You should have done this when you decided to go into business, but have you honestly defined your customer? The heady idea of being able to access the world is what attracts me the most about the Internet. However, I am a small web design/seo marketing firm in Dallas/Red Oak, Texas. Although occasionally I do work for businesses and individuals outside of Texas, I am after my local market. Having said all that, let's look at the real world.
1. Identify your market 2. What keywords would a prospect use to find you?
3. No one can guarantee a #1 ranking. Number one this morning may change before lunch.
4. Be wary of SEO's (Search Engine Optimizers) that want you to link to them.
5. Search engine algorithms are much more sophisticated than the days of adding keywords all over the pages in a color to make them invisible, 1000 keywords under the meta tags, etc.
6. As much as I prefer Google and Yahoo listings, the truth is, a well-designed portal or directory of just your services on a page for just your market may generate many more leads than an obscure listing on the 400th page of a world-wide search engine. Overstatement, yes, but it all starts for a small business when you build your site.
Find an SEO/designer by putting in HIS keywords as a start to finding a web designer or SEO. For instance, keywords "web design Red Oak" should bring up my home site www.tcwebdesign.com but, leaving out the area, I MIGHT come up nationally at the top of the 400th page. :) Similarly, puttting in keywords "Dallas SEO consultant" can find me usually when just putting in "SEO consultant" might not get me on the 400th page. See how this works?
Most of the SEO work for a SMALL business is done when the site is built. Using a FEW of your best keywords in the title and description, reinforcing those in the text on your page, and submitting the new site to the search engines are a great start to indexing for a small business without having to pay big bucks for search engine optimization.
Buying ads on Google, etc. should only be a priority if you have a truly REGIONAL or statewide business. An oil change service for the Toronto area might not be cost effective to optimize for the Dallas Metroplex. Be advised, buying ads is NOT search engine optimization. Being indexed by Google and able to be found by your keywords IS. Find out where the money goes if you are paying someone for SEO.
"If you don't know Search Engine Optimization, know your Search Engine OPTIMIZER!"
Cordially, Don Horne www.dallasseoconsultant.com
www.tcwebdesign.com
What Do You Want From SEO - To learn more about this author, visit Don Horne's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Articles |
|
|
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
