Thread by @GiordMarco96

What if the problem is not #SEO related? How come, you are an SEO and you face a problem that is not connected to your job... or is it?

A thread about the importance of value proposition and quality for every SEO project 🧵

SEO is just one part of the story. It is not the only digital channel and will never be.

I prefer to focus on SEO because that's my path. This doesn't mean a business should do SEO. Being holistic is key.

That's why understanding how you want to reach your audience comes first.

Business and Marketing are not about having a good product and that's it. They cover other areas of interest and techniques that promote what you sell.

There are bad products with excellent marketing or vice versa. In some cases, they are both bad.

The value proposition can be related to the website, it's not just what you are selling. For an online magazine, it could represent the uniqueness of your content and a particular format.

That's why I am obsessed with evergreen content because it's easier to differentiate!

I love this picture, it's what you need! This is so important, spend 10 minutes to read this.

Then realize you are wrong and spend another 20 minutes on it.

Source: omniconvert.com/what-is/uvp-un…

A value proposition is an intangible promise. This promise is the value.

You have to keep your promises to avoid negative consequences.

You should ask yourself the following questions:

- What do I offer that others cannot?
- Is my product inimitable?
- How much time would it take to catch up?

I mean, they are simple questions but deadly effective.

You've probably heard of it: why should a user prefer me over the others? Give them a reason to choose you!

We often lose the focus on value and stress technical fixes. It's not your job as an SEO to be a business consultant BUT you should spot such cases.

I am not a big fan of getting involved in projects without a future, especially if the budget is low. Some niches/countries require larger investments to catch up and people often forget that.

That's why I encourage market diversification and testing in foreign countries.

The value proposition is strictly tied to a solid strategy. Without an idea of where you want to go there is no way to deliver a good value proposition.

Imho you don't even need to spend hours on it for small projects, just focus on what you should achieve.

Speaking of which, get to know the competitive landscape. What are your competitors offering? Don't copy them, emulate them at most and take a twist.

There is no reason to build your success on a copycat idea. Find gaps or room for maneuver in niches.

If you are selling something, then you need a good product. SEO is just a channel, don't forget that.

It doesn't replace or fix business problems. Think of it as a magnifying lens. Be sure to get in shape before you start investing in SEO.

That's true for Digital Mktg too.

If you have a content website and you don't sell anything directly, the argument is slightly different.

Great content is hard to define and a lot of SERPs are full of clones or similar text.

Be different while covering the correct intent.

Differentiation plays an important role in everything. Why should I care about something if it is boring?

To catch someone's attention you have to be unique or seem so. The focus here is on the word "seem" because it's all perception.

There can be formats or ideas available abroad that you can leverage in another country. Fighting the competition by changing the rules is a great way to disrupt it.

This strategy requires you to adapt what you see elsewhere to your local market.

Would you ever use American slang or ideas for a British website? I hope you wouldn't, seriously!

Globalization is great, yet there are local differences and details to take into account. This doesn't end with the language, it extends to culture as well.

Some countries don't have developed markets or the interest to support the launch of some projects. Use your brain before tools and you will notice how much time and money you can save.

Good projects need to have actual commitment.

If your native language is not English you can try to invest in a different set of countries. And most likely, the competition will be lower.

That's not always the case, it may be worth investigating to avoid surprises.

To minimize risks, always use your brain and do research. Be honest with yourself, are you going to commit and invest?

If not, don't start anything, join an existing project, it's easier. Spend quality time to brainstorm ideas and evaluate them.

Not all the problems are due to business misunderstandings. Sometimes it's just the technical stack or a lack of implementation.

People not following your advice is terrible and you should work on how to let people do what you suggest.

It cannot be your fault every time. If you're not convinced by a project, refuse the offer.

I am a big fan of saying no when necessary, value your time. When you do, you are more lucid about the situation.

It's fine to have unsuccessful projects (if it's not a habit lol).

Everyone does mistakes. I am still learning and inexperienced compared to others.

It's fine to start small and grow progressively, as long as you are ambitious and keep consistency.

