In house SEO versus hiring an SEO company

By: Chris Diprose

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is very much a buzz phrase. Often companies looking to learn more about what SEO are baffled at how this new field of marketing can gain them an edge. Well it has been proven time and time again that it definitely can gain an edge over your competition. The problem a business has to assess is whether they should employ a specialist SEO Company or use existing resources within their respective IT Departments or Do It Yourself. This article explores the advantages and disadvantages of each.

In-house & Do It YourselfAdvantages: You have complete control. You can change things instantly. You will learn about the inner working of your website and also learn more about the Internet and how search engines work.

Disadvantages: It is a specialized field and attempting to do it delays the inevitable and allows your competition to gain an edge on you; also you may end up with more problems in the future by getting it wrong. You will need to have an intimate knowledge of your website, how it works, HTML and possibly any scripting languages that the website uses, like PHP. Also, you will need to buy some commercial tools to use, like WordTracker, WebPosition and SEO Elite. WordTracker allows you to effectively research Keywords, WebPosition allows you to track your websites ranking in the search results for given keyword phrases and SEO Elite allows you to track all links to your website. Purchasing these three necessary pieces of software will cost you around USD$900. Also, you will need to have a lot of time to read about SEO, take online courses, like StomperNet, listen to podcasts, like MrSEO podcast and read as much SEO material as you possibly can. For the StomperNet course you are looking at about USD$3000 and miscellaneous of books is likely to run up to another USD$1000. Total for In-house DIY, roughly USD$1500 to USD$4900. Not being experienced enough to know when and what to change. Not knowing how to link build effectively. Not having any time to study and learn enough to make the correct changes and modifications to your website - estimated at about 200 hours of study, learning and analyzing. As SEO takes time to see any results in the search engines it is important to not only learn the required knowledge to implement SEO but also give yourself the time to make tweaks and ongoing analysis. So to setup and configure an average website with 10 static pages it will take you probably 2 days and ongoing link building will be many, many countless days. Also, you need to take your time so that you do not overdo your SEO, spamming and stuffing keywords into pages as this can be as detrimental as not doing anything to the website in the first place.

Hiring an SEO CompanyAdvantages : You don’t have to use internal staff resources or alter the focus of your business. Hiring a specialized online marketing and SEO Company will mean you have instant access to experts in the field who have a wealth of knowledge and resources. An SEO Company will know the lay of the land without you having to learn what they already know to expert levels. The Online Marketing Company will be your best partner in working towards achieving your online Internet marketing objectives.

Disadvantages: Using an Expert SEO Company will cost you money. It is important to realize that even though you have hired a firm to implement your Search Engine Optimisation you will still need to work in consultation with them in order to market your website online correctly - explaining your internet marketing goals, objectives, deadlines and budgets. Do your research, look at the SEO Firm and its portfolio, case studies and history of successes, ensure it is a reputable firm and don't be scared to ask questions.

What to Look for in an SEO CompanyA decent and reliable SEO company will have a good reputation and a strong presence within the Online Marketing and SEO industry. When you start, I suggest searching in Google for "Online Marketing" or "SEO" within your country or region. Look at the potential SEO firm’s websites, their portfolios and take some notes. Give them a call and see if you can arrange a meeting at their office and in person to discuss details and gather more information. Discuss your situation and how you can best achieve your goals. Take note of their professional nature, their history, case studies and vision for your online presence and also ensure that you are happy with the professional and personal relationship you have with the company representatives as this will be an ongoing one.

While the advantages and disadvantages of optimizing your own website and employing an SEO Company are diverse I think it important to point out that no matter how good you think you are an SEO firm will always be better at SEO. So if you really want to see results, you have very little time then hiring an SEO company is the only way to go. If you have time and some website expertise then you may be willing to put in the time and try doing it yourself. My only thought on this is that you wouldn't hire a plumber to fix a problem with your car.

