10 Ways To Make Sure Your Seo Goes Out Of Its Way For You
|
If they want to have success, companies should do everything they can to ensure that their SEO firm doesn't provide lousy service. Here are 10 tips to keep in mind:
1. Be realistic.
Don't waste your time or the SEO firm's expertise by arguing about broad search terms. Don't say you want to be in the Top 10 for "e-commerce." The SEO firm should ask: "E-commerce and what else? E-commerce consultants? Please be specific."
2. Think long-term.
If you can't help yourself and you want broad search terms, such as "toys," think through what it may take to pull that off. Variations on your favorite term may be best in the short term. If you start looking a year or two out, then make sure there aren't site design, programming and link popularity flaws.
3. Be open with log files.
Don't shield log files from the SEO firm. Admit if your web analytics capability is poor. How can the SEO firm do a good job if your host company can't provide decent statistics, such as the number of visitors from search engines and the actual search terms they use?
4. Change text.
If an SEO firm wants to change text, give the consultant lots of room. If a graphic can be modified so the words appear as text, be open-minded about the change. Chances are, it won't hurt the overall look of the web site. SEO professionals grit their teeth when clients say they want rankings and then resist change.
5. Don't sit on recommendations.
You may end up discouraging the SEO firm you're paying if you hire them and then fail to review their suggestions.
6. Reply to e-mails, voicemails and other communications.
If an SEO firm contacts you, especially for a scheduled meeting, make a point to return the e-mail or call. Really, it's a good idea to be available for strategic conference calls.
7. Stick to the program.
Don't ask the SEO firm to optimize the web site and then expect them to provide Pay-Per-Click (PPC) guidance as well. If you can't handle PPC on your own, pay the experts.
8. Keep statistics in perspective.
With many search terms and engines, it's always going to be possible for some keywords not to rank. Don't get hung up on what search terms didn't pop in the Top 30. Focus on your traffic growth and conversions.
9. Know your limits.
SEO firms appreciate informed clients ? to a limit. Read the articles. Pick up an SEO book. Keep up with the news. But don't hire an SEO expert and then tell them you're an SEO expert. For example, you may be excited to learn about all of the SEO devices that could be at your disposal. Don't blame the SEO firm for failing to use them all at once. Measured, gradual changes are best.
10. Take your company name out of title tags.
Do yourself a favor and make title tags available for search terms, not your long company name. Only keep it if it's short and useful from a title tag proximity and density standpoint.
Michael Murray is vice president of Fathom SEO, a Cleveland, Ohio-based search engine optimization (SEO) firm. He authored the "U.S. Manufacturers Resist Natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Online Sales Leads" study and a white paper, "Search Engine Marketing: Get in the Game."
|
|
|
Google Takes Care Of Idiots Too
There's an old saying that goes, "God takes care of babies and idiots."Truly this statement applies to me, because when it comes to my search engine optimization skills, I'm on the idiot side of scale. But that's okay because idiots are loved, and can easily survive in the search engine game too.Let me explain.Although NONE of my 6 web sites rank in Google's top 10 (or top 20 and 30 for that matter), and I only advertise 2 of my sites using AdWords, Google still helps me make a lot of money.That's probably because I went into this search engine optimization 'thingy' with a grain of salt. I don't keep any secret arsenals of software tools that reverse engineer web sites to figure out why their ranking high. I haven't read any of the l...(related: Seo)
Increase Web Site Sales With A Seo Proposal - Part 1
You can easily get confused by all the search engine optimization companies and SEO experts that offer SEO services. It's hard to know who to trust or what should be included in a SEO p...(related: Seo)
Absolute Top Five Search Engine Marketing Myths Uncovered!
It's no secret that Search Engine marketing can drive significant amounts of very qualified traffic to a web site ? as 85% of Internet users utilize search engines to find/research for goods and services. The problem for many companies is the difficulty they face sifting through conflicting information and hyperbole! Here is my top five list of myths that need to be run to ground.Big Picture Myth One ? Search engine ranking leads are not as good as those which originate from other forms of traditional marketing (print, direct mail, PR, etc.) ? t...(related: Seo)
Yahoo Dopey, Msn Goofy, Google Is Mickey Mouse Lost In A Sandbox
Seventy-two days ago Googlebot first showed up and crawled over 250 pages of a brand new domain in an experiment that has had an odd cartoonish character to it, where unexplained things happen with sometimes dark foreboding, a kind of Fantasia online.If you're unfamiliar with the Disney animation classic, Fantasia, Mickey Mouse plays a sorcerers' apprentice who wreaks havoc oneevening as he dons the bosses magic wand and merrily destroys the castle. Comparing Google to Mickey Mouse is probably not often taken to mean...(related: Seo)
Why Does The Link Page Have A Pr Zero?
For beginners, link exchange campaigns can be a minefield of problems. For example, here is a question I was asked:"Hi Andy, I have noticed that a lot of sites that request a link exchange from me may have a PR 5 or 6 on their home page and when I click through to the links page there is a PR 0. This is very disappointing and I don't exch...(related: Seo)
Getting Your Site Seen By Search Engines
Is your website listed on search engines? When people search for you, does your site show up on page 1 or page 20 of the search engine results?Optimizing your site to get it ranked highly on the search engines can be a complicated subject. To simplify things, it's helpful to first understand how search engines add sites to their database. Then we'll cover some tips that you can put on your own website that will help...(related: Seo)
Its Not Just All About Google Anymore
Those webmasters that stick to the old ways and focus entirely on Google are missing out on a lot of search traffic these days if they are not also well ranked by Yahoo and MSN.For the first few months after Yahoo decided to go their own way with natural search (and MSN decided to get serious about the search business), the search results provided by those two could only be described as bizarre. Enough time has now passed that the dust has somewhat settled and there are three main (from a traffic standpoint) sites for quality natural searches.The term "natural search" is to distinguish true searches, as opposed to paid advertisements which appear in the...(related: Seo)
Have You Heard Of Website Optimization
Have you heard of website optimization ? If you are building a website or have a new one and you have never heard of it, then you had better take note, because if you want...(related: Seo)
Five And A Half Ways To Amp Up Your Search Engine Optimization
Statistics show that 85% of pages visited on the Internet come from people who have gotten there from a search engine. Statistically, people look first at the top of the first page of the regular search results, then the bottom, and then they go to the sponsored listings.There is an art and science to being ranked highly on the search engines. The science is formatting the pages with the right meta tags and submitting them in the right way to the search engines. The art is to make the site look and read normal in spite of filling it with key words.Here are five and a half ways to get a higher ranking and more visitors:1. Pick the...(related: Seo)
Why Pay-per-inclusion Search Engines Are Dying
A Pay-Per-Inclusion search engine is a service in whicha search engine charges you a certain amount to spiderand include your website in its da...(related: Seo)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 | You can send your articles and get links. Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved.
| Seo