Helping People Find Your Site Through Search Engines
If you found my website by doing a search on a search engine, then you've already learned that I know how to help people find websites so I won't waste our time trying to convince you that I can do it. Also, if you're reading this page, you probably realize your site needs some help. I'll simply explain why you should be concerned about this avenue of marketing and what you shouldn't be worried about.
Optimization seems to be the thing everybody wants but nobody wants to pay for. I feel this is the case because I don't think they realize the amount of effort, knowledge, and time that goes into this process. I'll tell you right now, these services aren't cheap, but there is a reason why.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a Process
One could say that optimizing a website is an iterative process. As such, time is needed to not only get the site optimized, but also for the engines to respond to the efforts made, at least initially. Once everything is set up and rankings are realized, focus can be placed on adding new pages - and avenues of traffic for that matter - to the site. But a question many of you may be asking is what is search engine optimization?
What is(n't) SEO
Optimizing a website does not mean following a set of rules or directions like a recipe in order to get search engines to rank your site higher. Rather, I like to describe it as a way to structure a website so that search engines can easily decide where to rank it based on its value to the visitor. What that means is a good site with good, helpful content can be optimized better than a site that is posting the same content, in the same way, as everyone else or one that is written poorly and has no purpose geared toward the visitor. You would be surprised at how many people build websites without ever thinking about what the purpose of the site is. All they know is that they want to use it to make money. I agree that websites are only an investment if they produce a return. But think about this, nobody likes throwing money away. So, your site visitor needs to receive something for what they pay. I'm not just talking about money. Every second someone is on your website they are paying you time, if they don't feel like it is a good investment, they'll leave and go somewhere else. So the challenge then is to have a site that visitors like to visit and stay on. What should be the focus of the website?
The Focus of Search Engine Optimization
When optimizing a website, it is imperative that your primary focus be on the visitors of your website not the search engines. Search engines are getting harder and harder to "trick" and they don't value sites that seem to be trying to do it. That being said, each page of the site should have a purpose and that purpose should not be 'to rank higher in the search engines'. It should be 'to fill this specific need for my site visitors'.
These things combined make SEO a talent, skill, or art, whatever you want to call it. Many people think that they can just read a few rules and spend about an hour 'optimizing' a website - which often times becomes search engine 'spamming' - and they are done. That's not it at all. As mentioned at the beginning, it takes time, effort, and knowledge. If done right, with the proper motive, it can help your site. If done incorrectly or with the wrong focus, it can be frustrating.
I would be glad to meet with you for a consultation. I can look at your site and I'll tell you if I think there is anything I can do to help you. Feel free to contact me