Search engine marketing, or SEM, is a field that is constantly changing. Google is updating, competition is outranking you, and customers choose to search for something else. Every day is an exercise in adaptation. Today I’ve been thinking about the adaptive nature of SEM in relation to my level of patience.
I should start by admitting that I am not a patient person by nature. I don’t necessarily require immediate gratification so long as I know that the eventual outcome is the one I want, but that isn’t really indicative of patience. It’s just indicative of knowledge. I want to plan, execute, and reap the benefits within a reasonable amount of time.
There are benefits to this sort of system, especially in search engine marketing. The ability to quickly take advantage of a change in the traffic to your site is smart business to say the least. So why think about patience when I obviously feel that speed and agility are the most important parts of SEM adaptation?
I have a subversive thought. What if the main portion of this equation isn’t the execution, but the watching? Do predators win because they are faster and stronger or because they are waiting and watching? If you’re surfing, you wait and watch for a perfect wave and catch it as it forms. If you’re a lion (which I assume you aren’t… very few reading lions out there) you stalk your prey and then comes the speed/agility/strength stuff.
The ratio of preparation to execution will always be heavier on the preparation side.
I’m not saying that one is more important than another. You have to be able to see trends early enough to catch the front end of interest. You also have to be able to do something about it. If you don’t have a mind for patterns, partner with someone who is. If you don’t have the means or networks to quickly take advantage of your trend-spotting, then partner with people who do have them.
The patience required to identify the trend that is most beneficial to you and the wherewithal to do something about it once you’ve identified it… these things are what make great search engine marketers.