Note: This article was written by Eric Wargo when he worked for Sneaker Web Design, and we hope you enjoy it for whatever value it may bring. We had to edit it slightly.

This is a question we get a lot here at Sneaker. We’ve listed out the top objections we get about search engine optimization (SEO) in the Oil and Gas Industry. So far everything we hear boils down to some version of what is below.

1. Clients don’t use Google to find us, this industry is all about relationships.
2. SEO is really about business to consumer models and not business to business.
3. Oil and Gas companies are spending too much money to base decisions on a company that paid to get their name at the top of Google (Note: as of May 2019, Sneaker has never paid Google to get SEO results for our company. We have results through organic ranking, and 95% of the work we do for clients is for organic ranking, which does take time and money).

There might be some truth to these statements. Last time one of the major executives at Chevron wanted to do a major deal, he probably didn’t just search for something like, “how to make money in the Oil and Gas Industry near me.”

I’d like to take a few paragraphs and address each of the objections above. My goal is to make you think about things maybe you never considered.

Objection 1:

Clients don’t use Google to find us, this industry is all about relationships.

Relationships are key and that goes for all areas of life. Let’s say that the head of your organization is a super charismatic person with contacts in every city and in every country. This guy can work a room like a Kennedy but what happens when that guy retires? What if all this time, people were hiring him as opposed to hiring the company he worked for? Or when he was offered a better position somewhere else, the present company realized that he was the money maker. The talker has left. What do you now? And the new generation isn’t much into talking anymore.

Objection 2:

SEO is really about business to consumer models and not business to business.

I work for a company and I’ve owned a company. Some businesses are looking to see if the company they are interested in doing business with will be a good fit. For example, I often do searches like, “the truth about company X” and see what comes up. Once when I did that, I saw the CEO of said company was being indicted for fraud. However, I’ve performed these searches and seen so many positive things said about a company. Businesses are constantly searching the web for new information and details about companies that they want to do business with, so get out of that frame of mind if you’re objection looks like this one. Also, if you’re an Oil & Gas Industry company and you’re hiring the new generation, you better put some money into SEO if you want anyone to find you.

Objection 3:

Oil and Gas companies are spending too much money to base decisions on a company that paid to get their name at the top of Google.

I must admit, I am a millennial. The younger group in the workforce right now are the millennials. Millennials don’t value relationships as much as non-millennials. They have an expectation that they can search for just about whatever they want and find an answer in seconds. They are also known as the Google generation since they aren’t always interested in putting in the work to build long lasting relationships when it comes to business. Not that they are lazy but because they are incredibly pragmatic. The millennials aren’t at the top positions in most companies but they will be someday very soon. Honestly, if companies are paying to get added to the top of Google, or if they are paying to increase their organic search results so that they can be at the top of Google, those companies are probably going to be the ones that survive the times because they are spending their money where it matters most – on the web.

The cheese got moved, and no doubt it will move again. If you’re objections are similar to these 3, then you’re probably over 55. Remember that most of the world isn’t, and most of the people that you do business with in the future are probably going to be younger than yourself, or at least more open minded than this. If you would like to have an SEO strategy mapped out for how to attain new business or attract new talent, give us a call and let’s see if there is something we can help you with.

Note: This article was written by Eric Wargo when he worked for Sneaker Web Design, and we hope you enjoy it for whatever value it may bring. We have edited it slightly and hope that no one is offended.