Esther C Kane

SEO Services, like most other services, are a myriad of activities all put together to create a package.

SEO (Search engine optimization) services come in all shapes and sizes.  Let’s face it, no 2 SEO firms are the same, although there are certain similarities, no 2 will ever be exactly the same.  Just like no 2 divorce attorney firms are the same or no 2 accounting firms are the same, etc.

And just like any consumer, those who purchase SEO services do so with their pocketbooks in mind.  The package they purchase is only as big as their pocketbook will allow.  So, some companies can take much greater advantages of SEO than others.  So, how do you know what factors to choose?  Which ones to put aside?  Let’s go over some of them and I’ll see if I can help you.

I’ll rate each step – 1 being absolutely needed , 2 being you can get away without it (maybe)!

1) Cleanup of the coding – Rating 1

There are some amazing web designers out there, I mean the graphics and the layouts that they come up with are just WOW!  But, as an SEO webmaster, I have to admit, I’m absolutely in the Matrix.  I took that red pill a long time ago and the way that I see websites is very different from how web designers see websites.

I see the coding and I see the layout structure.  I see the gobbleygook that the search engines see and if that gobbleygook takes up so much space and time from the engines, it’s just a minus when it comes to SEO.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the beautiful designs, I really do.  But what is the point of a business website if it doesn’t bring in business?  I’ve seen some of the most beautiful websites bringing in 20-30 new visitors per month – that’s pitiful.  Why pay so much for such a gorgeous website if no one is going to see it?

Cleaning up the website coding is a very important part of the SEO process.  It basically lays out the foundation for how the website is seen and coded by the engines.

2) Keyword Research – Rating 2

I know what you’re thinking – why should I pay for someone to tell me what keyword phrases to use when I KNOW what my clients are typing in?  Well, I agree with you – to a point.  You MAY know (or think) what your clients are typing in to find your services/products but you don’t know ALL that they’re typing in.

Many business owners make the BIG mistake of keeping their websites small – specific – so specific that only a small group of their audience will find them.  For example, I was speaking with the owner of a small Greek restaurant from Ohio yesterday and we were talking about the catering section on his website.  He wants to increase the business for the catering but wanted to market the phrase “Greek Food” on those pages.  Although this is what he obviously will be catering, Gree Food, my point to him was it’s fine to market that phrase, but you also want to get a little more general.  You want to go after “Ohio Catering” and/or “Columbus Ohio Caterer” (phrases like that) because if a company is looking for a caterer and they weren’t thinking of “Greek Food” and they came across your website – after reviewing your site they may say to themselves, “Hey, I never thought of having a Greek caterer for the corporate event, let’s try that – it’s different.”  See my point?

How did I even know this was occuring?  Do I have a magic ball on my desk?  Yes, the magic ball is called “Keyword Research” – by looking at Twitter feeds, Keyword Research tools, Google Adwords tools and competition websites, I could see that phrases like “Columbus Ohio Caterer” were more popular than “Greek Food Caterer”.

Another point on Keyword Research.  Many attorney websites (as well as other professions) make the mistake of just talking about themselves on their sites.  WEBSITES ARE NOT BROCHURES.  I don’t mean to yell but really, I’ve been saying this for 10 years now, I’m tired!  Your audience is not just looking for “attorney in pompano beach” – they’re also looking for answers to questions.  They want to know INFORMATION – and guess what, if the viewer doesn’t find the information on your website, they’ll find it on someone else’s.

But what kind of information should you put on your website?  The keyword research can tell you.  Let’s say you’re a patent attorney, here are some “questions” that viewers are typing in…

“What is the duration of a patent?”
“Why are patent fees so expensive?”
“Why is patent protection important?”

Answer these questions on your website (or blog, or whatever) and you’ll get that traffic.  Answer more questions and you’ll get more traffic.  A side benefit is that if User X types in 3 questions into Google and your website keeps coming up with the answers to these questions, who do you think he’s going to call when he’s ready to buy?  Who would you call?  I’m just saying!

3) Page Optimization – Rating 1

Once the keywords are chosen, the next step is to actually place these words on the website pages and in the right spots (for both the search engines and the readers).

Without this step there really is no SEO – so, this factor is just as important as the code cleaning.

4) Monthly Marketing – Rating 2

Although I do admit that not every website requires monthly marketing (all depends on the products / services) if you want to get the most from all the money you spent on your SEO efforts, then you really do want the marketing.  Not for submissions to search engines and link exchanges, but for the traffic analysis, the competition analysis, the continuous keyword research and the research on new website widgets and gizmos for both engines and users.

Ongoing marketing efforts ensure that the website will always stay fresh and new.  Believe me when I tell you that I am on the Internet at least 8 hours a day (I mean ON the Internet – not just at the computer) so I visit ALOT of websites and many of them over and over again and it’s very rare that a week goes by that a website doesn’t change.  Something changes on the site, whether it’s the sale banner, an addition of a link to an article, something.  I emphasize to my clients all the time how important it is to make changes on the site and really, if websites with thousands of visitors per day take this advice, why don’t small business owners take this advice?  I’ll never know.

Yeah, I know, basically it boils down to that you need the basic SEO services entirely but hey, show me an advertising campaign that can reach so many people for so little money?  I dare ya!