GRANT SIMMONS
VP Performance Marketing Homes.com
Marketer | Speaker | Author
Grant Simmons leads the Performance Marketing team at Homes.com, helping drive brand awareness, search traffic, affiliate traffic, and lead optimization for one of the nation's top real estate sites.
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Grant has over 26 years of agency & brand experience serving industry-leading organizations such as; Paramount Studios, Red Bull, M&M/Mars, Disney, Napster, Warner Bros., UPS, Move.com, YPO, GE, Amgen & Fox Sports.
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Grant is a popular speaker at search & real estate industry events worldwide, including; SMX, SES, SIS, Pubcon, Brighton SEO, Chiang Mai SEO, UCLA Anderson School of Business, eMarCom, C3, Social Shakeup, Multifamily Brainstorming, R3, DMA, LRTCon, and has written for or been quoted in Search Engine Watch, Search Engine Journal, Search Engine News, Forbes, Fox Business, MSN, Media Post, Yahoo & other national & international publications.
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Described as an online marketing strategist, motivator, ideator, entrepreneur, asker-of-tough-questions, and "proud American with a funny accent", he prefers; father, sailor, search marketer & expat Brit - though not necessarily in that order when there's a fair wind.
Settling for 'least imperfect’ SEO
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Least Imperfect SEO
In scenarios where SEOs are working on client sites, providing audits, content recommendations, and link tactics, SEO folk often find that external influences can affect the implementation and timelines associated with getting these necessary improvements in place.
Many client point-of-contacts are trying but ineffectual in either communicating value, or justifying the cost, giving credence to my favorite SEO truth;
“SEO is 20% providing the ‘what’, 20% providing the ‘why’, 10% providing the ‘how', and 50% hoping it’ll get done.”
Although we all (in SEO) strive for the perfect release of SEO improvements in a timely, scheduled (and time-sensitive) manner, we often face decisions requiring prioritization, justification, compromise, and communication skills to most efficiently optimize our client sites while navigating the minefield that is strewn with the politics, budget challenges and priorities of business. (in-house folks can appreciate this as well!)
Planning and setting expectations is key.
SEO truth # 2 is; “Least imperfect is often the most perfect option.”
Although deliberate or an outcome of the challenges noted above, it’s not *easy* to get everything we believe our clients need, without butting heads (often) with developers, brand folks, copywriters and management.
A collaborative approach is fundamental to success in most project scenarios.
Finally, SEO truth # 3; “There is always more money, time and appetite for success.”
Most companies are in the business of making money. SEO can make *more* money.
Where’s the problem?
I’ll identify some of those problems, explain the business point of view, and provide the framework to keep clients happy, and keep them clients.
Understanding and communicating our value is key to justifying our existence.
Tune in where I put the meat on the bones, offer both client-side and agency-side experience, and bare all on the truths of “least imperfect SEO”