SEO self-help thread

[I, Brian]

It's been mentioned before that businesses in general should be better aware of SEO issues.

On the one hand, it can help alert you to basic pitfalls to avoid from the start.

On the other hand, if you ever need to hire a SEO, you would have a better idea of what you would actually need rather than a generic "SEO".

A pointer on SEO companies - some will advertise who their clients are. Some will never tell you their clients. Neither suggests anything about the company abilities.

Something to be also aware of is that there are a lot of specialities within SEO - so don't be surprised if there is general agreement on basics, but differences on how to develop more advanced strategies from different SEO companies.

Also, do ensure that you don't try "easy" short cuts, such as buying only on price, or filling your site with hidden content only for search engines - unless you're prepared to accept the risks that come with it: getting monkeys for peanuts, or else even having your site banned.

Where possible, listen to recommendations from people you trust.

Anyway, here's a couple of key resources to help find yourself around the world of SEO:

Introduction to SEO: http://www.seomoz.org/beginners.php

Rand Fishkin's beginner's guide to SEO. You can also find interesting commentaries on SEO issues at his blog: http://www.seomoz.org/blog.php

Search engine news: http://searchengineland.com

Provides regular news on the search engine industry. Edited by Danny Sullivan, it replaces SearchEngineWatch as the authoritive voice of the industry, after a recent buy out saw the key staff leave.

Google's Matt Cutts: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/

Google engineer Matt Cutt's public responses to common Google issues, and often covers SEO issues by example. Do be aware that there is a degree of Public Relations work here, so be careful


A couple of high-flying SEO's who write interesting commentaries on SEO and the general industry:

Andy Beal: http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/
Jim Boykin: http://www.jimboykin.com/
Todd Malicoat: http://www.stuntdubl.com/
Aaron Wall: http://www.seobook.com/

Each has a different take on the industry, but all provide useful information for those looking for it.

Aaron Wall also writes SEO Book, which is probably the leading popular text on learning your way around SEO in more detail:

http://www.seobook.com/buy-now.shtml

Ignore the American sales copy - it really is worth the reading for anyone looking to understand basic to intermediate SEO issues.

Anyway, hope that helps - any more questions, I'm sure that Tin, yorganic, myself, and other SEO's on UKBF would be happy to try and answer any questions.

 

[Yorganic]

Brian, a good intro.

I would like to add that SEO should be considered like any other form of marketing where the budget dictates what is possible and the strategy may be different depending on whether the budget is large or small etc.

Too many clients want to know a price when they should be thinking about a budget and, it is often very difficult to convince them otherwise.

 

[Aspect Investments]

Nice post Brian.

You should have a budget for SEO, like you have a budget for any other form of advertising or marketing.

The benefit of good SEO is when its done right it slashes your advertising and marketing costs by 90%.

Why pay £2.00 per click to get on the first page of Google when you can get there with good SEO, and get all your clicks for free.

 

[leemason]

Does anyone have direct experience of using an companies to do the SEO work for you? I have contacted a few and the costs vary massively but what they promise seems very similar. I have done some work myself but google particularly seems to be a up hill struggle!

I use google adwords but don't believe that this is the best direction for the future.

 

[Aspect Investments]

I think SEO companies tend to charge what they think they can get away with.

I charge a monthy fee for my SEO work, you can then see the benefits of what you are paying for.

 

[PeteA]

When you understand SEO what is the need to pay for it?

No mention of www.highrankings.com, their free newsletter is very good.

 

[Tin]

I think SEO companies tend to charge what they think they can get away with.

Can't say whether you're right or wrong as I don't know any seo companies who work that way. The few I know well, work on the same basis as myself - price is determined by the number of hours any given client wants me to site on my backside working away on their behalf. A 10 keyword client takes me a lot less time than a 100 keyword client.

I charge a monthy fee for my SEO work, you can then see the benefits of what you are paying for.

Interesting, I've never charged a monthly fee as I believe that's a bit like expecting the client to have an open cheque book. I agree a price directly related to the work involved (man hours) do it, then invoice client the one-off agreed fee. Just wondering what you're doing monthly for the client, I presume it's building IBL's.

