About fifteen years ago, when websites became more popularized, there was no concept of what success on the web would look like. For most small organizations at that time, having a web presence was reduced to a mad scramble to secure a domain name and “electrify” printed marketing materials.

In Thursday’s edition of the New York Times, there was an excellent account of how a small business found their web presence progressing over the years. It was in 2001 that Blue Creek Cabin Rentals was launched by Tim Telford. While Mr. Telford had some degree of success in getting his business noticed on the web by using traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO), he was looking to have greater exposure and turned to Google AdWords. At the time, AdWords was fairly transparent and easy to set up, and he enjoyed considerable success without having to pay exorbitant Pay-Per-Click fees.

Over time, however, competition for keywords increased, and he found his marketing costs with Google nearly doubling. According to Telford, his keyword costs are continuing to rise, without a commensurate increase in his sales. This has led him to cutting back on his keyword advertising, and wondering what is going to be the next big thing that will propel him toward success.

What Telford, and all of us have to face, is that there will be no magical tool that we will be able to claim for ourselves. As soon as we reach some degree of success, others will hear about it and copy us. The only place we can go where no one can imitate us is to live and tell our own story: tell the world what makes us unique and demonstrates the value we bring to the tribe we lead…

 

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