I had a client call me up yesterday with a bit of a problem. The issue was that he got a fairly well known web design agency to build his website and then got them to do the SEO. So why is this a problem and why is there an issue with this? The problem is that they built his website using heir own proprietary content management system and the issue was compounded by the fact that the SEO they were doing was really bad. By this I mean he was stuck on page 2 and going no where fast after about 8 months worth of SEO work.
What is a Proprietary CMS? This means that the web agency will design and build your website using their CMS intellectual property. Any changes you want made to the website has to be done using their CMS. If you are unhappy with the way the website is performing, tough luck, as you are stuck using CMS. Why is this bad? Because you cannot go elsewhere for help. You are essentially tied to this web agency for the life of your website.
Matters only get worse once they start to do any type of SEO work. They are the only people who can get into the website and make changes and if there are any glaring ‘on page’ SEO fixes that need to be actioned…well you just have to speak with these guys. If they are unwilling to help then you are essentially stuffed.
The phone call I received yesterday was from a business owner who was using this CMS system and was only told that he had to go and make his site responsive before Googles April 21st mobile update. The web company did not tell him about this and he rang me up for help.
The BIG ISSUE here is that I am unable to help because he is stuck with this old type of NON OPEN SOURCE CMS – which means even if I wanted to help him out ( which I do) I couldn’t. Its a really bad position to be in because he is really at the mercy of this web agency.
The solution I suggested and I hope he takes this up is to transfer his website over to an open source CMS platform like WordPress ( which would give him the total freedom to do anything he likes with his site) and then make it responsive. This is a best alternative solution I could offer as it now means that he is out of the evil clutches of this web firm and their really bad CMS system. I fear that far too many businesses have not woken up to the fact that they are stuck in this situation and when Google rolls out its much hyped update later this month, these guys are going to get absolutely smashed wit their rankings.
It’s a really bad position to be in and the best thing we can do at this stage is to take a very measured but quick approach to migrating his current website over to the new platform. Once there we can also begin to implement a proper SEO strategy, one that was sorrily missing by his last SEO agency.
Because his new website would be on an open source CMS this means that he would have the flexibility he needs to take his site anywhere he likes. He is no longer stuck using a system he was probably never told about in the first place. I can bet anything that his current web designers never told him about the pitfalls and dangers of using their in house CMS system. They probably just brushed it aside saying things like its great cause it’s very secure and they have all the latest add ons and plug ins. But at the end of the day this is just fluff, total lack of accountability and sales talk to disguise the fact that this guy is getting completely ripped off and is soon going to know the power of Google – by this I mean he is going to see his (very average) ranking tank overnight. All because he is stuck using their cheap custom built CMS. I certainly hope he now understands the gravity on the situation.
If only he would have come to us in the first place where we could have advised him about the real SEO benefits of using a WordPress CMS as well as the added benefits of using a great SEO agency like SEO SYDNEY EXPERTS.
So if you are stuck with an out dated CMS that no one else knows how to use. And if you are keen to get out of this lousy situation, then please call us today on 02 9360 8514 – we can migrate your current website over quickly and more affordable than you would have thought possible.
Don’t get stuck in a rut and continue to accept the status quo of your SEO rankings and your bad CMS – make that move and make that call today. It’s so much easier than you would think.