 

[Aspect Investments]

The reason I charge a monthly fee is so the client can see the benefit of the work.
I could say ok its going to take me x amount of hours and it will cost x amount of pounds. But how do they know that what will be done will benefit them? They are only taking the word of the SEO on how good they actually are, and if what they do will bring results.

 

[Tin]

I could say ok its going to take me x amount of hours and it will cost x amount of pounds.

I think it's best if I don't comment further as subsequent posts could take the best intentions of Brians thread off on another tangent. Rainy day comes to mind.

 

[PeteA]

I guess how anyone pays is irrelevant as long as the work is considered worthwhile by the client.

 

[Aspect Investments]

Thats my point Tracy. How does the client know that the SEO will benefit them, if they know nothing about SEO. Once they have paid for the work to be done and the results do not come, is the SEO company going to give them their money back? I doubt it.

 

[PeteA]

EBA, if it's working for you then good luck to you.

 

[LindasAvonTeam]

Thank you for posting this very useful information. Lots of reading to do now!

 

[UKSBD]

Does anyone have direct experience of using an companies to do the SEO work for you? I have contacted a few and the costs vary massively but what they promise seems very similar.

The reason prices vary so much is because good SEO's can charge what they
like and if they don't get the job there is plenty more work out there.
I do very little SEO for anyone else any more, the reason being most people
couldn't afford to pay me what I can make from optimising my own sites.

Realistically, if anyone wanted me to do any optimising for them it would
mean I would initially have to spend an hour checking over their site, checking
what had previosly been done, researching their keywords and seeing if what
they wanted to achieve was realistic on their budget.
An hour doing this is an hour lost working on my own pages and the only way
I could do it is by charging an initial fee just for an initial check.
Would anyone be prepared to pay the fee I would want for this?
I very much doubt it, and I also suspect about 90% of people couldn't afford
it to have their sites optimised really well even if they did pay the initial fee.

 

[Rusty]

The reason prices vary so much is because good SEO's can charge what they
like and if they don't get the job there is plenty more work out there.

From experience SEOs are unable to charge anything like what they are worth simply because there is nothing tangible for the client to see. Most of the companies who are seeking to be on the top of the search engines are on tight or non existent budgets.

There are also far too many website designers/developers out there purporting to be experienced SEO'ers who take a clients good money and then do not deliver the goods. Too late is the cry, one disallusioned and out of pocket client with a near useless site.

I really wish there was some kind of regulation that would stop these unscrupulous companies then there would be more faith left for those individuals who can deliver a tight, effectively SEOed website that will work for a client.

Sorry rant over

Also apologies to the OP as this has definitely drifted off the original intentions.

 

[UKSBD]

From experience SEOs are unable to charge anything like what they are worth simply because there is nothing tangible for the client to see.

That was my main point really.
Most people couldn't afford to pay a good SEO what he is worth, that doesn't
mean the good SEO should drop his prices though, which leads to such a big
variation in prices.

 

[PeteA]

Web designers generally design themselves well optimised websites, if they did the same for their clients would there be a need to pay anyone for SEO?

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I really wish there was some kind of regulation that would stop these unscrupulous companies

Thank christ there isn't!

Who would regulate the business? The government? A bunch of civil servants who would know the difference between good an bad SEO.

All that would happen is that always happens: people who are good at lobbying would seduce the regulators into setting the rules in their favour.

And everyone would need a nonsense qualification that only proves they've learned a particular set of opinions (that don't work particularly well).

It has to be the responsibility of the client to pick the right SEO company.

Having said this, I'm genuinely sympathetic towards anyone who's looking for professional SEO because most people don't know what they're getting into and what sort of dangers are out there.

Google (which is really what SEO is all about right now) has a big stick and isn't slow to beat websites it catches using underhand techniques.

And many of the "SEO" companies I see are using these techniques.

So, it isn't hard to look into the future to see how life is going to pan out for their clients.

I can see this because I know far more about google than most people (though nowhere near enough that I'd claim to "know SEO").

However, most business people can't see the difference between these tricksters and the handful of people who do real white hat, organic SEO that google loves.

And, as this long lasting, google-friendly, white hat SEO takes a lot more time and expertise than the spammy, through-the-latest-loophole type, it is often out the price range of smaller businesses and they end up going with an SEO company that won't get them lasting (or meaningful) results.

