Myths of SEO debunked.
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news - but there is;
NO SEO silver bullet.
NO SEO secret keyboard shortcut.
NO super software package to get your site ranked #1 in google in a few days.
SEO in 48hrs!
Not quite...
Proper, professional SEO is an involved process that covers a large number of time consuming areas. Using the ROARR!™ method is the only successful way (ok - other SEO specialists may refer to the steps by different names but the process is basically the same) to getting a lasting rank in the SEs.
"Guaranteed #1 positioning".
As the old addage goes "the only guarantees in life are Death and Taxes"... Pretty much every single client that approaches me asks what kind of guarantee I can give them for placement of their site.
My answer is always the same... "Absolutely, none."
As the client begins to withdraw in shock, I try to explain 2 common sense key points - that most people miss.
Number 1:
If you're in a competative industry, and there are major players (big companies) investing big money and big resources into their SEO efforts, you're simply not going to beat them to the number one spot. Let's break this down in dollar terms. If you're a computer chip processor manufacturer and you have $1,000. to invest in SEO - you are not going to outrank INTEL which is putting $1,000,000 dollars into their SEO. (I'm just pulling numbers out of a hat to make a point).
Number 2:
There are almost always certain people or businesses that pop up in any industry, and perform "Black Hat SEO techniques". These techniques are "illegal" methods of getting traffic to your site. Now, when I say illegal, I don't mean the FBI is going to round these folks up and ship them to quantanamo bay - no, I mean the SE's themselves have rules about what kind of SEO techniques you can use, and when the SE authorities find out, they will remove the site permenantly, and take a host of other restrictions and actions against the website owner and SEO specialist.
But back to the point, regardless of the penalty there are still people who engage in these practices. If you come along, and are investing your money wisely, working diligently and properly to boost your traffic and rank - but meanwhile Joes website is using under handed "black hat techniques" manipulating links from hundreds of sites, and exploiting loopholes - how can you expect to out perform him in the ranks? Bottomline, you can't.
Getting back to the client who's about to move on to some other SEO specialist who will simply say "Yes, Yes, Yes!".
While I always say I can't guarantee any kind of placement - almost always, after reviewing a site - I CAN say "We can do better".
Improving SE rank, Improving traffic, Improving quality of traffic are ALWAYS possible regardless of who else is out there and what they're doing.
Improvement, consistent improvement, should be the only real concern of a website owner. [Of course - the total bottom line as with any business is the increase in business itself].
"Compensation based on results".
This is less of an actual SEO point, and more of a general business point - but I see this a lot and feel its appropriate to touch on here.
Compensation based on results is usually not a viable method for SEO, because these clients are always only interested in top tiere SE placement, and not interested in Improved Performance.
As I stated above, placement is virtually impossible to guarantee.
Also, if you're planning to base a SEO specialists work on performance, be prepared to spend the time (on your own) learning about SEO so you can familiarize yourself with contract terms, and benchmark levels. No SEO professional will enter a simple agreement "I'll get you in number 5 or higher or you don't have to pay me..." Instead expect a complex contract with a lot of "Ifs, Whens, and In Comparion/Relation to".
Clients looking to spend their SEO budget wisely should focus more on who they're hiring and improving their current standing rather then getting to a certain position.
If you want your site to be heard, don't shout - ROARR!™.
A quick look at SEO for small business.
You've got the SEO basics down, but what will wikiddmedia actually do if you hire me for SEO work?
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving volume and/or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines (SE's). SEO is typically the core aspect of any Website Marketing campaign - that is, any overall marketing strategy to improve website visibility and in turn increase business.
Search Engine Optimization and Web Marketing, is all about Research and Organization.
Of course, some of the specifics in the process rely on certain skills, like copy writing, creative thinking, or general html/CSS programming knowlegde, but all in all, if you're not extremely Organized and don't have a head for extensive research and analysis you can not be a good SEO specialist.
A "good" SEO person has to pick apart the aspects of a site, analyze them, figure out the best ways to refine them, and then the best way to exploit them so new visitors pick up on the info - lastly a good SEO pro must track and compare the results so you can continue to do what shows results and abandon what doesn't yield results. This last step is arguably the most important, because if you don't follow up on your efforts; at best you're not making the most out of the work done to date, and at worst, you're sitting stagnant or being hurt by your current situation.
A lot of SEO work isn't doing fancy stuff - but creating a lot of charts, checklists, spreadsheets, and basic paperwork. The know how of what to look for, how to organize it and what to work with is the real trick - and what you really pay for when you hire a SEO specialist.
I have adopted the ROARR!™ acronym for my SEO efforts.
These magic keywords don't have secret meaning, they are basic concepts - self explanatory.
Applying them properly, making use out of all the data collected, and increasing a sites traffic, rank and business... well thats where the skill and experience comes in.
Every client has slightly different needs, so every strategy is a bit different. Generally, speaking heres the lists;