The Case for Marketing Yourself

Quick Summary

- What this covers: the-case-for-marketing-yourself

- Who it's for: executives, CMOs, and business leaders evaluating SEO investment

- Key takeaway: Read the first section for the core framework, then use the specific tactics that match your situation.

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The Case for Marketing Yourself

You control the contribution, you're selective with the energy shared, and you engage in meaningful networking; building relationships which add value to your life or those around you.

Victor Valentine Romo 🌴

Jun 15, 2018

•

3 min read

Earlier today I came to the realization:

It has to do with the ethics of marketing yourself in this world online.

And I think I can finally explain how doing this aligns with your intentions if you properly utilize the channels and think about what is actually being asked of you here in this digital sphere.

It's relatively easy if you think about the similarities between marketing yourself online as a brand to inspire and connect with others...

and you know... using social media, search engines, communicative platforms, etc. 'normally'.

Here's a relevant point to my example, this whole revision of Europe's privacy policy, I haven't read it and I don't care. There is no privacy on the internet.

Between your search engine results, buying habits, posting habits, profiles, cookies, traffic history, download history, streaming, gaming, or even telephony communications since 2001:

ALL of this information is collected and stored on a file in a server somewhere with your name, my name, their name, everyone ever even so much as taken a breath on a payphone, especially born after 9/11, you've been recorded.

With this information, advertising affiliates and data conglomerates have a more accurate psychological profile than any therapist would be able to ascertain for you.

(This is not something marketers disclose, the proof is out there, do your own research.)

Getting back to the point: why should you care about marketing yourself?

It's simple.

You control the contribution, you're selective with the energy shared, and you engage in meaningful networking; building relationships which add value to your life or those around you.

Surround yourself with those you want to emulate.

There's an example I can tie back to my experience as a musician

When you play with those better than you, with more experience, you find yourself having enhanced sight reading (ability to read + play music on 1st pass), tonal production (those around you have better timbre), or suddenly you just 'get it' and the music flows from you.

Moments like this are truly magic, to be surrounding with masters of their craft, it's inspiring and invigoration.

Take some time and think about it, you've already offered all of this information...

Might as well learn a skill that the layman doesn't care to know or even understand.

It's a whole digital jungle out here.

Digital communication is only going to become more immersive, more demanding of attention, more scattered, as the saturation of information increases to the point where humanity's history is lost in the digital archives of selfies and self-denial.

Alas, I am being too speculative. I digress.

Be true to yourself today.

Connect. Build. Grow.

We have a very real opportunity, and chances are, if you're reading this or are interested in my thoughts.

You and I just might be able to create a reality for the greater good.

Wherever you are.

I hope you are well.

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When SEO Isn't Your Priority

Defer SEO investment if:

• Your product-market fit isn't validated yet. SEO compounds over months. If you're still iterating on what you sell and who you sell it to, those months of SEO work will target the wrong audience. Nail the positioning first.
• You're in a winner-take-all paid acquisition market. Some verticals (insurance, legal, finance) have organic results pushed below the fold by ads. If your competitors all buy their traffic and organic results barely show, paid channels may be the pragmatic choice until you can invest in long-term organic.
• Your sales cycle is shorter than SEO's payback period. If you need revenue in 30 days, SEO won't deliver. Run paid campaigns for immediate pipeline, then layer SEO as a compounding channel once cash flow supports the timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I evaluate whether our SEO investment is working?

Track three metrics quarterly: organic traffic trend (is it growing?), organic revenue attribution (what revenue came from organic search?), and market share of search (what percentage of relevant searches do you appear in vs competitors?). Avoid vanity metrics like keyword count or domain authority — they correlate loosely with business outcomes. A good SEO program shows compounding organic revenue growth over 6-12 month windows.

How long does SEO take to show results?

Technical fixes (crawl errors, speed improvements) can impact rankings within 2-8 weeks. Content investments take 3-6 months to gain traction and 6-12 months to compound. Competitive keywords in established markets may take 12-18 months. The timeline depends on your starting position, competitive landscape, and investment level. Budget for 6 months before expecting material ROI.

Should we hire in-house or use an agency for SEO?

In-house makes sense when SEO is a core growth channel (>20% of revenue), you need daily execution speed, and you have enough work to justify a full-time hire ($80-150K+ fully loaded). Agency makes sense for strategic guidance, specialized audits, or when SEO volume doesn't justify headcount. Many companies benefit from a hybrid: in-house execution with agency-level strategy oversight.