of organizations that outsource their SEO activities don't implement the recommended changes to their Web sites, according

Respondents cited lack of human resources and lack of budget as the most frequent reasons for lack of follow-through. Nearly half said they initially underestimate the resources needed for making the changes to their sites.

Other reasons cited for not carrying through on site changes include timing and frequency of update issues; upper management decisions not to implement the changes; the recommending agency's failure to prioritize specific recommendations; unpredictable ROI; branding issues; or that the predicted ROI did not justify making the changes.

"Companies who are unable to implement their vendor's recommendations or who cannot muster the organizational commitment to act on their SEO firm's recommendations are, in effect, committing to fail," said Robert Murray, president of iProspect, in a statement. "The site changes an SEO firm recommends are not tremendously difficult to implement, and the resulting visibility, traffic and conversions are often significant ... Marketers must build solid organizational commitment not just in the marketing group, but in the IT group, to the search engine marketing campaign before engaging an SEO firm."

The study was conducted among 636 search engine marketers and 224 search engine marketing agencies