These facts are something I chose to leave out of my recent article on search engine marketing, rather than enrage the SEO community, but it's another reason why I believe that most businesses should be looking to PPC before they look at SEO.

Steve

 

[Rusty]

Web designers generally design themselves well optimised websites, if they did the same for their clients would there be a need to pay anyone for SEO?

This is often not the case, I all too frequently see Web designers offering SEO services and one very inexperienced look at their sites leaves you wondering what they are offering. If they are offering this service you would expect that they would have ensured that their own site was well optimised.

My gripe is that Web designers/developers who have a little bit of knowledge sucker the clients in, take their hard earned cash, don't deliver, then leave the client with a near useless site.

Maybe I should have said a standard or a guide, some means by which companies looking for good SEO are not taken in by companies who talk SEO, advertise SEO but don't deliver.

 

[LindsayManning]

Wow, excellent reading, and some good points there.

I for one am very glad to see Google's algorithm being in the clever state it is in at the moment.
I am on the steep part of the SEO learning curve at the moment, and keep learning new things. I agree that some places want to charge a one off high fee, they will do something a bit quick fixey like Google Bowling, and get quick results and grab the money and run. As long as 1 month later you see that you have jumped from 100th in the list to 5th then you will pay and 2 months later when you slip back to 100th there isnt really much you can do.
I do think that google analytics and webmaster tools are fantastic for showing monthly momentum and to show that a website is making steady but strong progress. I am also very glad to see that Yahoo is also now starting to offer similar analytics tools.
I guess the way forward is always going to be not to try and outsmart Google, just stick with a well laid out, well tagged, and titled anchors and meaningful text, and then get the thing listed in the correct places that are relevant to have the right keywords back to you.
Some of those webmasters tools amaze me with showing what you want a search engine to pick up from a site, and what it is actually picking up about it.
I guess this will be a business that will be around for a while, that will always need little tricks to put you 1 jump higher than the others.

Cheers,

Lins.

 

[mattk]

From experience SEOs are unable to charge anything like what they are worth simply because there is nothing tangible for the client to see. Most of the companies who are seeking to be on the top of the search engines are on tight or non existent budgets.

Surely the tangible results of paying for SEO is that your site ranks at the top of the SERP for your chosen terms?

 

[PeteA]

How can anyone really be a true SEO expert with the secrecy that surrounds Google?

 

[philsmears]

Other than doing the below is there something more to SEO that I don't know about?
1. Make your web site standards compliant and accessible.
2. Put good content on it which will attract visitors and inbound links.
3. Play around a bit with keywords both in link text and content and see if anything happens.

 

[I, Brian]

A couple of points being raised which are interesting:

1. If you read up on SEO, you know SEO

I would very much disagree with this.

Just because I know how to do my own book keeping and have read about tax laws does not an accountant make me.

Sure, I can try doing all my accounting myself - but a good accountant will always be able to do it better, and save me both time and money.

SEO is a speciality as well, and a good SEO will not simply save you time and money, but should also increase revenues and profits, not least because they devote their daily routine to monitoring changes on search engines.

Also - be very warned that a lot of "SEO advice" offered on forums is junk by those with little commercial experience. Everyone's an armchair critic online.

2. Fee structure

As I originally mentioned, there are different specialities within SEO, and different fee models that come with it.

For example, I specialise in link development so I charge a monthly fee based on the link development costs. This covers renting links on my own sites, and paying for links via a private broker. Basic optimisation for sites I usually include as a support element, but it really depends on the amount of work required.

It's also worth pointing out that a retainer even after on-site work can be a good thing. If your website suddenly goes supplemental in Google, drops exactly to Page 3 for keywords, or experiences unexplained indexing problems, you'll want advice on tap now from someone who can help provide information and practical help.

3. SEO's charge what they can

Some companies/individuals will try to charge what they can get away with - but this is the same in any sector.

This is why personal recommendations are often key.

There's a real variety in ability and skillsets in SEO, but the pricing doesn't always reflect this.

Some will charge less than others simply because they have lower overheads - working at home rather than a rented office, for example.

Some will charge more simply out of vanity.

You see this across all industries. That's why basic awareness of SEO awareness can help you find the wheat in the chaffe, and hence why I've posted resources to help with this.

Hope that helps.

