Every business owner can agree that having a website is a must in today’s business

world.  No website is like not having a business card.  It is just something that a

potential customer expects to see.  However, having a website is not enough.  What good

is a website that no one sees or can find?

 

Even if your site comes up when someone is looking for your business by name, that is

only a tiny fraction of what your website can do for you.  Suppose you sell “widgets”

and when someone goes to Google and looks up “where to buy widgets”, your website should

be there.  If it is not, your competition is going to get the sale.

This is where SEO comes into play.  You must make Google and the other search engines

realize that your site is relavant for someone looking to buy widgets.

SEO is not an exact science, however there are standard practices that all reputable SEO

firms with use.  It’s the little things that seperate a good quality SEO company from a

“fly-by-night” company that will take your money, move some words around on your site

and you will never hear from them again.  The best way that I have found to see if an

SEO company knows what they are doing is to do some Google searches and see where their

website is.  If you look up “SEO companies” in your area and don’t see their website on

the first page, that may be a red flag!  That is not to say that only reputable

companies that know what they are doing are only on the first page, but it may be

something to take into consideration.

As far as price goes, it’s just like anything else, see what type of return you would

need on your investment in SEO to make it worth your while.  Also, remember that true

SEO takes time!  Any company that says they can get you to the first page by next month,

beware!  I have seen that happen but it is not something that anyone can claim to be

able to do before touching your website.  Most SEO company will have a monthly fee

that they charge, rightfully so since SEO is an on-going endevour.  So figure this into

your return on investment calculations.

SEO can be extremely profitable if done by an expert with a proven track record, or can

be a very costly mistake if the right SEO company is not chosen.