SEO services have been around for years, and their popularity continues to grow. But are they really worth the money? Let’s look at SEO services to see whether they’re suitable for your business.
What Are They?
With the Internet becoming increasingly competitive, businesses are turning to search engine optimization to get ahead. SEO services are a dime a dozen these days. But what exactly are SEO services, and are they worth the money?
SEO improves a website’s organic (unpaid) search engine results. In other words, it’s a way to get your website to rank higher in Google and other search engines. Many things affect SEO, from website content to coding. It can be hard and time-consuming, so some companies hire an SEO service or consultant.
So, should you invest in SEO services? That depends on your goals and budget. Some businesses need more time or in-house SEO knowledge to do it right. Outsource SEO to professionals, and you can spend more time focusing on other parts of your business. When you outsource SEO, you’re paying someone to manage your content strategy and ensure your website performs well in search engines. They’ll work to optimize your website for specific keywords and phrases, ensuring that your website ranks high for relevant searches.
What Is SEO?
Search engine optimization (SEO) enhances your website to rank higher on Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The primary goal is to increase traffic to your website. For example, you might want more of your target audience to find your products or services than your competitors.
However, search engines have become much smarter over the years. They are now more sophisticated than ever in how they index websites. With the sheer number of sites available to search engines, they are constantly trying to be as efficient as possible. They want to give users the most relevant results when they search. This is where SEO comes in handy.
SEO is a tool used by webmasters to rank their websites higher in search results. Google, Yahoo, and Bing have all developed guidelines for SEO that they expect their users to abide by. This is the set of rules everyone must follow if they want to rank high on major search engines. Search Engine Optimization techniques that work include:
1. Having a website map. A website map is a page with links to the rest of your web pages. It helps search engines find your web pages quickly and easily.
2. Make sure each of your web pages is unique and relevant. For instance, if you have a website about pets, each page should be about a different type of pet or pet-related topic.
3. Make sure your web pages are descriptive and well-written. The more search engines understand your website, the better they rank it.
4. Make sure every link on your website is relevant to the topic of that page.
5. Creating an XML sitemap to help search engines crawl your site faster and more efficiently.
6. Add popular tags to each web page so people can easily find them.
7. Having a blog that is updated frequently with fresh content.
8. Having a social media presence to help people discover your site.
9. Adding videos to your site to provide additional information, such as how-to’s, tips and tricks, etc.
10. Having a newsletter that provides subscribers with helpful tips and advice on the topic of your website.
11. Having a forum where people can ask questions.
12. Creating an online store to provide products or services directly to your customers.
13. Providing downloadable ebooks, white papers, etc., that will help readers learn more about your topic of interest.
14. Offering webinars to allow people to hear you speak about your topic of interest.
15. Using blog comments and social media sharing buttons to help spread the word about your content.
16. Creating a viral video that is shared across the Internet.
17. Provide links to your most popular content at the bottom of your pages.
18. Having a list of top resources on your website that links to other websites with related information.
19. Linking to your most popular content from other websites.
20. Facebook and Twitter can generate visitors to your site.
21. Send emails about new blog posts, videos, etc., to your customers and prospects.
22. Creating a mobile app for your business.
SEO Services Can Be Beneficial
Search engines play an essential role in online marketing. Marketing firms offer SEO (search engine optimization) services to assist you in acquiring targeted visitors through Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and other big or minor search engines.
But are SEO services beneficial or detrimental to your business? Should you hire an SEO company or try to “woo” the search engines into recognizing you as a leader and authoritative company? Here are some things to think about.
You’ve probably heard this expression before, “You’re too busy working on your business to work on it.” This statement still applies to Internet business. Unfortunately, as a business owner, you are frequently torn between two critical components of your company: advertising and operating.
You confront the same challenge whether you provide services to a small group of clients, control a large organization, or run an online retail site. Using another company’s SEO services can help you in various ways.
For starters, it frees up your time for other vital concerns. Two, you can get assistance from someone who spends their entire day evaluating and testing search engine results. They already know what you could learn in years! If you’re spending only some time racing your competitors to the top of the listings, you’ll have more time and money for other promotions. SEO services will also help you to become more visible and credible with your target customers.
What to Look for in SEO Services and an SEO Agency
SEO services can range from keyword density assistance for all your web pages to search engine submission, optimization to target specific areas of the world or your country or state, and/or content authoring services.
For example, the organization may provide UK search engine optimization if your target market is primarily from the United States. They may generate keyword-rich content for you or supply you with a consistent list of new keywords to add to your site’s pages to make it more search-engine friendly.
Choose an affordable SEO service. Check the Better Business Bureau online to ensure the company does not have many client complaints. Check to see whether they have experience with SEO rankings and can provide you a good list of corporate references to call if necessary.
Choose a provider that can provide proof that their system has previously worked. There are no assurances that any strategy will work every time, but having proof of previous accomplishments will give you confidence that the organization knows what it’s doing. Talk to the SEO consultant ahead of time to determine how they intend to increase your search engine rankings. Ask them to explain the procedure to you. A good SEO consultant will provide a written report of the ranking strategy. This way, you can see what you are paying for. SEO is becoming increasingly popular as businesses scramble to be found on search engines.
Scams To Avoid
There are lots of SEO scams to avoid. Watch for these:
1. Promises of guaranteed first-page rankings. No one can guarantee this, as it depends on several factors beyond their control.
2. Companies that use black hat techniques, such as keyword stuffing or link farms, can get your site penalized by Google.
3. Companies that make grandiose promises without being able to back them up with results. Ask for case studies or testimonials from past clients to see what kind of results they’ve been able to achieve.
