Date: 15th January 2010
Title: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) becoming a minefield
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is hot topic in currently a very hot topic in the web design industry. In my opinion it is becoming a real minefield for the consumer to find a company that will actually do what they say they will.
It has got that way because of too many cowboys out there that really don't know what they are doing and are making ridiculous promises and over selling to the client when signing them up for SEO contracts.
In the same way that most other company owners get these "SEO" sales people ringing to try and sell there services. Get this, so do we! This goes to prove if nothing else that these people clearly don't know what they are doing.
The call goes something like this:
"Hello Mr Gilbert, I am calling from SEO COMPANY. We couldn't find you on the internet so I am ringing to increase your ranking on the search engines in order to get you more customers" SEO Sales Person.
"Ok, What are you typing in to find us?" Shaun Gilbert
"SLIGHT PAUSE, Umm.. well I don't have that information to hand right now, but, our expert SEO consultants will optimise your website so that it is found by prospective customers." SEO Sales Person.
If you haven't figured it out yet then the first thing that is wrong with this phone call is the sales person could have typed in "a bag of chips" to try and find us. At the time of writing we are number 1 on google for among other things: "web design huddersfield" and "web design west yorkshire".
So yes, you might have guessed it - don't buy SEO over the phone from a sales person. Even if they produce aload of case studies on companies that they have got fantastic results for, chances are that these companies represent a small percentage of there clients. Find a reputable local company that will sit down and chat face to face and have a small client base with no company in the same industry as you.
Most web design companies realising how lucrative SEO can be, now offer online marketing as an additional service when you have a website designed, the majority of which don't do anything more than to slightly tweak your website and submit you to google.
Nearly every initial client meeting that we go to I find myself dispelling myths about seo that another company has promised to the client.
There can be no guarentee's on how long it will take to get a client a top 10 listing on google. We usually do research into who searches for what in your target market and then quote based on how competitive the keywords/phrases that you will want to use in your online marketing strategy are.
We believe that the most cost effective marketing tool available for most companies is online marketing, selecting the right company to market you online is extremely difficult. They need to know your company and target market extremely well in order to create a successful strategy.
Shaun Gilbert, Director - Born Ready Design & Marketing