 

[I, Brian]

How can anyone really be a true SEO expert with the secrecy that surrounds Google?

That's the point - Google isn't entirely secretive.

You can run your own network of websites where you make and track changes across different industries, even keywords. I only have 150, but it's enough to get meaningful results.

Also, everytime Google is granted a patent, the details of this are published online and the ramifications discussed.

Additionally, awareness of what services a search engine has - such as Google - and how they are integrating them with other services, can also provide important leverage.

Awareness of what is currently happening in Google's results, coupled with an awareness of what may be behind at least some of them, can empower a SEO to make valuable strategic decisions.

And as before, most businesses outside of SEO simply cannot commit to the level of resources and time required to keep on top of everything going on with search engines.

 

[I, Brian]

Surely the tangible results of paying for SEO is that your site ranks at the top of the SERP for your chosen terms?

Absolutely right.

The point about SEO isn't simply ranking on search engines - it's ranking for commercially useful keywords which deliver traffic and sales.

There's little point trying to rank for "mortgage advice shops, Norwich" if you can budget to rank for "mortgage brokers". The difference in potential revenues between the placements is HUGE.

 

[Aspect Investments]

Absolutely right.

The point about SEO isn't simply ranking on search engines - it's ranking for commercially useful keywords which deliver traffic and sales.

There's little point trying to rank for "mortgage advice shops, Norwich" if you can budget to rank for "mortgage brokers". The difference in potential revenues between the placements is HUGE.

I agree Brian.
Whats the point of being on the 1st page of Google for a search term that no one is going to search for.

I had an email from an SEO company many years ago as you do, and they were raving on about how they had got this guys site to number one position on Google for the search term "Vagabond Dive".

Hi URL was http://www.vagabond-dive.com/ impressive eh? Not, LOL

 

[UKSBD]

Although I agree with the majority of that, the majority of small companies
don't realise how expensive it can be to rank for competitive terms.

The problem is unscrupulous SEO's don't tell them that and are happy to
charge them a fee when it is impossible to deliver the results. (which is why
there is such a desrepency in costs)

Far better in my opinion to be honest up front, tell them how much it will
cost and be prepared to not get the job.

Altternatively base the keywords on their budget.
Using your "Mortgage Brokers" example (nice example ;o) )
Add a location on the end of it and it is within anyones budget to get a top
10 ranking.
Where as if they want to rank for "Mortgages" "Loans" "Secured Loans" etc.
it's not even worth attempting unless they have to have a lot bigger budget.

 

[philsmears]

As far as I'm concerned SEO died when search engines like Google figured out how to rank sites based on their content. Other than ensuring your site is built according to W3C standards, for me SEO simply doesn't exist except in the minds of some people desperate to get in the top 10.

'Web marketing' however, does exist, but I don't think it should be called SEO with all its connotations of technical jiggery pokkery to boost rankings.

 

[PeteA]

It does not take much research to understand a site will perform well if

Their main keywords are in the URL
Unique on theme content is added regularly
Your site is linked to other on theme sites, preferably higher ranked sites.
Your site is listed in the Google, Yahoo, MSN and Business.com directories.
Your site is well set up with Tags, Keywords and a Site map.
Having a Google site map
Advertising your site by listing in directories, posting on forums and article writing.

All basic stuff

T

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

I have one small question about SEO. Is there any kind of service in which suitable keywords can be found for a website? Sort of like investigation into the most potentially effective keywords which could then be taken forward to SEO work on the website.

Is this part of standard SEO work from experts or is there a seperate service? Any rough price estimations?

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Is there any kind of service in which suitable keywords can be found for a website?

There's software such as Keywords Analyser or Keyword Elite which collate the overture results without too much grunt work.

KA (which I use, but KE may be better) also shows "SEO factors" for the top 10 results for each search term.

These are things like whether the search term is in the title and so on.

If this sounds like what you're looking for, it might be easier to understand what I'm saying if you find their websites and look at the videos.

(as they're quite "visual")

Steve

 

[Miranda]

I know of one seo person (dave at dtinternetservices .co.uk) who charges 50%, and the remaining 50% when the results have been acheived.
Which to my mind says that he's putting his skills on the line, and proving it on results. I'd certainly not pay upfront.

