If you have SEO on your mind and are looking for an SEO professional then it is crucial to ensure that you get the correct solution, the first time.
Like any service enquiry, you should a) communicate clearly what you need and b) ensure that you understand what services are being offered, and what the expected results are going to be for the price. In short you should ensure that both parties have the same expectations. "Website top of Google" is a vague comment to be made by either yourself or your supplier. "To rank on the first page of the Google search results for phrase X" is much better: it is very clear and can form an excellent objective for the SEO work about to be embarked on. But you have to be careful here too: if your potential SEO professional starts making guarantees about Google rankings, then that is not good. Google itself explains that no one can guarantee rankings in the Google search results.
Identifying the keywords for which you want your website to rank in the Google search results is essential and this list should be agreed by both parties. It is easier to get a website ranking well on Google for more specific, targeted phrases (e.g. "seo sunshine coast") than more common phrases (such as "SEO"). As well as this there are a number of technical elements about your site that make your web site more "friendly" to Google, and simpler for your SEO supplier to optimise. These are things that should be explained and understood prior to getting started with the search engine optimisation of your website. Here's what I suggest you consider and discuss with potential SEO suppliers, during those important discussion stages.
What you need to ask your SEO supplier
You will want to ensure that you hire an ethical SEO Expert who will undertake only proper and above board SEO work on your website. Unethical or bad SEO work, where efforts are made to unnaturally or falsely increase the success of your website on the Google search results and are without a doubt frowned upon by Google resulting in penalties, or worst-case-scenario, being banned from Google. This is really difficult to recover from and in worst cases the domain name has to be abandoned. Unethical practices include buying link, participating in link farms, cloaking domain names, making text on your web pages visible to Google only and creating other content for Google only, and not humans.
As with providers of any service you should ask your potential SEO provider for references. Look for SEO testimonials on their site and check them, and actually ring these clients and verify the success of the work that your potential provider has done. Ask your provider for a list of activities they will undertake as part of the SEO of your site and check that no unethical activities are included. Here's a quick list. If in doubt ask me. If they subscribe to an SEO code of ethics of some kind, then that is preferable as well.
Discussion along these lines between you and your SEO Specialist prior to undertaking SEO work can really help to ensure the smooth running of your SEO programme, and the accomplishment of agreed goals. Regular progress updates, or questions from your SEO supplier contribute to your understanding of the work achieved and is valuable, as is your considered response to questions and feedback when sought. An effective SEO solution is one where the SEO supplier and the client work together.
How you can help your SEO Supplier
Do you know what the phrases you need to rank highly on Google for are? Or do you need your SEO specialist to find this out for you? Your SEO professional will have a number of specialised tools available which allow him or her to research what keyphrases your target market in fact uses on search engines to find your services and products. These phrases often differ from the ones you might intuitively think of, because you are thinking from your own perspective as the seller, you naturally use language and jargon related to your industry, and generally it can be difficult for you to really put yourself in the shoes of your prospective customer.
Your SEO professional will welcome your thoughts on what keyphrases to start with, and will be able to research and establish a pool of keywords for which you need your web site to rank well on Google. Also consider your competitors and see what keyphrases they use, or are found to be ranking well on Google for, and create a list. Provide these lists and ideas to your SEO supplier.
Describe your target market to your SEO Specialist. Who/what are they (demographics) and where are they (geographic targeting)? This will determine the terminology, grammar and phrases etc to be used on your website and the appropriate phrases to be included in the SEO (e.g. "optimised" in UK, Vs "optimized" in US). It will also help your SEO specialist when he or she comes to formally telling Google where to geographically target your website.
Like any service enquiry, you should a) communicate clearly what you need and b) ensure that you understand what services are being offered, and what the expected results are going to be for the price. In short you should ensure that both parties have the same expectations. "Website top of Google" is a vague comment to be made by either yourself or your supplier. "To rank on the first page of the Google search results for phrase X" is much better: it is very clear and can form an excellent objective for the SEO work about to be embarked on. But you have to be careful here too: if your potential SEO professional starts making guarantees about Google rankings, then that is not good. Google itself explains that no one can guarantee rankings in the Google search results.
Identifying the keywords for which you want your website to rank in the Google search results is essential and this list should be agreed by both parties. It is easier to get a website ranking well on Google for more specific, targeted phrases (e.g. "seo sunshine coast") than more common phrases (such as "SEO"). As well as this there are a number of technical elements about your site that make your web site more "friendly" to Google, and simpler for your SEO supplier to optimise. These are things that should be explained and understood prior to getting started with the search engine optimisation of your website. Here's what I suggest you consider and discuss with potential SEO suppliers, during those important discussion stages.
What you need to ask your SEO supplier
You will want to ensure that you hire an ethical SEO Expert who will undertake only proper and above board SEO work on your website. Unethical or bad SEO work, where efforts are made to unnaturally or falsely increase the success of your website on the Google search results and are without a doubt frowned upon by Google resulting in penalties, or worst-case-scenario, being banned from Google. This is really difficult to recover from and in worst cases the domain name has to be abandoned. Unethical practices include buying link, participating in link farms, cloaking domain names, making text on your web pages visible to Google only and creating other content for Google only, and not humans.
As with providers of any service you should ask your potential SEO provider for references. Look for SEO testimonials on their site and check them, and actually ring these clients and verify the success of the work that your potential provider has done. Ask your provider for a list of activities they will undertake as part of the SEO of your site and check that no unethical activities are included. Here's a quick list. If in doubt ask me. If they subscribe to an SEO code of ethics of some kind, then that is preferable as well.
Discussion along these lines between you and your SEO Specialist prior to undertaking SEO work can really help to ensure the smooth running of your SEO programme, and the accomplishment of agreed goals. Regular progress updates, or questions from your SEO supplier contribute to your understanding of the work achieved and is valuable, as is your considered response to questions and feedback when sought. An effective SEO solution is one where the SEO supplier and the client work together.
How you can help your SEO Supplier
Do you know what the phrases you need to rank highly on Google for are? Or do you need your SEO specialist to find this out for you? Your SEO professional will have a number of specialised tools available which allow him or her to research what keyphrases your target market in fact uses on search engines to find your services and products. These phrases often differ from the ones you might intuitively think of, because you are thinking from your own perspective as the seller, you naturally use language and jargon related to your industry, and generally it can be difficult for you to really put yourself in the shoes of your prospective customer.
Your SEO professional will welcome your thoughts on what keyphrases to start with, and will be able to research and establish a pool of keywords for which you need your web site to rank well on Google. Also consider your competitors and see what keyphrases they use, or are found to be ranking well on Google for, and create a list. Provide these lists and ideas to your SEO supplier.
Describe your target market to your SEO Specialist. Who/what are they (demographics) and where are they (geographic targeting)? This will determine the terminology, grammar and phrases etc to be used on your website and the appropriate phrases to be included in the SEO (e.g. "optimised" in UK, Vs "optimized" in US). It will also help your SEO specialist when he or she comes to formally telling Google where to geographically target your website.
About the Author:
Ashley Bryan is a highly experienced SEO Consultant providing SEO, Web Marketing and SEO Training services from Australia.
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