5 Tips for Outsourcing Search Engine Optimization

[VodaBot]

search engine optimization (SEO) is hotter than ever. If you want your online business to amount to anything these days, you have to utilize SEO techniques since most search engine users do not move beyond the first page of search results. However, not all SEO firms are created equal so when outsourcing SEO services, you need to take many factors into consideration.

Here are 5 essential tips to keep in mind when outsourcing SEO services.

1. Put together a list of qualified SEO firms. Don't settle for the first ones you find. Ask colleagues for recommendations and talk to previous customers at each firm to determine how proficient and experienced they are. Some important questions you should ask potential SEO firms include:

*How long have you been in business?
*Do you specialize in any specific industries/niches?
*What kind of rankings have you achieved for your past clients?
*Can I contact your previous clients?
*How long will it take to see results?

2. Put together a Request for Proposal (RFP) that outlines your goals and expectations. Contact the firms you are interested in by sending out this RFP. In your RFP, make sure to provide detailed information about your company, business goals, and competitors. Also request references, a payment schedule, and a detailed breakdown of costs. Include terms and agreements in the RFP as well.

3. Make sure that the SEO firm you hire provides a detailed plan about how they are going to optimize your site. Three important factors the plan should address are the searching habits of your target audience, the functionality and design of your website, and the algorithms used by the search engine to index websites. Ask each SEO firm how they plan to customize their approach based on your website's unique needs.

4. There are four categories of SEO services and they are website and competitors analysis, on page SEO, offsite SEO, and monthly reports. Learn what services each firm offers and figure out which ones are most necessary for your SEO campaign. Some important services that may or may not be offered depending on the SEO company in question include one way backlinks and content creation services. You may have to outsource these services separately or take care of them yourself.

5. SEO is complex so before you decide who to outsource to, find out what kind of customer support each firm offers. It's important to learn what customer support services are included in your package and which ones are charged as extra. Sometimes SEO companies may have a limit to the number of hours you can speak with a customer service representative on the telephone or the number of emails you can send. It's essential to have access to qualified technicians who are informed about your particular project and thus can answer any specific questions you may have.


Now that you are armed with this information, use plenty of care and caution when outsourcing SEO work. There are plenty of reputable SEO companies out there but you need to shop around before you make a decision. Choose a company that will accommodate your specific needs and customize a plan based on very careful considerations. Most importantly, talk to previous customers to be sure that the company you choose is reputable and worthwhile.

[Winntec]

Re: 5 Tips for Outsourcing Search Engine Optimization

I have very simple advice when it comes to so-called SEO companies - DON'T!
No-one can "guarantee" you first page rankings within a week, or a month, or in most cases a year - this is a hard course to run that will take time.
We are now ranked on the first page on Google organically for our 2 most important keywords (#2 for one of them) and for many minor ones - it's taken 2 years.
We flushed a ton of dollars at supposedly well regarded SEO companies and all did little to nothing so we did it ourselves - we spent the time to educate ourselves and started climbing the long road. We've kept out of Google jail and blacklists, we beat sitemaps and robots.txt to the ground, we've done careful linking (no link farms, no 3-way - only relevant quality links gathered individually one by one) and still a ton more to do there and we've worked with different designs and content.

There is no instant nirvana - you just have to put your head down and follow the simple advice that you can read for free on the many quality SEO newsletters that are out there. It's a constant process and the next SE algorithm could dump you down but in the words of the Tubthumping anthem "I get knocked down, but I get up again you're never gonna keep me down!"
That's SEO!
Keep at it

[Vasili]

Re: 5 Tips for Outsourcing Search Engine Optimization

I have very simple advice when it comes to so-called SEO companies - DON'T!
No-one can "guarantee" you first page rankings within a week, or a month, or in most cases a year - this is a hard course to run that will take time.
We are now ranked on the first page on Google organically for our 2 most important keywords (#2 for one of them) and for many minor ones - it's taken 2 years.
We flushed a ton of dollars at supposedly well regarded SEO companies and all did little to nothing so we did it ourselves - we spent the time to educate ourselves and started climbing the long road. We've kept out of Google jail and blacklists, we beat sitemaps and robots.txt to the ground, we've done careful linking (no link farms, no 3-way - only relevant quality links gathered individually one by one) and still a ton more to do there and we've worked with different designs and content.
There is no instant nirvana - you just have to put your head down and follow the simple advice that you can read for free on the many quality SEO newsletters that are out there. It's a constant process and the next SE algorithm could dump you down but in the words of the Tubthumping anthem "I get knocked down, but I get up again you're never gonna keep me down!" That's SEO! Keep at it

There is a very big difference in what constitutes professional SEO, and how companies differ in their approach and implementation. The primary difference is ethical, manual SEO (which is comprehensive and laborious) vs. basic SEO (which tends to focus on tweaking the ovious 7 Meta variables and whether or not they use any Black Hat methods "innocently" to any degree), and how much actual work is actually performed establishing accurate baselines and comprehensive metrics let alone the applications to the site itself: if you don't know the whole picture, whatever you do can be only half-rate work at best.

Optimization involves a LOT of hard, tedious work that follows an outline based on facts regarding the status of a particular website .... these facts come from using the proper tools in the right manner, and the data results are only as good as the tools themselves. For the most part, more than 93% of ALL SEO has been based on the superficial data and incredibly simplistic formas produced by tools that are so basic that they are a laughing matter altogether! It could be "a sign" that these tools are offered for FREE as well .... not only do they lure the masses into thinking that they have good data to work with, but that SEO isn't hard after all (especially when emboldened by the "good advice" that is so plentiful on the web, which usually comes from someone who is offering services on the side --- another demonstration of how 'Content is King' even yet, and creates traffic, even though it is highly naieve traffic). Currently, only 23% of all 'professional' SEO providers perform "ethical SEO" which accounts for the majority of all real efforts and out-performs ALL other SEO programs more than 200:1. And face it, it all comes down to performance, right?

Using comprehensive tools and paying attention to the deep data formulation will allow real data to be produced to establish a true baseline, from which gains can be measured after applying sustainable, ethical, solid Core SEO. Any true SEO will immediately demonstrate measurable gains, and will provide specific areas to improve in an ongoing SEO Matainence program (which should cost less than the initial Core SEO efforts, since there is only 10-15% on average changes indicated).

Taking 2 years to attain the gains you mention clearly illustrates the shortcomings of do-it-yourself SEO. You may have saved "tons of money" but at what real cost when you consider lost potential? How, then, do you evaluate ROI in your Business?

This is why it is critical to partner only with qualified SEO professionals, and to make the process less mysterious and to assure a greater degree of safeguarding, everyone should at least ask the right questions and get the right answers to discern amongst the 'pretenders' in the world of SEO.

Knowledge is Power, and Wisdom is knowing how to use that Knowledge!

20 Questions to Ask Potential SEO Providers

How To Spot and Avoid Black Hat SEO

Do-It-Yourself SEO Tool (lower right on page)

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[zoranp]

Re: 5 Tips for Outsourcing Search Engine Optimization

It might be a silly question but I still need to ask.
How much would approx. cost to get listed first on the first page? Are we talking in thousands of $$$?

Does vodahost/bluevoda provide optimization?

cheers