Why We Sometimes Do Better With Other Peoples Stuff Than Our Own

In our personal lives we learn to take care of ourselves. Sometimes we spend a bit too much time being self-focused and neglect those in need around us. In business, we tend to do the opposite. That is, we spend so much time meeting our customers needs that we can often forget to focus on our own. There is nothing wrong with that, so long as the business maintains a profitable structure while keeping clients satisfied at the same time.

SEO is a great example. Few SEO companies spend as much time on their own sites as they do their clients. Here are just a couple reasons why:

There is no need: So long as the SEO has enough business they really don’t need to be concerned about their placement. Sure, they might not be able to sign a client here or there because their name doesn’t come up at the top, but it rarely is enough to make a difference. Especially for those who know what they are doing.

There is no time: Clients pay the bills. As long as there is enough income to meet expense and profit projections most time is spent on the clients. Most R&D time goes into ways to improve ways to meet the client’s needs or new tools that will do the same. Some of that may be applicable to the business itself but ultimately it gets applied to the customer.

Too close to be objective: This may or may not be true of the SEO industry, but sometimes we are too involved in something to apply it to ourselves. It’s hard to take a step back and look at your own self with fresh eyes. Sometimes being too close means you use too much industry jargon. It’s natural to you and therefore you assume that everybody speaks that language. They don’t.

Too much pressure: Standing out in any industry can often bring an intense amount of pressure. Pressure to be right, to say things correctly, to always have something insightful to say, etc. A lot of companies are happy succeeding in relative obscurity, staying underneath the fray and out of the spotlight. Secretly, however, most do crave the attention, they are simply afraid of what happens when they get it.

There are probably more reasons, and if you think of any, feel free to add them here. Just keep in mind, however, that just because you don’t see an SEO “ranked” for a particular phrase that does not necessarily mean anything. For one, they may rank for something entirely different than what you think they should, or they just might be doing more for their clients than themselves.