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Selecting a Search Engine Optimization Company
(C) Michael Rasmussen
All Rights Reserved
http://www.search-engines-revealed.com
A Search Engine Optimization Company can be an invaluable asset in
your Internet marketing campaign. They specialize in knowing how
to raise your search engine positions, monitoring those positions
on the regular basis, and adjusting their strategies to account
for undesirable results in any given month. Since this takes a lot
of time, effort, and specialized knowledge, it can be in your best
interest to go to an outside source rather than try to maintain
high search engine positions on your own.
However, like every business, there are good companies and there
are lemons. Knowing the right questions to ask and the criteria to
look for will help you in choosing an affordable, effective search
engine optimization company.
When looking at different companies, begin by considering the
approach they employ to raise your search engine positions. Steer
clear of companies that use cloaked, doorway, or bridge pages to
raise your positions. These techniques violate most search engine
policy, and in the worst case scenario, will only get your website
severely penalized, if not removed entirely from a search engine's
index.
A cloaked page is a page that is created which is invisible to the
regular visitor to your website. The cloaked page is coded to
detect a search engine spider and divert them to this special
page, which is set-up to artificially boost your search engine
position. Doorway or bridge pages utilize the same concept, but
often reside on an entirely different server. Google, one of the
largest and most important search engine on the Internet, will
remove your website from their index if they detect you have
cloaked pages. Never, never employ any company that uses this
technique!
Another important element is to get a guarantee that the company
you hire will not work with your competitors while they are
working for you. Obviously, this would seriously compromise the
effectiveness of the search engine optimization campaign. Be aware
that some companies will use the success they achieve for your
website to sell their services to your competitors. So get your
guarantee in writing, and make sure it is legally binding.
Of course, one of the most important factors you want to check out
is the company's track record of results. However, don't take the
company's word for it. They will undoubtedly be slanting their
results in order to sell their services to you. To go beyond their
simple statement of success, ask them a few pertinent questions,
and verify their answers.
Ask them which engines they have achieved the best results on. The
ones that are important are the most popular engines, and these
are the ones you want to see good results on. Since the popularity
of search engines can change with the landscape of the overall
Internet, check out the Nielsen Netratings page at Search Engine
Watch. You can access this at http://www.searchenginewatch.com/article.php/2156451.
Next, find out what keywords and phrases they are claiming great
results with. It's easy to get high rankings with unpopular words.
For instance, the keyword "cat leashes" will get high
popularity ranking because no one else would think of using it.
What you are looking for is good results using popular keywords.
Check out the software Wordtracker, available at
www.wordtracker.com. You can order a free trial, or a subscription
ranging from 1 day to 1 year. This software rates the popularity
of keywords and phrases based on actual search engine use.
Next, look for good results over an entire site that the company
claims to have successfully worked for. You want to see a wide
range of positions over a number of different search engines using
different keywords or phrases for the entire site. Request a
report for any client the company claims to have done well for.
This report should show good positions on a number of the most
popular search engines for a variety of different, popular
keywords and phrases.
When you are checking out search engine optimization companies,
make sure they have actually done the work they are claiming to
have done. Some companies will use other company's results in
order to get you to sign on with them. If you are in doubt, call
the company they are showing you results for, and ask for the name
of their search engine optimization company.
It's important to keep in mind that a successful search engine
optimization campaign will result in maximum exposure across a
wide range of popular search engines using a variety of keywords
and phrases. This is the formula for a successful campaign, and
you should keep it always in the forefront of your marketing
strategy.
Ask the search engine optimization company you are considering for
a report that shows you rankings across a number of popular search
engines for a period of at least six months. Remember: search
engine marketing is a process that is continual, and you need a
company that not only understands this, but keeps constant tabs on
your search engine positions. That company must also be able to
adjust its strategy in the event that search engine rankings drop.
Since search engine marketing is an on-going process, your
positions must be constantly monitored. If you want your search
engine optimization company to do this for you, request a sample
of a monthly report. It is essential that this report should show
rankings for the most popular search engines. Don't be impressed
by a report that only shows great results for a limited number of
small search engines. These are fairly easy results to acquire.
Also confirm that the popular search engine results they are
showing you are indeed the popular search engines currently.
Be sure the sample report the company shows you is in a format
that you can easily understand. For example, it could be in the
form of a chart that covers a period of at least six months and
presents data such as the top 50 positions broken down on a
monthly basis or the top 5 pages each month. Then, ascertain that
the company you are considering actually monitors these positions
or pages every month, and that the sample report they show you
includes findings and recommendations for the specific site. This
insures that the company will actively monitor and make
adjustments to their strategy on a continual basis rather than
simply gather statistics on your positions. You need a company
that is actively participant in your search engine marketing
campaign, not just an information gatherer.
Obviously, your finances have to figure into your choice of
company, but bear in mind that a search engine optimization
company is crucial the success of your marketing campaign. It is
not just a casual accessory. If you cannot afford a company that
will do a thorough and reliable job for your website, you might
consider waiting until you do have the finances in place.
If you have to find a company and can't wait for your finances to
catch up, you may be able to find an affordable company that will
also be able to supply quality, reliable work, such as a fairly
new company. Just remember that there are risks involved with
using a company without a proven track record - and that risk is
your money! Don't take that leap unless the company can supply you
with a least a few references.
References are the most reliable indicator of a good company.
Don't use a company that won't show your references because of any
reason, confidentiality included. Remember - even doctors will
provide references! The firm you choose should provide you with a
minimum of two references, one that is from the past, and one that
is current.
When you contact these references, be prepared to ask precise,
specific questions so that neither of your time is wasted. Ask
them what their experience was like with the company, such as
their availability to answer questions and deal with problems and
their ability to meet deadlines. Ask the reference to rate the
overall performance of the company.
Find out if the company requested that the reference make
significant changes to their web pages that affected the visitors
coming to their site. You are looking for a search engine
optimization company that can balance the needs of both search
engines and site visitors without compromising either.
The most essential question to ask is whether the work of the
search engine optimization company resulted in higher profits for
the reference. Without profits, it doesn't matter whether your
positions are at the top of the list or not.
Michael Rasmussen is a successful Internet Marketing Consultant
and author of many top-selling eBooks. Michael has been marketing
online since the early days and he knows what it takes to make
money and succeed online. Stop by his Web site and subscribe to
his Free monthly newsletter full strategies and techniques for
successful web site promotions that can help YOU!
Go to http://www.search-engines-revealed.com
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