What is Search Engine Optimization SEO

Each day, millions of people turn to internet search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN to find what they're looking for. At this very moment, there's a good chance that many of your ideal prospects are using search engines to find the exact products or services you provide. The question is are they finding you? That's where search engine optimization comes into play.

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the act of improving a website for better visibility among major search engines. From a business standpoint, the goal of SEO is to help your ideal prospects find your website, products and services.

A competent SEO firm should take a "holistic" approach to search engine optimization. Instead of relying on any one tactic, they should incorporate a number of proven strategies to give you longer-lasting results. They should also provide a managed service that focuses on steady, long-term improvements in your search engine visibility.

Unfortunately, there is no specific rule as to exactly which strategies work. The world of SEO is in a constant state of flux and what will work for your company might not work for another company.

To start, you should expect your firm to have an extended conference call with you and your team. Perhaps you will meet with them at their office to go over your company, products, services and SEO goals. This gives you a great opportunity to see their office and work environment. If you are not comfortable in their office or, even worse, if they refuse to allow you to come to their building, you should immediately consider going elsewhere! There are SEO firms out there who are in it for the money and not for your wellfare. Avoid these firms at all costs!

Once you have established the relationship and had your initial interview, you can expect the firm to implement specific SEO actions which may include:

Initial website evaluation (structure, content, navigation, etc.)

Keyword research to determine the exact phrases your prospects are searching

Content development where needed, with a focus on proper keyword usage

Link-building campaigns to increase your search engine visibility

Submitting your website to directories such as Yahoo and Best of the Web

Online article distribution to generate back-links from relevant websites to yours

Online press release distribution (with back-links to your website)

Constant pursuit of targeted online exposure

Regular reports to show how your visibility is improving

Some SEO firms will recommend that you redesign your website. If this is the case, do not panic. Ask them if they can implement some other SEO tactics while the site is being redesigned. This will give you the benefit of immediate optimization results while waiting on the new site, rather than waiting for everything several months down the line. Also be sure to see if the firm offers web design services and have it added to your package. This allows the entire optimization process to be handled by one company rather than being spread to another company that might not have SEO experience. You don't want to spend the money on a new website that you may have to redo in a few months.

Your first reaction may be "This company is just trying to make another buck by selling me a new website." Don't jump to that conclusion. A good SEO firm SHOULD tell you if you need a new website if it is indeed a necessity. The majority of websites are not built to meet good SEO strategies. It is extremely probable that your website was not originally built to optimize your online presence. However, if the SEO company's web design department is below par, then by all means, look for another design company that will work with the SEO firm to give you an outstanding website!

Don't forget that you should try to redesign your webite every 1 to 2 years, so this is a great opportunity to have a fresh look and to update your content.

To install strong optimization features for your online presence, you should expect at least a six month process. This means that your SEO firm will monitor your website, update keywords, submit your site to relevant directories, write and release pertinent articles and make adjustments where they need to be made along with other tasks that they feel will help your results. It is this long process that will give you the best success. Some of the tactics will show you immediate results, but don't be surprised if four months down the road, your SEO firm is still hard at work for your benefit.

Budget SEO Cost

Planing to implement a search engine optimisation and marketing campaign for your website, should be just one part of your overall marketing spend, whether online or offline. It is very rare that an online business can sustain itself just from search engine traffic alone and, in the same way, you should view the investment on search engines as just one part of your overall marketing costs.

When you employ a company to manage your website's optimisation and marketing on search engines, it can be the case that you pay for what you get. Low cost offers will usually give you a poor service without any meaningful results for your site, so before deciding which route to take consider all the options and services provided by the various seo companies available. Some Clients may require or prefer a local seo company, who are easily on hand to attend meetings on a regular basis.

The costs of getting a website established on the most popular search engines and directories will largely depend on your objectives and the type of market within which your business is competing. In addition, the growth in the use of pay-per-click advertising and the advantages that this activity can deliver has also increased the potential online spend, although this can also provide very targeted and cost-effective marketing campaign

The Return on Investment (ROI) from a search engine marketing campaign will therefore depend on the market you are competing in and the value of your products and services.

