SEO

Organic results are located in the main space of the search engine results page, and the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) that helps place sites there has always been a fundamental goal on initial website construction.  Web designers put “meta tags, alt tags, Meta names, content, etc.,” into the site during construction in hopes of making the site show up in the results page in any given engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing).  It’s always been a game with the web site designers jockeying for the top position on a few different keyword terms.    SEO was dubbed by designers as “Free area of Google!”  Make no mistake about it, SEO is not free  Though Google doesn’t charge for your listings, the costs associated with your time or a web designers time render “free” fairly expensive..

SEO Pros

The major advantages to SEO are: Organic listings are generally considered “Trusted,” or at the very least unbiased.  In addition to that, there is NO dollar figure assigned to the click value so it can pull more traffic without shutting down. And the last major benefit is that all costs should be paid up front. Lots of debate has ensued about monthly SEO fees, however most SEO companies charge a one time fee. Some sites require an abundance of attention and could make a monthly fee necessary.

 

[one_half] Make sure when you hire an SEO firm that you do some work on the front end so you can make sure that progress is being made.  One of the best ways to find out how your current SEO is, is to use the Web site grader from hubspot. Get a score before you employ an SEO firm (keep the data private), and then periodically recheck the site score to make sure improvement is being made. If no improvement is being made, you might consult with another agency to complete the project. [/one_half] [one_half_last]Website Grader
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If you need the name of a company that we have worked with, who provides SEO,  please feel free to call or email Chris using the form on the right side of the page.

Cons to SEO

You have little or no control over the placement of the listing, if it even shows up. The content that each spider or robot looks at can vary greatly from one engine to the other, thus stripping away your control of the optimization process, not to mention that sometimes site design (flash sites) can cause robots not to follow the content correctly.

In November 2010, Google threw another wrench into the SEO process.  Google changed the layout of the 1st page of search results in any given search.  Google has lessened the amount of SEO (organic) locations available on the first page and replaced the listings with Map locations, also known as “Google Places.”

Google Screen shot prior to change. Google SRP after change.

Call Chris today at 720.427.3707 to get all of your questions answered, or to set up an appointment.