I am defining my value proposition in this way.

If you are reading my threads, you are already under the spell of a sort of value proposition.

While it's not explicit you can "feel" it. It hasn't to be rational, a good offer can present itself as irrational.

This is a very important point.

Quality is not something you can define easily. Knowing the market is necessary to benchmark how you are performing compared to competitors.

Try to cultivate the mindset of having the best offer. Be so ambitious that your enemies will fear you.

I ran an experiment in a small niche with a super low budget. Some articles were written by experts and we have a small social media presence.

Since I did proper research, I knew that we would have been able to rank easily for some important keywords.

A lot of experts are not even writing, persuade them to. There are SERPs with amateurish content, you can do better and steal the spotlight.

Most importantly, don't invest in the US because it's big. There is an entire world to explore.

A background in International SEO is deadly strong for these scenarios. I already know that in some countries like Japan and South Korea the competition is generally lower.

I also know that Italy and Germany have some very good niches w/o excessive competition. Do your research.

You can adapt your value proposition to different countries and languages. I find it easier to explore non-English speaking markets because competition is generally lower.

You can decide to be international later. You can test your idea on one market first.

Don't think, prove it! I am trying to improve every day and this is my mindset.

Wanna meet more skilled people? Build your value proposition. Just do and showcase yourself. Expose your weaknesses.

My recommendation is to use some articles or pages to get keywords in Google Search Console.

Getting some data is extremely beneficial when tools fail you. Test, test, and test to define your offer.

Adopt the flexible mindset of freely shaping your strategy.

This value-oriented approach will change how you see a website and what you can improve to create a valuable offer.

This concept can be applied to anything in your life. Value, value, and again value.

Quality and value are different. Don't confuse them!

Quality is in your hands, the attribution of a value is not. Build quality to increase the likelihood of having more value.

Warning: more quality doesn't always mean more value!

Performance and solving needs come before quality. Would you eat mediocre food if you are starving? Of course!

Is it quality food? Definitely not.

I still want my food, I am not caring about the quality.

So yes, value is not generated by quality alone. I mean, higher quality can affect the value, sometimes.

Solve the irrational needs first and then focus on the rest. How to apply this SEO?

Let's see some examples.

I want to launch a Japanese literature website and I notice my competitors mention mainstream books.

I am sure I can do better, my focus is now on providing a 360 degrees view on the topic. I have a larger scope and I can even tell you why some authors have a certain style. >>>

>>> Readers want to invest time in something good. So I should be sure to write something to motivate them and then put some affiliate links to earn money.

This is just a potential argument eh. In this case, I would focus on being more informative.

"All the advice for buying watches online is bad, I think my friend can do better."

Involve them in a project and change the rules. Trust me, there are many niches where advice is terrible. Really really terrible.

SaaS and eCommerce would need a book, I am not covering them in this thread, sorry!

The idea is the same, there are many opportunities and you can find some niches where competition is strong but the quality is low.

Be careful, value comes before quality. You can have more quality but your value may be perceived as lower.

There is no magic formula for value, it's subjective. That's why I told you that irrational needs come first.

There are cases where value is equal to more quality. This is frequent when competing against websites with a weak brand.

Just do better than them, if you are so lucky to find them. Let's visualize the opposite scenario now.

Do you think you would be able to "beat" a famous brand with a better product? Let's imagine this surreal scenario.

No, you wouldn't. You don't have their branding and your value is perceived as nothing in comparison.

You have more quality (maybe) but you are nobody!

As a consequence, your value is considered to be way lower! Branding is not SEO and it heavily affects our daily life.

Spot the contradictions of life and leverage them.

This thread explained to you the difference between value and quality. It also went over non-SEO problems you may face at work.

Not everything is SEO but at least learn some basic business skills, they are extremely important.

I analyzed why branding is important and how a lower quality service can be more successful due to its value proposition.

Our irrational mind plays an important role in our perception. Websites are the same, focus on building a brand.

If you notice that the problem is not related to SEO, take action and influence the other parties.

How can we influence people and make them obsessed about us?

It's all about emotions and value.

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