Having said that, I'm quite pleased with my own efforts on Google - when you search for nappies I should be no2! I tend to read whatever I can find on the topic, and I guess my continual playing about with things does help.

Miranda

 

[Business Angel]

My colleague Kath Dawson has just posted this list of SEO FAQ's on another site...hope you all find this useful

John


1. What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?
Search Engine Optimisation is the process of preparing a website in order to achieve search engine rankings that drive traffic to your site. SEO is an ongoing process beginning with the initial optimisation of the site, monthly maintenance of the site, regular evaluation of search results and adjustments to the site.

2. What good is having a web site if it is not being seen?
90% of Internet buyers are turning to search engines to find the products they want. Google alone conducts over 150 million searches a day. In fact, recent studies show that purchasers are about 12 times more likely to buy your products or services after finding your site through a search engine than all other traditional advertising methods combined (including trade shows, print ads, direct mail, radio, and even television)... at a fraction of the cost! Why? Simply put, when a consumer finds you through a search engine they are ready to buy. With traditional forms of media, you are broadcasting a message hoping to reach the right consumer at the right time.

As searchers generally only explore the first two pages in the search results, achieving high rankings on the search engines will make an enormous difference in the amount of visitor traffic your site receives.

3. Why doesn't my Web site rank very well in the search engines?
Having your web site rank high in the search engines is a science and the rules for search engine optimisation (SEO) are always changing.

Here are some reasons why you may be having poor ranking:

Incorrect usage of the TITLE tag or no TITLE tag content.
Too many occurrences of the same word in a page (spamming).
Missing H1 and H2 heading tag content.
Missing ALT tag content in your graphic links.
No meaningful content in the first 250 characters on each page.
Less than 200 words per page.
Very few pages on your website.
No links from other websites to your website (link popularity).

4. How does the Search Engine find websites?
There are two ways a search engine can find a website to add to its database. The first and most direct method is to accept submissions from website designers and optimisers. Most search engines have a "submit your URL" section inviting submissions from Internet users.

The second, and least obvious method of finding websites is to send a "spider" to follow each and every link on, off, and through a website. New URLs encountered by the spider will be added to the database. In this way, some search engines will grow very rapidly.

5. How long does it take for SEO results to kick in?
The amount of time required to see results of search engine optimisation work range anywhere from 2 weeks to a few months. This is dependent on how often search engines update their index and subsequently re-rank sites. The Google Dance for example is almost a spectator sport among the SEO community.

6. What is my site ranking dependent on?
Site ranking tends to be "cumulative" and is dependent on the following factors:

The specific keyword phrases (search terms) that have been targeted
The overall competitiveness of your industry - how many players are there
Whether you are targeting a regional, national, or international market
How well ranking is monitored and the site tweaked over time for SEO improvement
The progress of your inbound linking campaign
Number of competitor sites achieving new ranking themselves.

7. Why might I need to have extra elements added to my website?
A search engine spider is an automated program that electronically probes every URL submitted to its database. As the spider is a computer program, it is designed to look for and rank very specific items on each page it probes. If those elements are present, the spider computes a higher ranking than it would if those elements were not present.

8. If these elements are so important, why didn't they get added when my site was originally designed?
Most website designers haven't learned the importance of search engine friendly design. In almost every case we've encountered, the site designer is a highly skilled and creative person whose job is to put your ideas on the web. More often than not, the designers have not received any training in search engine optimisation and don't think about it while pursuing a cool looking design.

Search engines are also constantly changing their ranking criteria. They do this to prevent gross manipulation of their search tools. Often, website designers are not fully up to date with changes at search engines.

9. Does every page of my website really need to be optimised?
In a word - yes. Every page of a website can be a potential entry point or 'landing page' for visitors. You can't predict which page or pages will be ranked the best for specific keywords. As such, each page must be individually optimised too for optimal ranking. Collectively, all pages of your website reinforce the common "theme" of the site, which also can help boost ranking. Don't assume that your home page is the only important page on your site.

10. Isn't This Something We Can Do Ourselves?
Large amounts of time, attention and expertise are needed to achieve the desired results in such a constantly changing niche industry. The expense of adding personnel and necessary resources alone would quickly outweigh the cost of hiring our company, which is why outsourcing SEO is by far the most popular method. Remember, and SEO company has already established strong, ongoing relationships with all the top search engines, and has experience professionals who are constantly researching the changes and trends in this dynamic field.

