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The 6 questions that the majority of so-called "SEO Professionals" will not answer:
What base is used for defining the price of an
SEO campaign ? "Our custom search engine optimization
packages start at $xxxxx per Web site. This price consists
of 10-12 keyword (or keyword phrases) promoted on the major search engines.
Additional keywords will raise the price. Let us develop a price quote
for your site. Please fill in the information below for our consultants
to review. Please provide 10-12 keywords or keyword
phrases that you think people will use to find your site on a search engine."
This attitude will only bleed you of hard earned cash. Asking you to supply the keywords is ridiculous since you are hiring us to find those keywords. We have to search the web for those terms used by actual queries on the internet. This requires time, patience, experience and especially the proper software tools. This is what we charge you for. No SEO campaign is similar to the previous one. The only thing that the Search Engine Optimization company can carry over from one customer to the next is the experience achieved in the process. This is why it is not fair, that the site with no competition that can easily achieve top rankings, pays the same price as the site that operates in a very competitive environment. Quoting a set price is not realistic. The sites and the level of difficulty involved in bringing it to the top locations are so different that even the prospect of quoting a couple of price packages is not realistic. The price should be quoted per project with a comprehensive analysis of the hours spent on different tasks. If possible, you should be a part of the crucial stages, such as market research, choosing the metatags and other processes where you can contribute a part of the experience you have acquired through constant touch with your customers. What can you do by yourself ?
You can learn from several free online sources, such as different forums, newsletters and SEO sites that offer information about Search Engine Optimization. As a matter of fact, that is how the majority of the "SEO Professionals" have learned their craft. However, long term SEO, the only kind that can bring you targeted traffic in the long run, is not done like that. Everything that you will learn from those useful resources will still lack the experience of the real SEO professional. That experience is acquired over years of optimizing sites and bringing them high targeted traffic. The real professional does not learn about the change in Google's ranking algorithm from newsletters. He sees it in the sudden increase in the number of visitors from Google across the range of sites that he has optimized for his customers. You need to stay up-to-date with the latest search engine trends, to know about every change of algorithms, every change in a date when Google is spidering your site and links to your site. This is a full time job. Believe us, we are doing it. Is a top placement for ANY keyword a guarantee that your site will get more traffic ? This is a common trap placed in front of innocent customers by the so-called "SEO professionals". They usually ask the customer for the list of phrases that best describes their business and then optimize the site for those phrases. They proudly show you the top locations and then disappear, leaving you to wonder where the hell are the visitors that are supposed to come from the search engines. They do not tell you that the keywords that you THINK are relevant for your business are not necessarily the ones that the REAL SEARCHERS are using when looking for the kind of products you sell. A comprehensive market research should be performed as an initial stage of a successful SEO campaign. The most popular keyphrases should be identified and your site should be focused on those phrases. Is a top placement at ANY search engine a guarantee that your site will achieve more traffic ? This is another myth that is used by fly-by-night Search Engine Placement companies. You will be surprised to learn that the top location at the most popular Lebanese search engine does not bring you the wanted amount of traffic. Further more, you will be even more surprised to discover that 98% of the searches are done on the 10 most popular search engines (link), with about 70% of the searches being performed on Google and Yahoo alone. And let us say it one more time: #1 location at Altavista Japan will not bring you customers (unless you live in Tokyo). What is the level of your competition? This question cannot be answered without performing the comprehensive target market research. In order to identify your market you must compile a comprehensive list of search phrases used by your target market. After you identify those phrases, try to identify the level of search engine optimization employed by your competitors for those phrases. Are they using those phrases in the Title, Descripiton, URL ? And remember, if your competitor's sites are not optimized today, it doesn't mean that they will not be optimized tomorrow. Search Engine Placement is still not completely understood and used by many, but it is spreading quickly. You don't want to find yourself chasing your competition. Let them chase
you.
What guarantees can be offered by an SEO company
? This is a tough one. Let's first see what kind of guarantees are being offered by the Search Engine Optimization companies today. Majority offers a guarantee for the top locations. Usually they do not mention for what keyphrases and on what search engines. We already know now that this is crucial. They cannot tell you anything about the prospects of your site reaching the top rankings for the most popular keywords from your field until they have performed a comprehensive market research. Further more, they cannot promise you that their optimization is better than the optimization used by their competitors. The only thing a formidable Search Engine Placement company can promise you is the most
professional work you can get. All other promises guarantee only one thing
: that the customer will part with his hard earned income.
How can an SEO company prove that they are capable of achieving the goals of your SEO campaign? They cannot. They can talk about previous experience, but it does not say a thing about the prospects for your site. So, in the final analysis, how do you choose? A list of previous customers can be helpful if that company has RECENTLY optimized a site from your field or from a closely related one. Why recently? As we said, sites that once had no Search Engine Placement may already be employing one of the top Search Engine Placement companies today. Somebody that has provided top rankings for a customer 4 years ago is not necessarily able to repeat his success today, when the level of competition is much higher. You can also look for the rankings that the Search Engine Optimization company has achieved
for their own site in their field. If the company is able to bring it's
own site to the top rankings on the top search engines for the keyphrases
such as "search engine placement" and "search engine optimization",
the chances are high that they know how to optimize your site, even if
it has high competition.
Writing by e-Doc | Design by Kira Volvovsky
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