SEO TIPS: Using an SEO Firm (1)

Don’t have time to write your own content? Confused about linking? Many entrepreneurs think that doing your own SEO is almost mandatory. They stress and blog and worry continually about links, keywords, meta tags and so on – and end up being a jack of all trades and master of none while their website circles the drain. Lets look at the reasons to hire a reputable firm to help you get your site off of the ground.

Even if your budget is tight, you could do a whole lot worse than paying a SEO to supply you with some original content geared towards increasing your visibility and improving your chances not only on the SERPs, but for targeted advertising as well.

If you are struggling to optimize, you need keyword specific content to drive traffic you way and ensure any AdSense on your site will be appropriate. It does no good to be promoting a site for one thing, and inadvertently end up with advertising for something else entirely.

A good SEO article from a good company won’t be cheap. You can indeed find less expensive writers who are capable of turning out good content for less, but there are reasons to use an SEO firm.

An SEO firm is like a homeopathic doctor. They look at your whole site, and not just one aspect – or they should! Beware of an SEO who tries to tell you that optimization is all about linking, or solely about content. There is a symbiotic relationship between all aspects of your site.

Strong content won’t overcome poor linking, and no amount of PageRank will make up for sloppy article writing. An SEO can provide you with an honest evaluation of your site, and help you pinpoint areas that need the most work.

Once you have decided you need an SEO, You need to go shopping. SEO firms will advertise that they guarantee a top result in the SERPS, or a certain amount of traffic within a specified timeframe, but you have to understand that they don’t control the search engines or the consumers – they can only predict and plan based on past patterns of behavior.

That said, a well done campaign can definitely boost your ranking, and if you are proactive when researching SEO firms you should be able to determine which ones are able to deliver results and which can’t.

Beware of SEOs who won’t divulge exactly what they intend to do to optimize your site. Website owners have been burned by SEOs who used underhanded methods to artificially raise rankings for a few weeks, and then after they are paid they disappear leaving you holding the bag when Google pays you a call and kicks you to the curb for violating their policies.

A good SEO will be willing to talk at length with you to ascertain the purpose and vision of your site, and will be more than willing to explain their methods to help you help yourself. Large companies are expected to use an SEO firm full time or even build their own in house staff, but small webmasters are the average SEO’s bread and butter.

Tomorrow: Part Two ( What an SEO Can Do Easier Than You Can )