Nature vs. Nurture – In SEO There Is No Debate
Last week I received a picture message from one of my closest friends. Usually when I receive a picture message from him I have to be careful not to open it within view of those who are easily offended, such is his sense of humour.
After checking the coast was clear, I clicked the view button and as the image became clear, I was greeted with the unmistakable image of an ultrasound; quicker than a flash I sent a text congratulating him, his lovely wife and their toddler (why you congratulate the other children of the family, I’m not sure but for some reason it felt the right thing to do!).
Why am I telling you all this and including it in an SEO blog? The short answer is because without that picture message I’d still be scrambling around in the depths of my mind looking for a topic to base this week’s blog on. The long answer is because an SEO campaign is very much the same as a child, especially which you look at the main focal points of the Nature versus Nurture debate for parenting, as I’m about to explain in a bit more detail.
Nature versus Nurture is one of the oldest debates surrounding mankind and when you peel away the layers that have built up, it centres on whether you believe the way we are, who we are and how we act is as a result of our genes or the environment in which we were raised.
On one side of the fence sit Plato and French philosopher Rene Descartes who suggest that certain characteristics and personality traits are inborn/naturally occur regardless of our environmental influences. On the other side of that fence is John Locke who is of the belief that everything that we are and all of our knowledge is determined by our experiences and environment – this belief is also known as tabula rasa. Personally when it comes to mankind, I sit firmly on the fence!
In the world of SEO when it comes to nature versus nurture, although it isn’t as hotly debated, it is still an underlining factor.
SEO Nature:
If you were to follow the tabula rasa belief into your SEO campaign then once you’ve created your website and added the original content onto it, all that is left to do is set it live for the world to see. Over time your campaign may become noticed and its performance will depend solely on the impact it has on the world.
However, as with all natural creations which aren’t nurtured, over time it will become a shadow of its former self until it dwindles away. If you want to prevent this from happening and instead you want to see your campaign go from strength to strength, becoming the best it can be, then it’s important to nurture it along the route.
SEO Nurture:
I could sit back and tell you that nurturing your SEO campaign is easy, pain-free and simple. However, those of you who have children will instantly call me a liar (and rightly so!).
Instead, I’ll be honest and say from the very start that nurturing your campaign, as with raising a child, will take time, patience and a little bit of money here and there. It’s also possible that throughout the life of your campaign there will be heartache, pain and tears. It’s not all bad though, it’ll also bring you joy, happiness and laughter.
Normally in a blog, I’d try and link the various stages to the campaign (i.e. potty training, first day at school, first love/heartbreak, etc, etc). However as children (and adults) we go through so much, that I’d be here forever writing and you’d be here forever reading; so instead I’ll provide some areas of where you can nurture your campaign.
1. Link Building – Consider it making friends, you never want to force your children to be friends with someone and vice-versa; so why would you want to force links upon your campaign? Don’t! Instead let it happen naturally – although you can offer advice and guidance by pointing your campaign in the right direction.
2. Fads and Phases – Children go through phases, whether it’s in terms of music/food they like or hobbies they want to do; some of these will stick for life, others will fade away after a few weeks. The SEO world is the same and when running a campaign you should embrace them. The good ones (i.e. article marketing, social media, e-marketing, PPC and Adwords) will stick around, and the quick fades will soon disappear and be forgotten.
By nurturing your campaign, you’ll begin to see it grow and become the best in its field. Once it gets there, it doesn’t mean that you can finally stop and let it carry on with how it’s going. As any parent will tell you, it doesn’t matter how old your child is, whether they’re 3 months, 3 years or 33 years, they’ll forever remain your little baby and you’ll always do what you can to nurture and guide them onto the right path – the same should stay true for your campaign.
If you can think of any other ways in which you can nurture your SEO campaign to help it continue its growth, feel free to share them below.