When all is said and done, good Search Engine Optimisation will get your website results. It is important to make sure you are making the right decisions in your online marketing as this may well be the lifeblood of your business and is certainly an effective way to promote your business and generate sales leads.

Article Source: http://www.superfeature.com

For the best in Search Engine Optimisation and SEO contact Kanga Internet Internet Online Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation SEO Experts. Experts in Internet Marketing and SEO in Melbourne, Australia.

How to Optimize Your Web Site for High Search Engine Results

By Sean R Mize


There are a number of very important steps that you can take in order to optimize your website for high search engine results. In this section of this ebook you are presented with some of the more significant methods you can employ to enhance the ranking of your website in search engine results.

First of all, when it comes to building your website in the first instance, you need to include appropriate keyword enriched content on the pages of your website themselves. In this regard, you need to pay particular attention to the homepage to ensure that your homepage does consider an appropriate mix of keyword enriched content.

Second, when it comes to enhancing your search engine ranking of your website, you also need to appropriately incorporate HTML meta-tags on the pages of your website. These meta-tags are extremely useful in enhancing the ranking of your website on search engines.

Third, another step that you can take at your website to enhance the search engine rankings of your website is to incorporate a selection of keyword enriched articles that can be included and incorporated into your website venue.

By utilizing these three important strategies you will be well on your way to ensuring that your website contains elements that will work to enhance the ranking of your website on different search engines.

Off page optimization is crucial to ensuring that your website has the best visibility and has the best chance for an ever increasing stream of traffic to your website venue. In the final analysis, if your Internet based business enterprise is to survive let alone to thrive; you must ensure that you have a steady and increasing stream of traffic to your Internet website venue.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to SEO success, ‘Secrets of SEO‘

Download it free here: SEO Secrets

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize

The Art Of Selecting Keywords For Your Small Business Website

By: Aubrey Jones

One of the most important aspects of search engine optimization (SEO) is the proper selection of keywords or key phrases. Keywords are the terms that searchers enter when using search engines like Google or Yahoo. For instance, a user looking for someone to help them build a small business website might enter terms like ‘website design’ or ‘small business website’ into the search box. The search engines use those terms to find ‘relevant’ web pages.

What makes a page relevant to any particular search is the topic of another discussion, but it is clear that the presence of related keywords on a webpage create a high degree of relevance. So in the search for help building a small business website, search engines will be looking for web pages that contain the specific search terms as well as other information that is relevant to the same term.

Selecting the proper keywords for your website is crucial to making sure your pages are returned when searchers are looking for the products, services or information you are providing. While there is certainly a lot of information available about how to select keywords, in reality, keyword selection is as much art as it is science. It is a mix of ratios, search probabilities and good detective work to figure out what searches will be looking for, and how the search engines will relate you webpage to their searches.

In general, you can think of keywords as mini ads for your website. Make you ads to generic and searches, and search engines, may overlook the specific thing they are searching for. You can think of keywords as falling into three basic categories: Niche, Primary and Secondary.

Niche keywords are very specific and may result in a low volume of searches but a higher listing in search results. For instance, a site that sells SEO services may focus on the keyword phrase ‘increase ExactSeek page rank.’ For searchers who are knowledgeable enough to understand this term and are targeting the ExactSeek search engine there is a high chance your site will show up in a search for ‘Increase my page rank on ExactSeek.’ However, there will be less people searching for this phrase then say, ‘get better search engine rankings’ or ‘get better search results on Yahoo.’ The up side with niche keywords is that there is less competition for the keyword.

Primary keywords are those that appear to be a good balance between volume of search and competitive use. These are the words you should consider focusing your SEO efforts on. These words have good amounts of search volume because they are relatively generic, however they are a good match for your website’s content. These keywords do have competitors, but there is likely enough search volume to generate traffic for your site. A page optimized on the keyword ‘non-profit website design’ would be relevant to a good number of related searches but would have less competition than a page optimized for ‘website design.’

