|
Selecting a Search Engine Optimization Company
A Search Engine Optimization Company can be an invaluable
asset in your Internet marketing campaign. They specialize
in knowing how to raise your search engine positions,
monitoring those positions on the regular basis, and
adjusting their strategies to account for undesirable
results in any given month. Since this takes a lot of
time,
effort, and specialized knowledge, it can be in your
best
interest to go to an outside source rather than try
to
maintain high search engine positions on your own.
However, like every business, there are good
companies andthere are lemons. Knowing the right questions
to ask and the criteria to look for will help you in choosing
an
affordable, effective search engine optimization company.
When looking at different companies, begin by
considering the approach they employ to raise your search engine
positions. Steer clear of companies that use cloaked,doorway,
or bridge pages to raise your positions. These techniques violate
most search engine policy, and in the worst case scenario,
will only get your website severelypenalized, if not removed
entirely from a search engine's index.
BlogBlaster
Submits To 2 Million Sites!
Brand new advertising software submits to 2 million blogs!
A cloaked page is a page that is created which
is invisibleto the regular visitor to your website. The cloaked
page iscoded to detect a search engine spider and divert them
to this special page, which is set-up to artificially boost
your search engine position. Doorway or bridge pages
utilize the same concept, but often reside on an entirely
different server. Google, one of the largest and most
important search engine on the Internet, will remove your
website from their index if they detect you have cloaked
pages. Never, never employ any company that uses this
technique!120,000
Per Month With Google AdWords.
Learn the secrets I use to make over $120,000 every single month by advertising
on Google AdWords
Another important element is to get a guarantee that the
company you hire will not work with your competitors while
they are working for you. Obviously, this would seriously
compromise the effectiveness of the search engine optimization
campaign. Be aware that some companies will use the success
they achieve for your website to sell their services to your
competitors. So get your guarantee in writing, and make sure
it is legally binding.
Of course, one of the most important factors you want to
check out is the company's track record of results.
However, don't take the company's word for it. They will
undoubtedly be slanting their results in order to sell
their services to you. To go beyond their simple statement
of success, ask them a few pertinent questions, and verify
their answers.
Ask them which engines they have achieved the
best results on. The ones that are important are the most popular
engines, and these are the ones you want to see good results
on. Since the popularity of search engines can change with
the landscape of the overall Internet, checkout the Nielsen
Netratings page at Search Engine Watch.
Next, find out what keywords and phrases they
are claiming great results with. It's easy to get high rankings
with unpopular words. For instance, the keyword "cat leashes" will
get high popularity ranking because no one else would think
of using it. What you are looking for is good results using
popular keywords. Check out the software Wordtracker, available
at www.wordtracker.com. You can order a free trial, or a subscription
ranging from 1 day to 1 year. This software rates the popularity
of keywords and phrases based on actual search engine use.
Next, look for good results over an entire site
that the
company claims to have successfully worked for. You
want to
see a wide range of positions over a number of different
search engines using different keywords or phrases for
the entire site. Request a report for any client the
company claims to have done well for. This report should
show good positions on a number of the most popular
search engines for a variety of different, popular keywords
and phrases.
When you are checking out search engine optimization
companies, make sure they have actually done the work they
are claiming to have done. Some companies will use other
company's results in order to get you to sign on with them.
If you are in doubt, call the company they are showing you
results for, and ask for the name of their search engine
optimization company.
It's important to keep in mind that a successful search
engine optimization campaign will result in maximum
exposure across a wide range of popular search engines
using a variety of keywords and phrases. This is the
formula for a successful campaign, and you should keep it always
in the forefront of your marketing strategy.
Ask the search engine optimization company you are
considering for a report that shows you rankings across a
number of popular search engines for a period of at least
six months. Remember: search engine marketing is a process
that is continual, and you need a company that not only
understands this, but keeps constant tabs on your search engine
positions. That company must also be able to adjust its strategy
in the event that search engine rankings drop.
Since search engine marketing is an on-going process, your
positions must be constantly monitored. If you want your
search engine optimization company to do this for you,
request a sample of a monthly report. It is essential that
this report should show rankings for the most popular
search engines. Don't be impressed by a report that only
shows great results for a limited number of small search
engines. These are fairly easy results to acquire. Also
confirm that the popular search engine results they are
showing you are indeed the popular search engines
currently.
Be sure the sample report the company shows you
is in a format that you can easily understand. For example,
it
could be in the form of a chart that covers a period of at
least six months and presents data such as the top 50
positions broken down on a monthly basis or the top 5 pages
each month. Then, ascertain that the company you are considering
actually monitors these positions or pages every month, and
that the sample report they show you includes findings and
recommendations for the specific site. This insures that the
company will actively monitor and make adjustments to their
strategy on a continual basis rather than simply gather statistics
on your positions. You need a company that is actively participant
in your search engine marketing campaign, not just an information
gatherer.
Obviously, your finances have to figure into your choice of
company, but bear in mind that a search engine optimization
company is crucial the success of your marketing campaign.
It is not just a casual accessory. If you cannot afford a
company that will do a thorough and reliable job for your
website, you might consider waiting until you do have the
finances in place.
If you have to find a company and can't wait for your
finances to catch up, you may be able to find an affordable
company that will also be able to supply quality, reliable
work, such as a fairly new company. Just remember that
there are risks involved with using a company without a
proven track record - and that risk is your money! Don't
take that leap unless the company can supply you with a
least a few references.
References are the most reliable indicator of a good
company. Don't use a company that won't show your
references because of any reason, confidentiality included.
Remember - even doctors will provide references! The firm
you choose should provide you with a minimum of two
references, one that is from the past, and one that is
current.
When you contact these references, be prepared to ask
precise, specific questions so that neither of your time is
wasted. Ask them what their experience was like with the company,
such as their availability to answer questions and deal with
problems and their ability to meet deadlines. Askthe reference
to rate the overall performance of the company.
Find out if the company requested that the reference
make significant changes to their web pages that affected the
visitors coming to their site. You are looking for a search
engine optimization company that can balance the needs of both
search engines and site visitors without compromising either.
The most essential question to ask is whether
the work of the search engine optimization company resulted
in higher profits for the reference. Without profits, it doesn't
matter whether your positions are at the top of the list or
not
You are granted reprint rights to the articles as long as
they contain the following
author: (Jim Boxley)
Please visit my website at: http://www.nitchsites.net
or http://www.articleshopp.com
(You are granted the right to reprint this article but the
title
and content must remain unchanged and the authors name
and contact information must be included.)
** Attn Ezine editors / Web site owners **
Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your
ezine, blog, or on your web site so long as you
include the author's resource box above.. |