11. Can you guarantee a number #1 position in the search engines?
Nobody can guarantee a number #1 position or specific ranking for your site for a given keyword phrase in the organic search engine results. There are simply too many factors beyond anyone's control - the search engines changing their ranking algorithms, efforts made by competitors, and new sites being added to the Web.

Obtaining a specific ranking is analogous to managing a portfolio. Your financial advisor will do their best to monitor the stock market and other indicators and to make sure your portfolio is managed to the best of their abilities. However, your advisor cannot guarantee that your portfolio will be at a specific value or even that the amount will be up at all by a given date.

12. It's been several months and my website finally shows up in Google but it's ranked in the hundreds. Why is that?
It's not always easy to get better search engine rankings. In fact, search engine optimisation is part science and part art. Search engines continually change their algorithms and tweak their rules for ranking. It is possible that Google does not fully read your page due to structural issues, your website (or at least individual web pages) could be lacking in meaningful content, no significant websites link to you, your website is too small to be of any value to people searching for your topic, or any other range of problems.

Search engines may be flooded with websites on a given topic, making it more difficult to achieve higher rankings. As such, a good search engine optimiser will look for a niche to exploit. For example, consider whether your website has greater appeal to a local, national, or international region.

13. My website did not get accepted last time I submitted to the search engines... why?
Search Engine listings are not guaranteed to everyone who posts a website to the Internet. Search engines are for-profit businesses and have the right to refuse to list any site for virtually any reason. We ensure all bases are covered and all necessary elements are present before submitting the finalised site to the search engines or directories.

14. Why Should I Choose to Outsource SEO?
To achieve a high ranking web site, you have to know exactly the most effective META tag design formula, best web copywriting techniques, keep track of current search engine ranking algorithms, know what format to submit the site in to every engine and how often to resubmit the site. You also need to know whether your site is technically compatible with search engine robots, what types of pages the engines will accept and which will be barriers to ranking, plus what sort of overall "relevancy score" your site will receive from each engine you submit to.

Not only that, but once you're ranking highly, you have to monitor your progress and adjust your tags every now and then to ensure you stay up above your competitors on all engines for your major search phrases. These are all crucial steps to a high ranking, but very time consuming and not your core business!


Kath Dawson
Strategy Internet Marketing
0117 377 8237
[email protected]


PS: Oh, this forum will not take long threads so this is Part I only, anyone interested in Part II can contact Kath or myself direct.

John

 

[DotNetWebs]

PS: Oh, this forum will not take long threads so this is Part I only, anyone interested in Part II can contact Kath or myself direct.

John

Hi John

Thanks for posting that. Can't you just post Part II as a separate post? I am sure many would appreciate it.

Regards

Dotty

 

[Business Angel]

Good suggestion.... here is Part II.........


15. How Do You Choose the Best Keywords?
The first step in our SEO campaign is to develop your Keyword Profile. Based on your initial input, we will use a combination of experience and software programs to generate a list of the most effective and well-searched keywords in your industry. We then work together to refine this list and compile the list of keywords and phrases that will be most beneficial to your product or services. You know your business and we know ours. We know how important it is to work together to generate the most effective Keyword Profile possible.

16. Will You Need to Access Our Web Server?
Yes, we will need access to your web server in order to upload and periodically update pages. We do our best to keep you informed every time we do an upload or make a change. It is vital that anyone else who may be making changes to your site stays current with the optimised pages we provide.

17. Do You Have to Make Changes to Our Site?
While many of the changes made to your site are done behind the scenes in the source code, it may be necessary to make certain minor changes to your site's copy or layout. In most cases, these changes are minimal. We post all changes made to the front end of your site to our test server for your approval before we go live with the changes.

18. I found other services that do what you do much more cheaply: how do I choose?
Some companies take advantage of the uninitiated website owner promising top rankings for £9.95 or something similar. Beware of such promises - if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. That £9.95 will typically buy an automated submission to 10,000 "engines" that nobody ever visits or possibly even result in a domain ban for over submitting. Once the £9.95 campaign is finished, so is your domain. There is no such thing as #1 rankings in all search engines or "it only takes 2 weeks and £9.95".