Secondary keywords provide a good volume of searches but have a higher level of competitors. An example is ‘website design.’ While there are lots of people searching for ‘website design’ there are millions and millions of competitors. Secondary keywords should not be ignored because of the potential volume, however, trying to optimize for such a generic term without other primary or niche keywords will likely not lead to much traffic.

In summary, ideal keywords receive a reasonable number of searches in major or niche search engines, are relevant to your site’s content and are not heavily used by competitors. Keywords that have below average search volumes still may be excellent choices because they may be very relevant to your specific content and have limited competitors. Select multiple keywords for your site and consider using unique keywords for each page if the content is different.

Aubrey Jones is President and founder of Riverbank Consulting, Inc. Through Webs 4 Small Business he is able to bring SEO and other internet services to Small Business owners. He has been in the technology and internet industry for over 10 years building and managing large commercial internet services.

Article Source: http://www.superfeature.com/

For help selecting the right keywords for your small business website and other SEO needs visit: Webs 4 Small Business at http://www.webs4smb.com/ or Riverbank Consulting at http://www.riverbankconsulting.com/ Need Content for your Website? Visit http://www.instantwebsitecontent.info/

Search engine optimization (SEO) has become a necessity for websites

Search engine optimization (SEO) has become a necessity for websites looking to increase their market penetration. What makes search engine optimization such a challenging field is that search engines are making changes to their search algorithms on a regular basis. It takes considerable skill for any SEO firm to stay in tune with the latest SEO developments. If you are looking to increase the popularity of your website and want to hire a SEO firm to take care of the search engine optimization of your site, here are a few tips to help you choose a SEO firm.

One of the most important aspects of SEO is optimizing content, major search engines like Google and Yahoo are basically content centric. This means a website without optimized content stands a very poor chance of performing well with major search engines. The first thing you should look for in a SEO firm is if it is capable of offering content writing services for SEO. Almost all major SEO firms now offer content centric services like web content writing. Apart from optimizing content, it is also important to look for a SEO firm that can utilize other content centric avenues like article writing and press release writing.

Another thing to keep in mind while choosing a SEO firm is the services that are on offer. It pays to work with a SEO firm that can offer a complete portfolio of services from link building to specialized web designing services. SEO firms offer a wide variety of link building packages, depending on the page rank you are targeting you should be able to choose the link building package you want. If you are using a SEO firm for carrying out SEO of your site from the ground up, then the SEO firm will automatically choose the link building package your site needs.

It is also important to look at the credentials of the firm you are dealing with, most SEO firms make tall claims but have very little to back up their claims. Before you choose a SEO firm ask them for a website they have optimized, most SEO firms will show you a website they have optimized and the keywords for which it is ranking. In addition, also look at the ranking of the website of the SEO firm itself. If the SEO firm’s website is ranking well for popular keywords you can rest assured that your website’s optimization is in good hands.

Another important aspect to keep in mind is how up to date the services on offer are, if you have no idea which services to look for then a good indicator are services like XHTML validation and XHTML slice. In essence, what you are looking for is a SEO firm that can offer you as many or as few services as you require. In addition, a SEO firm should provide the latest search engine optimizations services in conjunction with tried and trusted search engine optimization services.

Finally, it is important to understand your own requirements before you hire a SEO firm. Most webmasters know what they are looking for and know which keywords they would like to rank for. It is important to have a list of keywords you want your website to rank for, it is equally important to understand that not all keywords are viable. For example, there is no point in optimizing a website for the keyword ‘water’ as beating wikipedia is not an easy task. It is important to be in constant contact with the SEO firm so you can better understand how the firm is working and what steps are being taken to improve your site’s ranking. Also be wary of SEO firms that offer overnight success.

Article Source: http://www.superfeature.com/

Rishi Modi is a certified SEO professional and a leading search engine optimization expert. Rishi is also CEO of http://www.submitedge.com/.