Archive for May, 2008

SEO: Search engine optimization -techniques that enable your site to appear higher in a list of search engine results.
SEM: Search engine marketing - the practice of marketing and advertising through the search engines.
SEP: Search engine placement.
SERP: Search engine result page - this is the position you web page gets in a search engine.

FACTS:

• There are 300 million searches carried out every single day.
• A great website with great SEO/SEM is a powerful combination.
• Most web design companies do not optimize for search engines.
• Most SEO companies do not design websites.
• If your website was build prior to 2004, chances are that it is not optimized or needs new optimization.
• SEO is not and will never be an exact science.

Even though webmasters are getting search engine optimization services, there is still a lot of misunderstandings:

• How can I get on Google front page?
• Who can I go to that will bring me valid results?
• Should I go with a company that guarantees results?
• How much will it cost me?
• Do I need an ongoing, continuous SEO service?
• Is it possible for anyone to get Google front page?
• Will I need to re-design my website?

Getting on Google front page (in the top ten organic results) is actually a simple task for professional SEO companies. But what you have to realize is that many of these companies will optimize for irrelevant or uncommon search terms. Some will guarantee Google front page but actually mean within the first 100 results (a user’s search option).

So, what if you’re on Google front page for a term that returns 2,000 results? And what if the search terms are don’t properly represent the product you offer? What type of return will you be getting?

I’ve seen many SEO companies that guarantee Google front page and was always leery of such a statement. Then today I entered the search term, “guaranteed Google front page” (without quotes), and could not find one legitimate company (on page one) actually offering this.

You also need to be aware of Google personalized search. When you are logged in to your Google account, you will receive personalized searches. This means that your searches will be modified by your search history - not displaying what everyone else necessarily sees.

What you need is a company that will allow you to see it happen before you pay in full.

SEO services are usually sold as an ongoing continuous service. I can see this as being valuable, as you wouldn’t like to one day wake up and notice your site dropped to page 147. But I offer an alternative where changes are made only if it is necessary. And this is the SEO service I offer all of my clients, included in all new design work.

For an initial website search engine optimization, I have been charging $500 or less, depending on how many pages you need done. But from the big SEO companies you can expect to dish out between $3.00 to $6.00 PER DAY … and then some. With a required one year contract, this represents a minimum of $1095.

How do I know when it’s necessary to re-optimize my website?

Through the free services offered at sheerseo.com. At Sheer SEO, you list all of the keywords you are targeting along with the web pages you want to keep track of, and whenever there is a change in SERP’s, you will get an email notification. They also supply a chart showing the history of each key-phrase/keyword.

But not all websites can be SE optimized. A few examples:
Websites that are incomplete or display “Under Construction”
Affiliate program sites (you do not have access to alter these)
Google AdSense sites (has 3 or more AdSense displays)
Sites that contain nothing more than links to third party websites.

Often it’s required to redesign or at least add more content to the web page being optimized, especially if the text is inside of an image. This is why you should use a designer that also optimizes for search positioning.

For an outstanding web design with SEO, I charge around $600 for up to five pages and $800 for ten. For SEO added to an existing website, the rate is between $200 and $500 for up to ten pages … another reason to use a designer that includes SE optimization.

I also offer link building campaigns and marketing services.
Get a free quote today!

Outside Articles:
Beware of Certified SEO Consultants
SEO Company with True Google First Page Service Be sure to read EVERYTHING before signing up.
FAQ: Search Engine Optimization Any other questions should be answered here.

stevestuff

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