More importantly, most of these services only include submission, not optimisation, as a part of their deal. Submitting an un-optimised site to the engines simply will not improve your rankings. If you don't plan on optimising your site before submission then you shouldn't bother submitting it at all.

19. What should I look for when choosing a SEO consultant?
The ideal Consultant is one that understands the dynamics of marketing, business, and technology - and employs the highest levels of integrity in their work. There are a number of unethical practices or shortcuts that can be used in search engine optimisation, but the search engines themselves often times will not accept these questionable or "tricky" practices.

You should choose a company that doesn't promote these practices to achieve short-term results for its clients. You should also expect to benefit from the research expertise, customised approached, management expertise, and on-going consultative process from a SEO firm.

20. What's the right time for me to start a search engine marketing campaign and how long it last?
No time like the present! We usually establish 12-month campaigns. There is an enormous amount of education, research, analysis, technical programming, and testing performed in the first 3 months in particular.

21. How often will I receive search engine ranking reports?
We send out search engine ranking reports monthly to our clients.

22. How often do you resubmit my site to search engines?
If your site is search engine compatible and optimised correctly, regular resubmission to engines is generally unnecessary although we find that monthly submissions to some search engines assists in maintaining rankings. Our ranking reports and maintenance checks keep track of your site every four weeks. If your site is already ranking highly, there is no need to resubmit it. However if any engines have lowered or dropped your site altogether (as can happen from time to time), it will be resubmitted to those engines.

If an engine has dropped your rankings considerably since last report, it is time to tweak your META tags or check the optimised pages for any problems. This is included as part of your Monthly Site Ranking Management Service. Search engines will generally pick up the changes during their next edit and re-rank the site accordingly. Resubmission is usually only necessary if your site has undergone major content changes.

23. How will I know if my business increases as a result of top rankings?
There are numerous Web Analytics tools available in the market that can help you to track the effectiveness of your campaign. By the end of the first twelve months, you will get an analysis of your activity at the end of the campaign as compared to the baseline established at the beginning of the campaign.


Kath Dawson
Strategy Internet Marketing
0117 377 8237
[email protected]



Best wishes

John

 

[JustOneUK]

Super double post John. Only one thing made me raise a brow....

regular resubmission to engines is generally unnecessary although we find that monthly submissions to some search engines assists in maintaining rankings.

In general there are only 3 engines that are considered worthwhile
Google, Yahoo & MSN. Neither of these 3 require you to submit your website at all (although you can if you want).

Any idea what the "some" are supposed to be?

James.

 

[I, Brian]

As far as I'm concerned SEO died when search engines like Google figured out how to rank sites based on their content.

This sort of ignorance on your part is all the more reason why businesses need at least a basic primer on what SEO is, does, and when it may be worth investing in.

SEO certainly hasn't dies - and Google remains primarily a links driven search engine.

Other than ensuring your site is built according to W3C standards,

Google doesn't care how your site is code or even if it validates to XHTML 1.0 - simply that there is content that can be read.

for me SEO simply doesn't exist except in the minds of some people desperate to get in the top 10.

And those people who do get in the Top 10 for commercial keywords make the sales. Hence why others want to get in there.

'Web marketing' however, does exist, but I don't think it should be called SEO with all its connotations of technical jiggery pokkery to boost rankings.

SEO is a specialist subset of internet marketing - though see my recent post at SEOmoz on how SEO's are widening their remit: The New Site Optimisation.

It does not take much research to understand a site will perform well if

Their main keywords are in the URL
Unique on theme content is added regularly
Your site is linked to other on theme sites, preferably higher ranked sites.
Your site is listed in the Google, Yahoo, MSN and Business.com directories.
Your site is well set up with Tags, Keywords and a Site map.
Having a Google site map
Advertising your site by listing in directories, posting on forums and article writing.

All basic stuff

T

Being aware of basic SEO is one issue - getting ranked for major commercial keywords is another.

 

[Aspect Investments]

I will second that Brian.

May I add that a good SEO will be able to show you proof of his work. For example 1st page rankings on Google for popular keywords.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

SEO 'dying out' has to be the dafest thing I've heard in a while. If theres physical proof that getting a SEO expert gets you higher rankings for keywords (which there is because it's their designated job and thats what they get paid for) then how could it of possibly died?