When it comes to budget allocations each year, how many companies do you think are including a budget allowance for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?

For a lot of companies here in Australia, SEO is a new concept and people haven’t quite grasped the importance and the potential SEO can have in the overall marketing mix. So I guess it’s hard for me to expect they have got their head around the face that is works in conjunction with other marketing strategies. I’d never suggest it should be a standalone strategy by any means, in fact I would always recommend it works well in conjunction with other forms of media and should complement this.

It’s funny, I deal with some companies that will spend millions of dollars in newspaper advertisements each year, and there is certainly no questions or long approval processes to sign off a full page colour ad that will appear for one Saturday, in one major city for around $30k. But yet to agree to a 12 month optimisation campaign with better results and a higher ROI for the round about the same amount, it would have to go to the board of directors to get approval. Seriously, this should be considered when getting budget approvals and be included in the overall media strategy.

But I would like to share something that I am starting to see more and more of, and it is very refreshing. I deal with a lot of Advertising Agencies, and to give them credit they have the experience and expertise to understand SEO and its value. Now when they are putting together media strategies for their clients, they are coming to us prior to putting together their media plan and asking for input and how I believe SEO will be of value to the campaign and how best to position it. They are including SEO into their overall marketing mix.

It may be for a for a high turn around campaign over a six month period. Or a high intensity branding campaign throughout a year. Or a 12 month attraction strategy campaign. Whatever their objectives and other forms of media they are including into the mix, they are introducing SEO at the initial stages of the campaign planning. Clever them !