Sydney Air Conditioning company uses radio advertising but not SEO

I wrote an article about radio advertising in 2008 which focussed on companies who spend up big on radio ads, but don't get their website in order first, thus resulting in server issues, page not found errors, and other nasty (embarrassing) stuff. The article, by the way, is still on page one of Google for "radio advertising".

This article, however, is about companies who choose not to utilise the power of organic SEO, either partially or completely, and instead spend (potentially) tens of thousands of dollars on short burst radio advertising or TV commercials.

I don't get it. The ROI (return on income) can't be compared.

Take for example the Sydney air conditioning company, J&J Metro West. I heard them advertising on the popular Kyle and Jackie O morning radio show on Austereo's 2Day FM recently. But they didn't only advertise, they went even further by running a competition as well, giving away an air conditioning unit - very timely considering how cold it's been in Sydney lately.

Given the ratings of the Kyle and Jackie O show, I think it would be fair to say this sort of advertising (radio ads and competitions) on the top FM morning radio show in Sydney would cost a pretty penny. The radio ad went something like "Google J&J Metro West for more information" (which is ironic), with the competition giving away an air conditioning system running separately.

By the way, they are of course #1 in Google for "J&J Metro West" - which is fortunate because that is what they ask listeners to "Google" - but guess where they are for an important search, like "Sydney air conditioning"? People don't seem to realise they need to target WHAT they do, not WHO they are.

Anyway, unfortunately it seems J&J Metro West do not appear to have spent very much of their advertising budget on search engine optimisation - or if they have, it doesn't  seem to be have been effective. Their budget appears to have gone instead on SEM (search engine marketing) and radio ads.

By the way. don't get me wrong - I'm not knocking the Kyle and Jackie O show - it (and Hamish and Andy) are the only FM radio shows I listen to. They charge a fair rate for the audience they have. But what I AM saying is why do companies spend (potentially) TENs of thousands of dollars on radio ads, and NOTHING on SEO which will keep working LONG after the radio ads have been forgotten?

Also, I'm not knocking J&J Metro West either - I believe they are a long established, respected and successful air conditioning business - it's just that their website needs some SEO attention.

Seth Besmertnik, CEO of the company Conductor, discussed in a speech in June 2010 how SEO (search engine optimisation) commands the highest percentage of clicks on search engines, but it commands the lowest percentage of marketing budget spend. He went on to say:

92% of clicks from search engines are attributed to natural rankings
89% of search spend is attributed to paid search

So what he is saying is that through either poor advice, or just plain not understanding the medium, businesses are more "comfortable" paying for ads, rather pay for organic SEO, which is a "gift that keeps on giving".

Companies like J&J Metro West have taken Seth Besmertnik's assertions to the extreme though. Instead of paying (perhaps) several thousand dollars per month in pay per click ads, or a few grand to optimise their website properly, they choose to go down the "old road" and pay what is essentially the equivalent of YEARS of online SEO costs AND pay per click ads, for a short run on a popular radio show.

I wonder if they realise there are over a million searches in Australia alone per month for air conditioning related keyword phrases?

I just don't get it.

For a free phone consultation about your website and if search engine optimisation can help you, please call me on 02 8212 5192 or drop me a line.

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