What to look out for
Although understanding the intricate
details of what makes search engine optimization work would require two Advil and
a clear schedule, knowing the basics and
what questions to ask will minimize the use
of your mental reserves. There’s no accreditation program for SEO firms, but getting a brief education of the process will allow you
to know your opportunities instead of
becoming one.
First, there are different forms of SEO,
none of which comes with a guarantee.
There are two main types of search: local
and global — and you’ll also hear the term
“universal search,” which encompasses
both, plus video. A business like a restaurant would probably be interested in a local
search only, so would focus on keywords
and phrases that include the city name.
One of the easiest ways to measure what
keywords might help you rank high is Google
Analytics (www.google.com/analytics). It’s a
free service provided by Google that allows
you to test the current value of your Web site
and gives you detailed reports on what keywords are being used to find your site.
But keywords are not the only measure of
success.
“Links from other reputable sites to yours
are positive points in SEO,” Frye says. “SEO
is moving more toward including off-site optimization along with what’s done on the home
page and keyword use.”
Web site design also plays an intricate role
in the process. Your site may have an impressive appearance, but spiders — software
robots that “crawl” the Web indexing data —
must be able to understand information on
the page, or it will not be efficiently indexed,
dropping your Web site’s ranking.
Mobile search is the newest type of optimization and sometimes it’s referred to as
“third screen.” In the U.S., mobile marketing
is largely used for local search, but foreign
markets rely on mobile Web access heavily
for all facets of search.
Getting the most return from your site
requires a balance of compelling information,
easy access and optimization that gets it to
the top of the search engine rankings. Most
professional firms will be able to handle all of
these needs, but again, ask questions before
signing anything.
Ask the SEO firm if it performs link building, which places a link to your site from
other reputable sites. Also ask what techniques it uses to create incoming links to
ensure they follow search engine guidelines.
Also, ask the company how it tests, measures and reports results.
Think about what you want to know, such as how many people visited a page and if they made a purchase, and make sure the firm can
provide that data. The SEO firm must provide updates that mean
something to you. Also ask to see samples of its work and see where
those clients rank.
Once you find a company you are comfortable with, think long term.
“If you are thinking of hiring an outside company, you should definitely engage in it for a year,” says David Roth, director of search marketing, Yahoo. “SEO is a long, iterative process with delayed results;
you’ll want to keep the agency around so they can maximize the benefit to your company and hold them accountable for their actions.”
Like anything else, SEO gets you what you pay for and that means
hours of work and a decent chunk of your marketing budget. Since a
feasible figure depends on your budget, factor at least a quarter of
your marketing budget for SEO.
“The good news is, once SEO is put into place, the cost of attracting
a new user is practically zero,” Roth says.
