SEO Story Time with Bryan Eisenberg — SEM Synergy Extras

Today’s episode of SEM Synergy features tech news of the week, tips for brainstorming new content ideas, and an incredibly insightful sit down with accomplished Internet marketer Bryan Eisenberg.

Bryan talked about a couple of his passions on the program today, conversion optimization and copywriting, though he frequently lends his expertise elsewhere, such as in the pages of his NYT best-selling books, at conferences, and in interviews, like the one below:

In this interview, Bryan asks a question:

50 years ago let’s say you had an extra million bucks, and you had the opportunity to invest in one of two companies: GM or Toyota. Who would you have invested in 50 years ago?

Now, I love this question because from the position we’re standing in today, we know which answer is the most profitable. And yet, at the same time, we know that if we had been in that hypothetical situation, we would have made the wrong choice.

We wouldn’t have made the wrong decision due to a lack of consideration, but when it came to GM 50 years ago, all signs pointed to yes. So Bryan asks the next logical question:

What happened, what changed fundamentally? Well, it used to be that you could survive with marketing and innovation, but times have certainly changed.

Have they ever! In the last 10 years alone, the rate of progress has skyrocketed, which means either exciting or scary times for business. It’s exciting on the one hand because of the understanding that the bar may be higher but the reward is greater. On the other hand, there’s a glaring realization that if you screw it up now, everyone will be able to see the egg on your face.

So what is it that worked for Toyota so well? Bryan tells us:

But what really works so well for them, more importantly, is that after the war Edward Deming came over to them, taught them about total quality management, and taught them about the concept of kaizen, right, continuous improvement. And that’s been the fundamental thing. They didn’t worry about innovations, because innovations they can grab from other people and improve upon those.

The need for continuous improvement is magnified in today’s fast-paced world. Not only must a business keep pace with the change, but they must also continue to improve their offerings to suit the evolving needs of the consumer. And there’s really only one place to start this effort — Web analytics.

In Bruce’s annual preview of the SEO industry in the year to come, he predicts that 2010 will be the year of Web analytics. With personalization of search results and increasingly tight competition online, tracking behavior and measuring conversions will be undeniable needs as time goes on.

Don’t allow your business to be blindsided by this emerging reality. Track, test and measure for your greatest opportunity for success. Thanks to Bryan Eisenberg for illustrating the concept so beautifully, and for being our guest on the podcast today!

Virginia Nussey is the director of content marketing at MobileMonkey. Prior to joining this startup in 2018, Virginia was the operations and content manager at Bruce Clay Inc., having joined the company in 2008 as a writer and blogger.

See Virginia's author page for links to connect on social media.