23
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 and there 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 severely penalized, if not removed entirely
from a search engine’s index.
A cloaked page is a page that is created which is
invisible to the regular visitor to your website.
The cloaked page is coded 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!
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, check out the Nielsen Netratings page at
Search Engine Watch. You can access this at
http://www.searchenginewatch.com/article.php/2156451
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. Ask
the 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.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.