Fact: You need SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to promote your website.
Did you ever play “king of the mountain” as a kid? That’s kind of what trying to get your website seen at the top of search engine results is like. So would you like your website to be King of the mountain? Or maybe you just want to be seen higher up on the mountain!
Yep. The truth is that the vast majority of websites are buried in search engine results. Proficient Web Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can promote your website over those of your rivals. As claimed by web optimization specialists, they do, in fact, help entrepreneurs boost their websites to top position web search results. They work to make sure that your website has all the correct settings and exceptional content to draw in traffic.
Website design improvement specialists (like us!) apply the most up-to-date analytics and metrics to promote your site and give it a positive impact in search results. However, SEO marketers are confronting major challenges and intense competition in the search engine optimization field. So they have introduced “guaranteed” web optimization services in an attempt to adapt to the challenge.
Beware of SEO guarantees to rank your website quickly.
Google has stayed at the top of all search engines since they have the most precise techniques and calculations (called algorithms) that convey valid search outcomes to those searching. Notwithstanding, Google is always evolving which constantly changes the game for web designers. On the positive side, cheap and lazy SEO tricks don’t work anymore (thankfully) at manipulating search results. Now website performance is based more on the quality of content and design resulting in enhanced user experience (UX) on the site.
SEO companies which seek to increase web traffic results must now work within the guidelines Google establishes for webmasters. Working within these rules supports and promotes improvement in the Search Engine Page Page Results (SERPS). And customers need to be aware that getting these improved results from SEO specialists are more like a marathon as opposed to a sprint. It takes, on average, about 10 weeks to see real improvement from quality and longer-lasting SEO work that is done correctly. And to that end, customers need to be aware of the fact that shady SEO tactics (referred to in the industry as black-hat techniques) can greatly harm your website’s performance in search results. This is why it is imperative that your SEO strategies and campaigns are using valid methodologies (white-hat SEO) to produce positive outcomes in the SERPs.
It takes, on average, about 10 weeks to see real improvement from quality and longer-lasting SEO work that is done correctly.
While professional SEO strategists are always learning more about internet search positioning, the truth is that no expert or specialist can honestly guarantee that your website will climb to the first page in Google, Bing, or Yahoo’s SERPs. And yet, frustratingly, SEO workers and companies still offer guarantees to clients. There are no guarantees in SEO marketing. The reality remains that SEO companies make these guarantees to customers, saying that regardless of whether the webpage ranks at or near the top of the SERPs, the money spent won’t be wasted. Please make note of this: the only guarantees you should accept would be money-back refunds if certain milestones are not achieved, or if quality content and backlinks are not delivered.
It’s true that there are some market niches and local search opportunities where it can be much easier to get your website ranked at the top of Google. And we SEO professionals thrive on those opportunities! But the fact remains that some online market spaces are very crowded and intensely competitive. So you can achieve good results, but the costs will vary from market to market.
...the truth is that no expert or specialist can honestly guarantee that your website will climb to the first page in Google, Bing, or Yahoo’s SERPs.
Find the right SEO company for you.
Most business owners or webmasters can feel a little lost when it comes to enlisting an SEO specialist. Despite the fact that SEO specialists can, and usually do, improve websites and their performance through effective web optimization strategies, they can likewise prove to be baffling and frustrating to work with. And so, business owners should explore the upsides and the downsides of working with their perspective SEO services. One of the best ways to do that is to ask for a personal review and perspective from other businesses who have used the service.
The Top 10 Duties of SEO Specialists
The following list can act as a guide when choosing an SEO company or freelancer.
- See to it that your website is structured properly and has good SEO content.
Offer guidance on your website development from an SEO perspective.- Create site content designed for the best user experience and SEO results.
- Suggest possible improvements to your online presence and campaigns.
- Research, identify and target optimal keywords and phrases for your market niche.
- Determine optimal off-page SEO strategies necessary to help your website rank better.
- Offer sound SEO advice and instruction.
- Present a 3-month SEO plan as well as monthly strategies, budgets, and options.
- Guarantee to stay within the budget with no surprise or hidden fees.
- Provide transparent reports of all work completed.