4. Companies that charge an exorbitant amount for their services and deliver mediocre results.
5. Companies that offer to miraculously fix a site’s traffic problems (i.e., solve the problem of a site with no incoming links) overnight or within a few days.
6. Companies that offer to build links for you but don’t guarantee that they will be built by high-quality sites.
7. Companies that offer Google first-page rankings in weeks.
8. Companies that offer to build up your site’s trust and credibility must explain how they will do it.
9. Companies that try to sell you a bunch of tools and resources that you really don’t need.
10. Companies that claim to be SEO experts but need SEO experience.
11. Companies that guarantee first-page rankings on Google for all keywords you want to rank for.
12. Companies that try to sell you a bunch of services but need to explain how they will help your site.
13. Companies that want to charge you a monthly fee for SEO services.
14. Companies that ask for payment in advance.
15. Companies that try to sell you SEO services without knowing a lot about your industry.
16. Companies that try to sell you SEO services without knowing a lot about your website.
17. Companies that don’t know what they’re doing and who try to sell you SEO services anyway.
18. Companies that try to sell you SEO services without having any case studies or references.
19. Companies that try to sell you SEO services without being transparent about their pricing.
20. Companies that try to sell you SEO services need to clearly explain how they will get your site ranked for competitive search terms.
21. Companies that try to sell you SEO services need a clear plan for how they will get your site ranked for competitive search terms.
22. Companies that try to sell you SEO services need to clearly explain what their SEO strategy is.
23. Companies that try to sell you SEO services need to clearly explain how they will approach your site’s on-site optimization.
24. Companies that try to sell you SEO services need to clearly explain how they will approach your site’s off-site optimization.
25. Companies that try to sell you SEO services without clearly explaining how they will track the results of their efforts.
26. Companies that try to sell you SEO services without clearly explaining what happens if the strategy doesn’t work.
27. Companies that try to sell you SEO services without clearly explaining what happens if the strategy does work.
28. Companies that try to sell you SEO services need to clearly explain how they will continue to provide support and maintenance once the project is complete.
29. Companies that try to sell you SEO services need to clearly explain how they will continue to monitor changes in the search engine landscape and your website content.
30. Companies that don’t have a full-time employee dedicated to responding to customer inquiries.
31. Companies that don’t have a full-time employee dedicated to website maintenance and optimization.
32. Companies that guarantee you’ll be on Google’s main page in a month or two and then never update your site.
33. Companies that guarantee Google front page placement in a month or two but become irritated when you ask for more updates.
34. Companies that promise to get you on Google’s front page in a month or two but can’t since they’re busy.
35. Companies that want to charge you by the hour for their services.
36. Companies that have a website with no links pointing to it.
37. Companies that have a website with links but don’t look like the links on their competitors’ websites.
38. Companies that have a website but don’t have any content on it.
39. Companies that want to give you SEO training or SEO certification need to figure out what they are talking about.
40. Companies that tell you they know the Google algorithm inside out, but their staff come from keyword-spamming backgrounds.
41. Companies that promise first-page Google rankings for 5 keywords.
42. Companies that charge $50 an hour for their services need to know what a long tail keyword is and how to use them.
43. Companies that need to find out what KPIs are.
44. Companies with a media kit on their website will only give it to you when you ask.
45. Companies that tell you, “we’ve never had a complaint” or “we never get complaints.”
46. Companies that use the word “organic” to describe their SEO.
47. Companies that claim they can do your SEO for $10,000, but when you ask them how many links they have built in the last month and how much content they have created on their own site, they can’t answer.
48. Companies that claim they will be on the first page of Google in two weeks but need to learn how to use Google Analytics.
49. Companies that need to find out what a bounce rate is or how many repeat visitors they have.
50. Companies that tell you “I’m a great writer” send you a resume with no writing skills.
Conclusion
If an SEO business makes incredible promises, such as guaranteeing to move your site to the top of Google for your primary keyword within 30 days for only $19.95, this should raise a red flag. This is an impossible guarantee, especially if your company is new. Furthermore, the firm cannot “promise” a top ranking. They can only guarantee that your website will be listed for sure of your most important keywords.
After implementing reliable SEO services, you can generate traffic for hundreds of keywords. However, your website will only be ranked for some of those keywords. This is because search engines only allow a certain number of results to be listed on the first page for each keyword. According to the Search Engine Watch, Google shows a maximum of 10 results per page. The other search engines do likewise.
Your website will only be ranked for a small percentage of your targeted keywords. With that in mind, how can you promise top rankings for every keyword? The answer is no. However, you can choose the most crucial keywords for your business. This will help you to generate more traffic for your website.
To get the best results, your keywords must be specific and descriptive. When you use a more general keyword, you will get a lot of hits and traffic, but most of these visitors will be from people who are not looking for precisely what you have to offer. These visitors will not convert as well. On the other hand, when you use a keyword that is very specific to your business, you will get fewer hits, but the visitors who do find you will be looking for exactly what you have to offer. These visitors are more likely to convert into customers.
Make sure to include your keywords in the title of your website, the meta description, and your content. Also, consider using keywords in your URL. This will help you to get higher rankings when people search for those specific terms. Websites with many incoming links, or inbound links, have more authority. Search engines place a lot of value on these sites and will reward them accordingly.
In the beginning, you may have to do some outreach to build a network of inbound links. Don’t be discouraged if people are not immediately interested in what you have to offer. Remember, you will be building your reputation and trust over time.
SEO services must be ongoing. They must examine your company, research your market, choose appropriate keywords for your company, and begin a series of improvements to optimize your site for the best possible results. Expect no SEO company to accomplish miracles overnight. SEO services can be good or bad depending on the quality of the service and how it is used. If you consider using SEO services, research and choose a reputable company.
