It is important to play the game in your field, especially if you are relatively new on the scene. However, this obsession that many people have can be counter-productive. If too much time is spent working on this all-important “reputation”, is enough time spent on the actual business of work?

Many of the best people – whether they’re designers, developers, marketers, or writers – are often relatively unknown. This is because they are actually working. The people who talk at conferences, or are prolific online chatterers are often speaking on the basis that they are experts in their field. This was probably once true, but many speculate whether they can actually still be classed as experts because they now very rarely do any work; rather, they talk about how it should be done.

The people who are doing the working, improving the way things are done and innovating within the industry are seldom heard from.

So, is it the case that there is too much emphasis placed on the need to shout about yourself online? Do people think that the only way to succeed is to be a big “profile”?

If you are always comparing yourself to your competition – and you are relentlessly trying to compete in the same space as the biggest voice – it may be that you forget what you are actually trying to do and, for that matter, how to do it.

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A lot of search engine marketing can involve trial and error. You never know whether something you try will produce the desired results. Similarly, you may know that a particular technique has worked for one person, but it may not work in the same way for you. When working for different clients, who operate in different markets and in different industries, the various techniques and initiatives available may work well for some and not so well for others. There are so many variables to consider.

Whenever you start a project, whatever it may be, it is imperative to set some goals so that you know whether your efforts are succeeding. Set a time after you start the project to see if you have reached your goal. Many elements of online marketing take time, so don’t set the goal time limit too close to when you start, but similarly don’t set it too far away. If you leave it too long, it will be harder to see what is working as there may be other factors contributing to the result. When you get to the job of assessing what has been done, and what effect it has had, make sure you know what your metrics for analysis are. These should be set at the start of your campaign. If you don’t do it at the start you may adjust your metrics to fit more accordingly to the results, hence giving you a blinkered view.

Make sure you don’t set your goals too high in the first place and similarly don’t set them too low. It needs to be something that’s achievable in the time you have allocated, but you don’t want your results to be skewed by anomalies in search engine behaviour. For instance, a ranking position may jump around between a number of points in the results page which will be nothing to do with any SEO efforts. This, you can’t account for. So if you set your goals too low you might not be able to notice anything.

Whatever you do, bear in mind that it may have a negative impact on search results, conversions and marketing. This can happen, even if you have a thorough plan in place. If this does happen, it is time to set a goal again and try and improve the situation.

The last thing to note is the need to be transparent. If your client has their own goals that you don’t think are achievable, explain this and encourage them to be guided by your goals at first. Don’t promise to reach theirs unless you can be entirely confident it’s possible. If you do, and you don’t succeed, this is a significant failure. You won’t have delivered on what you promised; and delivery is crucial.

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