Your Internet Marketing StrategistThere are a lot of people out there who call themselves Internet Marketing Strategists (with the capital letters and all), but I’m not one of them. I’ve learned to be wary of people who claim to be Internet marketing strategists because really, most of them couldn’t tell you the difference between a Hummingbird and a Panda… or much else, for that matter.

Some even claim that PageRank is the deciding factor on whether you show up on Google’s first page of results, or that you need a certain keyword density to get there… and those are both old news that don’t apply to today’s semantic search technology.

Are You Happy with Your Internet Marketing Strategist?

Your Internet marketing strategist might be one of the good ones — one who really knows what he or she is talking about. Red flags abound in the Internet marketing world, though, like these:

Your Internet marketing strategist can’t provide you with different portfolios for different services. An Internet marketing strategist will be able to provide you with details on successful campaigns they’ve run; after all, a well-rounded professional knows how blogging, social media, the right web design and even email campaigns need to work hand-in-hand.

Your Internet marketing strategist doesn’t play well with others. While some people can write code, crank out amazing blog posts and manage your social media accounts while sipping their morning coffee, not everyone has all that talent.

A good Internet marketing strategist will generally work with other professionals who are experts to make sure your web presence is as well-rounded as it should be. By the way, if you need a phenomenal website, I know the best in the web design business.

Your Internet marketing strategist doesn’t show you the money. And by money, I mean results. Because this person is supposed to handle your entire web presence, he or she needs to be able to provide you with real, tangible results. Noticeable results. If your Internet marketing strategist is charging you cold, hard cash and it still seems like you’re spinning your wheels, then bail. Bail as soon as possible.

I’m not an Internet marketing strategist. I write. I optimize your copy for readers and for search engines. I put together email campaigns and run blogs, and for my favorite clients, I tackle their social media issues. You could call me a content marketing strategist… but the whole Internet? Nope.

In the Army, they always tell you that you don’t have to know all of the answers. You just have to know where to find them.

Now that, I can do.