Stop Before You Hire an SEO company
11/06/10 15:51 Filed in: small business issues | SEO
Before you make a decision to hire an SEO (search engine optimization) consultant, read this! Sure, top SEO companies can get my website to the top of Google for my not-too-competitive keyword for $4,000 - guaranteed.
And if I was in a medium-sized competitive enterprise, I might easily justify it, what with high possible returns for those that are #1 for certain keywords (not all keywords mind you). But it’s just me plugging away, hoping for more enquiries.
What Does Matt say about Good SEO?
What do you need to do to stay on top of search results? In my research, I went to the top – Matt Cutts at Google. Being a very helpful chap, he’s got some ideas for everyone in business. I call them attraction marketing activities:
Helpful Videos on Everyday SEO Questions
I know you probably have lots of questions about making a website popular, so take a wander through the Google Webmaster videos – there are over 200 helpful videos that answer everyday questions, like “is there is such a thing as building too many links?” http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleWebmasterHelp
On one video you will find out it’s not just all about PageRank score or Backlinks - there are 200 different quality signals that are used when Google decides where to place any webpage in results. Like Matt says, don’t be Backlink obsessed!
Be Your Own SEO Consultant
Becoming your own SEO consultant is great, because you are not at the mercy of those entrepreneurs who on-sell cheap labour from Asia and who are focused on creating masses of back-links. That path adds no real consumer interest in your website and will probably have minimal impact to your business revenue overall if not done correctly. This is particularly true for localised businesses (accountants, financial planners, interior designers, home builders, etc).
If you have a medium to large budget for online marketing, I’d suggest you spend it creating a truly helpful, content-based site that naturally attracts your target market. Articles can easily be written around your core topics - this serves to keep your website fresh and adds value to readers.
By Jennifer Lancaster
And if I was in a medium-sized competitive enterprise, I might easily justify it, what with high possible returns for those that are #1 for certain keywords (not all keywords mind you). But it’s just me plugging away, hoping for more enquiries.
What Does Matt say about Good SEO?
What do you need to do to stay on top of search results? In my research, I went to the top – Matt Cutts at Google. Being a very helpful chap, he’s got some ideas for everyone in business. I call them attraction marketing activities:
Helpful Videos on Everyday SEO Questions
I know you probably have lots of questions about making a website popular, so take a wander through the Google Webmaster videos – there are over 200 helpful videos that answer everyday questions, like “is there is such a thing as building too many links?” http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleWebmasterHelp
On one video you will find out it’s not just all about PageRank score or Backlinks - there are 200 different quality signals that are used when Google decides where to place any webpage in results. Like Matt says, don’t be Backlink obsessed!
Be Your Own SEO Consultant
Becoming your own SEO consultant is great, because you are not at the mercy of those entrepreneurs who on-sell cheap labour from Asia and who are focused on creating masses of back-links. That path adds no real consumer interest in your website and will probably have minimal impact to your business revenue overall if not done correctly. This is particularly true for localised businesses (accountants, financial planners, interior designers, home builders, etc).
If you have a medium to large budget for online marketing, I’d suggest you spend it creating a truly helpful, content-based site that naturally attracts your target market. Articles can easily be written around your core topics - this serves to keep your website fresh and adds value to readers.
By Jennifer Lancaster
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