Questions to Help with Vetting an SEO Service
When the SEO consultant is doing their job adequately, your webmaster (the person who handles the administration of your website) should be able to begin to get a better understanding on how to implement a better website design from the ground up from an SEO marketing perspective.
Likewise, when your company wants to improve and expand on its website’s search engine optimization, there are certain criteria that should be required of the agency or SEO freelancer. These criteria will help ensure that your website will stand a better chance of performing well in Google, Bing, and Yahoo searches.
The following questions ought to be asked of your perspective SEO specialist or consultant.
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Can they provide references from past customers (preferably local, when applicable)? - Will they attest that they will only engage in legitimate “white hat” techniques pursuant to the rules Google has established for SEO? (No “blackhat” techniques)
- Do they actually implement the content marketing and other measurable SEO tactics to drive traffic to your website, or are you required to do this? What is the charge to apply the changes?
- Are they familiar with or do they have experience with your market niche? If not, do they have connections that can help them with appropriate and relevant content?
- If this is for local SEO, how will they familiarize themselves with the competition in your city, state or region (when necessary)?
- What is their experience with creating local, regional, national or international websites and SEO marketing?
- What are the necessary search engine optimization techniques to apply on your website?
- What web design experience does the person performing the SEO work have?
- Does the SEO consultant employ good communication regarding the necessary changes to your website?
- Will they guarantee that their bid will not exceed the stated price and that there will be pricing transparency with no hidden fees or surprise costs?
Unethical SEO tactics can hurt your business.
SEO optimization specialists offer genuinely helpful services to business owners. Unfortunately, there are those who poison the web design and SEO industries through their greed and unethical practices. First, they seek to manipulate business owners with false promises and guarantees. And then they seek to cheat and manipulate the SERPs (search engine ranking positions) through unscrupulous black-hat tactics. The danger is that your website’s rank might improve initially, only to later get penalized by Google and sink much lower in the standings. In more severe cases, websites are even completely eliminated from the Google index.
Investing in reputable management of your SEO and social media marketing will assure you that your website receives the best internet marketing for your location and budget. This is a necessity to be competitive in today’s market. For many small business owners this requires a change in how they think about their website. Rather than than viewing it as a cost, it should be viewed as a marketing investment that will offer good ROI when managed well. As our company’s slogan says, “It’s not just a website; it’s your online business.”
Why do I need to promote my website?
One of the most common misconceptions is that once you own a website customers will find it. The truth is that usually it is only customers already familiar with your name or brand who find your website. It doesn’t just naturally appear in search engines, at least not for a long time. This is not like the popular movie, Field of Dreams, where “if you build it, they will come.” Most website owners are quite disappointed and disillusioned with their website’s performance. Did you know that most websites are never seen in searches? This is usually because they are buried deep in the results and most people seldom look beyond page 1 of Google results.
The fact is that there are several major components to digital marketing which all contribute to your search engine ranking (how well you appear in searches) and traffic flow to your website. Business owners and website builders need to be made aware that a high rank is usually difficult to achieve. There are a wide array of SEO strategies, some with multiple working parts, that must be applied to get the best results. There are a great many websites out there offering instruction and one can learn a great deal if you have the time and the dedication.
The problem for most business owners is that they have neither the time nor the desire to delve so deeply into learning something that they can simply hire someone else to do better. Simply do a local search for an SEO company or web design company and you will likely find someone who can help.
And while good SEO and content will definitely bring traffic to your website, it cannot guarantee sales. You must still provide a good quality product at a fair price, which is presented well. In addition, when a customer contacts you, you must be good at your job to close the deal. Don’t delay in returning calls or texts, answering emails, or responding to Facebook messages. If you do all these things, then your website truly becomes your online business.
Get ahead of the competition with SEO.
It’s amazing in today’s world, but according to a study by B2B research firm Clutch.co, less than two-thirds (64%) of small businesses have a website. That means that roughly ⅓ of small businesses cannot even be reached online. So if your company has a website, you are already ahead of 36% of other businesses. But if you take the next step and invest in effective SEO marketing strategies, you can be in the top percentile of effective online business websites and be seen by many new potential customers and clients.
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