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Search Engine Optimisation – To Pay or Not to Pay?

September 24, 2012 | Debra Barber

As mentioned in my previous article ‘Search Engine Optimisation - What you need to know’ I mentioned the importance of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) to drive traffic to your website. The more traffic you receive, the more you move up in Search Engine rankings and the more customers you will inevitably gain.

When most people think of Search Engine Optimisation, they think it only applies to the text on your page. However, you can also optimise your images and videos. You will see a growing number of websites using video content as more consumers are looking for ‘hands-on’ information more than boring old text.

DIY SEO

When looking at SEO for your website a great place to start is with Google’s ‘Keyword Tool’, a free tool that helps you find the most searched for keywords for your niche that will bring traffic to your website. By using these keywords or phrases in your SEO strategy, you will be sure to have the content that a reader is looking for either in text, video or images. A combination of SEO on all three mediums is effective but don’t go too crazy and overuse all your content on one page (see previous article ‘5 Tips for Search Engine Optimisation Beginners’).

You can try to do all the Search Engine Optimisation on your website yourself however doing this will be tedious and time consuming and you will likely not move up the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) very quickly. Unless you have the skills to do the basic set-up properly for your site including the basics like setting up Google Analytics and the Google Webmaster tools, site maps and doing malware and virus checks, you are best to consider using an SEO firm. Additionally, if you don’t have the time to stay up-to-date with what is happening in SEO, you are best to consider getting assistance with your SEO.

Paying for SEO

Using an SEO firm to carry out the SEO for your site takes the hassle out of the process and you can have more traffic coming to your site without lifting a finger. A good SEO firm will always carry out the basic ‘must-haves’ for solid SEO; assist you with your content - specifically created for your site with your target customer in mind; and work with you to make sure your keywords are buyer targeted. They will also make certain to include both onsite and offsite optimisation. There are so many SEO firms out there and it is likely that you receive multiple emails from all over the world every week. So, when you are looking around for help with your SEO or working with an SEO firm, here are a few tips:

1. Ask lots of questions and get solid information
   As an example, we provide all of our clients with a list of each task that will be undertaken on their behalf for the first month in set-up as well as each following month. We also include a description in layman’s terms to help them understand the task, why it has to be done this way and what the benefit is to them. A good SEO strategy will include both onsite and offsite optimisation as well as optimisation of both text and media (images and video).
2. Be involved
   It is so important that you are involved in the keyword selection process. You need to know if the keywords they are targeting are relevant to your niche and your target customer. It is easy to get online for keywords that no-one uses as there isn’t any competition so an SEO firm can make themselves look great by getting you on page one for that term very quickly but if your target customers are not using that keyword to find a business in your niche, then you might as well not have a SEO strategy and plan.
3. Get regular reports
   If you are not receiving a report at least monthly then you will never know if the work is being carried out or not. This isn’t unheard of. Recently speaking to one potential client I was horrified to hear that he had never received a report from his SEO firm and had no idea what was actually being done each month or what keywords they were targeting.
4. Google Tools
   Be sure that your SEO firm is utilizing the Google tools such as Google Analytics and the Google Webmaster Tools. These two aspects of your SEO are key inclusions to running a successful SEO strategy.
5. No ‘Black-Hat’ techniques
   Like many other industries, the SEO industry is rife with those out to make a quick buck. Many use ‘black-hat’ techniques such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, article spinning, text-cloaking and manufactured link farms to name a few. These techniques may get you on page one very quickly however your success will not only be short lived, you also run the risk of having your site de-listed from Search Engines. Search Engines will go so far as to remove your website from their indices so that your site won’t even be found if someone types in your entire URL.

There is a lot to be said of Search Engine Optimisation and when done properly it can massively affect your business by driving targeted traffic to your website. After all, a website without traffic is like having a billboard in the desert.