Emotion can often get in the way of a good SEO plan. While there’s a surprising amount of psychology involved in search engine optimisation, emotional attachment to a website can hold the whole thing back. This attachment, like all forms of attachment, gets in the way of rational decision-making.
For example, I once had a pet rabbit. Her name was Bunzilla. I thought she was the funniest thing I had ever seen. I was puzzled though, at the fact that my friends’ eyes would glaze over when I told them rabbit stories. Then I realised that it was the same look I exhibited when they went on about their children. It was the ‘why are you telling me this, could you please stop?’ look.
The same thing happens with websites and SEO. You may think your profile pic of your favourite Chester chip shop is a winner, but your target market will wonder what it has to do with your business. Your design, which you think is charmingly different, may look garish in comparison with the sites of your competitors.
Any site owner experienced in optimisation will tell you that your SEO plan may require a number of shifts, and it’s important that you be open to them. Your content is likely to have an overhaul, as will your design, and your social media plan may have an unexpected focus. SEO experts are often hampered by a client’s refusal to budge.
If you want your SEO plan to succeed, take a step back. Otherwise you’re at risk of rabbiting on.