Why optimize my site?
I'm sure you're aware that Googling is the new global pastime. People use search engines to find auto mechanics, doctors, even that ex-girlfriend who dumped them in high school. If you're a small business owner living in a metropolitan area, there are probably dozens of people searching for your products or services every day. And if you have an E-commerce site, there could be thousands of people searching for your products worldwide. Have you ever wondered what would happen to your site's traffic if it ranked at the top of Google's search results?
Imagine the Grand Coulee Dam exploding. It's something like that.
So how do you do it?
The first and often most complicated step is to choose the keywords you're going to target: What words would people type into search engines when they're looking for the products or services you offer? Then you choose the most popular keywords that have the least amount of competition from other websites.
Next, we make changes to your site that are barely noticeable to your visitors, but totally change the way search engines index your site. This might involve changing the title tags, changing or adding headings, adjusting the internal link structure, and, if necessary, weaving keywords gracefully into your body text. If your site is relatively simple, I'll do the changes myself. If it needs more tender loving care, I can collaborate with your site designer.
Finally, I help you build a link structure to your site that makes the search engines think your site is popular.
How do we communicate during the project?
I create an extranet for each of my clients. It has a detailed SEO report, including all the data I've gathered. I've worked hard to make it easy to read and occasionally entertaining--I'm pretty psyched about it. There's also a checklist to show what's been done and what's ahead.
If I'm the one making changes to your site, I'll post the revised site on the extranet too, so that we can discuss them before the site goes live.
Will it make my site look ugly?
No way. I can't stand spammy looking sites, and I'm sure neither can you. The changes I recommend typically range from barely noticeable to completely invisible.
How long before I see results?
This depends on the age of your site (newer sites take longer), the competitiveness of your business sector (competitive sectors take longer), and to some degree, the fickle whims of the search engine algorithms. It ranges from a couple weeks to two years, but most sites start ranking well within a year.
Why should I hire you? I get emails almost every day from people offering to do this kind of work.
You should be suspicious--there are a lot of hacks out there. Most SEO firms do a decent job of on-site optimization, but don't choose keywords wisely or create an effective link structure. I've mastered both these techniques.
I know that probably doesn't mean much to you, but you don't have to take my word for it--look at the websites on my Clients page. Their results speak for themselves.
Do you guarantee your work?
SEO is like providing a dating service. Your website is the hopeful single, and the search engines are your prospective matches. I can do all I can to help your website be attractive, but ultimately, it's still the search engine making the decision. So while I can't guarantee your results, I can say that search engines have gotten increasingly predictable over the years.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the complexity of your site, the amount of changes that need to be made, and the competitiveness of the sector. My base charge for a simple website targeting local search terms is $1200. Larger ecommerce websites, or sites targeting highly-competitive search terms, usually run between $2000 and $7,000.
See more at Pricing.