The cost per lead from traditional sales channels will give you some idea of what you can invest on the web and what returns you might expect, or require.

WebPageOne Solutions have kept our costs to the bare minimum and for the same service you would be looking at three to four times the amount of money with other dedicated UK website optimisation companies.

As part of the website optimisation process we may have to alter and enhance the design of your website.

Top search engine rankings is what you can expect from our search engine optimization services. With a proven track record, combined with ethical SEO methods and competitive prices you can be confident when choosing us as your SEO consultants.

Our bespoke services and flexible pricing structures are ideal for large companies, small business start-ups and individuals.

With estimates of 85% of users turning to search engines as their main way of finding what they want on the internet, visibility and placement in the major search engines is a fundamental way to reach the most motivated section of your audience. Conversion rates are higher than any other advertising medium and the costs are lower.

WebPageOne Solutions provide Bespoke Optimisation Services. Prices are provided to Clients only after an initial consultation and assessment of their current website design and positioning within the Main Search Engines.

A Guide to Website Optimisation Cost is very difficult to provide as each Client and every Website design has its own indervidual needs and requirements regarding Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

An example of SEO Pricing for Search Engine Marketing Projects has ranged from £1200.00 to £4000.00

Choosing an SEO Specialist

Like any other type of specialist work, you can learn search engine marketing yourself if you have the time and patience to research and don't mind making mistakes. If you don't have the time to learn, or can't afford to make mistakes, it would be best if you outsource your SEO work to a specialist. But how do you know who to choose?

There are independent freelance SEO consultants, web design firms that offer SEO as part of their services, companies that specialise in search engine marketing and big Internet advertising firms that mix SEO in with their offering. The prices also vary widely. Although "you get what you pay for" may be true in some cases, more expensive will not always mean better.

If you choose to outsource your search engine marketing use some of all of the following points to help you decide who to use:

How much can you spend? If you are on a very tight budget you'll have to cross a lot of the bigger firms off the maybe list.

What else do you need? Are you only looking for SEO or do you also need web design/maintenance, hosting, online media buying, etc?

How did you hear about them? Did they send you an email saying "we tried to find your site under its main keywords but it wasn't listed"? Stay far away from anyone who does this as they are spammers. If they don't mind sending spam email they won't have any qualms about using spam to "optimise" your site.

What does the contract offer? Most consultants/companies will offer both packaged and bespoke SEO, but even though the package service will be cheaper and somewhat limited it should still be tailored to suit your site. So find out exactly what the package covers and how it will be applied to your site (ie: what exactly do they mean by "optimise the site").

What is their spam policy? Use the list of no-no's on the spam page as a guide and ask them if they use any of those tricks. You want a long term search engine promotion solution, not some quick fix that will result in your site being penalised or banned.

Did they ask you about your business and target market? A search engine promotion campaign has to be tailored to suit your audience. You do not want to use a consultant/company that assumes they know all about your business. Although they know about search engine marketing, you know about your business and market so they should ask you about it before finalising the keyword research and optimisation.

How do they submit to the engines? All submissions to major international and local engines should be done manually if they are to be effective.

How do they submit to the directories? Although you may be able to get away with automated submissions to some engines, there is absolutely no way you can successfully submit to Yahoo, LookSmart and the Open Directory using automated submission software.

Do you own the optimisation? Some SEO consultants will design the optimisation and place it on your site so even if you decide to use another firm in future, the optimisation will remain in tact and your rankings and traffic will not be immediately affected. However, other companies will insist that they need the site and/or optimisation to reside on their server. Although there may be a good reason for this, it can also mean that if you decide to go with another firm they can effectively hold your traffic and rankings hostage as it is on their server and they can remove it from the web anytime they wish.

Can they give you examples of past work? This is a bit iffy as some consultants/companies will not have permission from their clients to show examples of work or rankings.

Does their own site show well? Again, a bit iffy as not all SEO consultants will spend time on their own sites. I've been trying to get this site up and running for over a year but just didn't have the time.