When it comes to internet marketing, the first choice is often the hardest – to use an SEO firm or DIY?
Search Engine Ranking Matters Because If it Can’t be Found, It Can’t be Bought
No matter how great your product is or how user friendly your site, if customers can’t find you then to them, you don’t exist.
63% of people never search past the first page. Most of those 63% never look any further than the top 3 results. With more business being done online, your website and your search engine ranking are key to your business thriving, not just surviving. You’ll find a lot of conflicting advice online on how to improve your rankings but the very first decision you need to make is clear: get a specialist SEO Firm or DIY?
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Hire a specialist SEO firm to do the work for you.
Use an SEO firm that is happy to educate you on what they’re doing and why. Look for an organisation that is happy to answer questions rather than trying to shut them down. You need an SEO company that is consultative and open.
Beware of any company offering guaranteed page 1 ranking – they’re usually going to rank you for a low volume search term – or worse, a new term they’ve made up which won’t actually drive any business your way. Beware of lock in contracts and actively avoid any company that claims to have an ‘inside track’ or a ‘special relationship’ with any search engine company.
As with anything else, make sure that you shop around; a cheap price doesn’t always mean substandard service but be cautious of companies who offer ‘pay on achievement’ style deals; rightly or wrongly, these kinds of ‘bargains’ are most often associated with less ethical SEO firms and you may find yourself paying more in the long run.
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DIY your SEO.
Read everything you can find on SEO. I know when you own your own business you do long hours – you finally close for the day and you get to go home and do book work, or read industry journals, or try to write something for your website or social media page but if you plan to DIY, you need to invest time into reading everything you can on SEO. You’re going to read a lot of conflicting advice. You’re going to be confused by poorly written articles. You’re going to start drinking lots of coffee.
But in amongst all of the fluff, you’re going to find tools and techniques that work. Try to remember that when it comes it SEO there is no right or wrong, there are just techniques and some work better than others for you and your business. No one knows exactly how the search engine algorithms work, most SEO is the result of studying the often limited information that the Search Engine companies release, then making educated guesses and running experiments. Don’t be afraid to run your own experiments to see what works best for your industry. Commit to spending a set amount of time each week on your SEO, whether that’s reading articles, creating content or doing keyword research, consistency is key.
SEO is not a quick fix. Even when you know what you’re doing, it can take months of painstaking work to get to where you’re going. The most important thing to do, is start.
Not sure if you want to hire an SEO firm or DIY? Want some more info on what Agile SEO can offer? Contact us today to find out how we can help you grow your business!