Search Engine Optimization: Hire a SEO Company or Do It Yourself
Search Engine Optimization: Hire a SEO Company or Do It Yourself
The first step for a web site owner is to identify the keywords customers may use to find the business. If you offer landscape services in Miami, some obvious choices would be for example "Landscape services in Miami" or "Miami landscapers". How does one know if a key phrase or keyword is searched in good numbers and therefore warrants an SEO effort? Fortunately there are services such as Wordtracker that can tell anyone the number of searches conducted for any given term. Wordtracker not only provides this information but other very useful data to make the right decisions. Other sites such as Google Adwords and Overture give a webmaster the ability to find other related keywords with the Keyword Suggestion Tool. These are very useful services because they take the guessing out of finding which terms may be searched.
Once the keywords are identified, it is time to find out how your competition fares in the search engines. For local search phrases, such as "Florists in Boise", the competition is not likely to be fierce. With time, basic HTML skills and SEO tutorials available on the Internet, it is possible to optimize your site without having to hire an SEO company.
There are many resources available to the public to figure out if other web sites are very established and well optimized. Google publishes the Pagerank score (PR). PR is one measure Google uses to score the importance of a site. The score goes from 0 (the lowest) to 10 (the highest). Only a few sites ever achieve a 10. If your competitors' PR is for example a 6 and your site is a 1, it is very unlikely you will be able to rank well in Google.
When is it then necessary to hire an SEO? A few factors play a part in the decision. First, if the field is very competitive, the level of expertise required to achieve the desired results will call for a professional team that constantly monitors search engine algorithm changes and has the experience to know which steps to take to improve ranks. SEO is both an art and a science. Talented SEOs spent years learning code and trying different methods to help their clients. It is an ever changing business where what worked 6 months ago may not help at all now. Because search engines constantly change the way sites are ranked quite frequently, it takes a natural talent and instinct to get a "feel" of what needs to be done to stay on top. Time is another factor in deciding whether to do it yourself or hire someone. Again, in a very competitive field it takes many man hours for the most experienced SEO to accomplish effective optimization. Most companies do not simply have the time and resources to do it in house. Hiring a SEO expert full time as an employee is only feasible as a long term solution. Only very big companies with extremely complex web sites go this route. It is much cheaper to hire an SEO rather than having an on site employee dedicated to this task.
There is no question that any form of correctly performed search engine optimization will benefit most businesses. The choice of doing it yourself or hiring and SEO company is a business decision that may affect a company' s long term success. The time and expertise requirements I discussed should be carefully analyzed before choosing which route to go. Finally, make sure that when you either hire someone or do it yourself, no harmful techniques are used. Bad SEO can hurt a web site. Google in particular has penalized and even banned sites that abused the system with unethical SEO practices.
Search Engine Optimization Hire a SEO Company or Do It Yourself - To learn more about this author, visit Fabio Braghi's Website.
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An informed prospective customer is more likely to call a company that lists services, prices and products rather than blindly go over short ads in the local phone book or in a newspaper. If a company is targeting national or even global sales, the Internet is the obvious choice.
The first step for a web site owner is to identify the keywords customers may use to find the business. If you offer landscape services in Miami, some obvious choices would be for example "Landscape services in Miami" or "Miami landscapers". How does one know if a key phrase or keyword is searched in good numbers and therefore warrants an SEO effort? Fortunately there are services such as Wordtracker that can tell anyone the number of searches conducted for any given term. Wordtracker not only provides this information but other very useful data to make the right decisions. Other sites such as Google Adwords and Overture give a webmaster the ability to find other related keywords with the Keyword Suggestion Tool. These are very useful services because they take the guessing out of finding which terms may be searched.
Once the keywords are identified, it is time to find out how your competition fares in the search engines. For local search phrases, such as "Florists in Boise", the competition is not likely to be fierce. With time, basic HTML skills and SEO tutorials available on the Internet, it is possible to optimize your site without having to hire an SEO company.
There are many resources available to the public to figure out if other web sites are very established and well optimized. Google publishes the Pagerank score (PR). PR is one measure Google uses to score the importance of a site. The score goes from 0 (the lowest) to 10 (the highest). Only a few sites ever achieve a 10. If your competitors' PR is for example a 6 and your site is a 1, it is very unlikely you will be able to rank well in Google.
When is it then necessary to hire an SEO? A few factors play a part in the decision. First, if the field is very competitive, the level of expertise required to achieve the desired results will call for a professional team that constantly monitors search engine algorithm changes and has the experience to know which steps to take to improve ranks. SEO is both an art and a science. Talented SEOs spent years learning code and trying different methods to help their clients. It is an ever changing business where what worked 6 months ago may not help at all now. Because search engines constantly change the way sites are ranked quite frequently, it takes a natural talent and instinct to get a "feel" of what needs to be done to stay on top. Time is another factor in deciding whether to do it yourself or hire someone. Again, in a very competitive field it takes many man hours for the most experienced SEO to accomplish effective optimization. Most companies do not simply have the time and resources to do it in house. Hiring a SEO expert full time as an employee is only feasible as a long term solution. Only very big companies with extremely complex web sites go this route. It is much cheaper to hire an SEO rather than having an on site employee dedicated to this task.
There is no question that any form of correctly performed search engine optimization will benefit most businesses. The choice of doing it yourself or hiring and SEO company is a business decision that may affect a company' s long term success. The time and expertise requirements I discussed should be carefully analyzed before choosing which route to go. Finally, make sure that when you either hire someone or do it yourself, no harmful techniques are used. Bad SEO can hurt a web site. Google in particular has penalized and even banned sites that abused the system with unethical SEO practices.
Search Engine Optimization Hire a SEO Company or Do It Yourself - To learn more about this author, visit Fabio Braghi's Website.
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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