I read this article a while ago and wanted to blog on this topic for some time. I love this part of the article where the prospect actually believes they have the right to be listed on top of the SERP due to their brand strength.
How Not to Work With an SEO/SEM Firm:
"I once asked a prospect if he felt entitled to be on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angles Times every day — without the need to follow any publication guidelines. Unfortunately, he said, 'Of course I do. Who wouldn't?' I chose not to work with this person. If he had unrealistic expectations about appearing in major newspapers, he had unrealistic expectations about appearing in major search engines."
Believe it or not, this is extremely common. Some companies actually believe that search engines should rank them first just based purely on their market leadership. While I don't also agree with this author, I do agree with the statement that rankings have to be earned. I also believe that if you are in fact a market leader in your vertical, your behavior in terms of how you represent yourself on the web should reflect as such.
Achieving success in natural search (SEO) continues to be a moving target and requires dedication, especially if you want to stay on the first page. Working closely with your IT department is critical and as a marketing person, you need to have some pull when it comes to getting your SEO recommendations implemented as a priority.
Search engine visibility plays a role in almost all business and consumer buying decisions these days. Marketers need to embrace this and develop a strategy to get on Page 1 and stay there. My company recently won a piece of web development business which all started by appearing on the first page of Google for the key phrase "natural listings".
Never under estimate the power of SEO!!!