Most SEO consultants will tell you that search engine optimization tactics are not that difficult to implement. The art in SEO is in knowing which tactics are effective and which are appropriate to your particular market sector and developing a suitable strategy. For instance, a client in the education sector is not going to want to use the same SEO tactics as a client in the online gambling arena.
If an SEO consultant claims to hold some hidden secrets then you should be extremely wary since the only people who know the true secrets to Google are Google engineers. All of the information that SEO consultants use is already out there on the web and readily available. Some may keep the knowledge gained from surveys and tests to themselves but the point is anyone can carry out those same tests and draw the same conclusions.
So why pay for an SEO consultant if the information is already out there? Because they have spent years sifting through the misinformation, performing tests, reverse engineering Google’s algorithms and learning who to listen to in the industry and who to ignore, so you don’t have to. And there is a heck of a lot of misinformation out there.
While a good SEO consultant will create a bespoke SEO strategy tailored around your individual business goals, objectives and sector they will still, generally, follow a strategy template. The SEO strategy template I and many others use is as follows:
Understanding the clients business
Before any work can commence the clients’ business goals, objectives and market sector must be understood. A fact finding process is undertaken to establish how many sales leads or enquiries the client needs from the website, what skills the client has, have there been any SEO efforts in the past and if any obstacles exist. The SEO consultant will ensure that the client understands all stages of the project life-cycle.
Market research
As with any business, you need to perform market research to establish what the demand is and if the costs and returns stack up. In SEO this takes the form of keyword research and competitor analysis to establish potential market share and how much investment will be required to achieve business objectives.
SEO audit and recommendations
Deep analysis of the key elements of the clients’ website is performed and recommendations made for changes necessary for the website to be able to fulfil the clients objectives. A comprehensive strategy is developed before moving on to the implementation stage.
Implementation
This stage involves making the actual physical changes to the site. The SEO consultant overseas this stage, providing guidance and support to the development team throughout the process and verifying that the recommendations have been implemented correctly.
Initial link building
Search engines such as Google typically find a new website through links from other websites so search engine submission is no longer a requirement, however, there are high quality directories that can boost rankings and send targeted traffic. The SEO consultant will research the best channels and recommend these to the client.
Ongoing
Optimization, by definition is an ongoing process. Benchmarks are set and website statistics continually monitored to measure progress. The SEO consultant will leverage knowledge gained from statistical analysis and feed that knowledge back into the campaign, continually improving performance.
If you do not continually optimize then Google may think your website is dormant and/or no longer relevant and rankings will begin to drop off. Further, if your competitors are active and you sit on your laurels then they will continue to rise in the rankings, pushing you further down.
In summary
Don’t let an SEO consultant try and tell you they have some special secret. Good SEO consultant simply follow best practice, carry out extensive research and report their findings.
Never enter into a campaign without doing your research and developing a solid strategy first. Failing to do this could prove costly since, just as changes take a lot of time to be picked up by Google, undoing bad changes and then remedying those changes takes even longer and in the meantime you will be losing business and your competitors enjoying your profits.
Understand that SEO is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and it takes time to realize results. However, when those results come, SEO is bar far the most cost effective form of advertising, second only to word-of-mouth. Why do you think more is currently being spent on online marketing than TV, Radio or Print advertising?
If an SEO consultant claims to hold some hidden secrets then you should be extremely wary since the only people who know the true secrets to Google are Google engineers. All of the information that SEO consultants use is already out there on the web and readily available. Some may keep the knowledge gained from surveys and tests to themselves but the point is anyone can carry out those same tests and draw the same conclusions.
So why pay for an SEO consultant if the information is already out there? Because they have spent years sifting through the misinformation, performing tests, reverse engineering Google’s algorithms and learning who to listen to in the industry and who to ignore, so you don’t have to. And there is a heck of a lot of misinformation out there.
While a good SEO consultant will create a bespoke SEO strategy tailored around your individual business goals, objectives and sector they will still, generally, follow a strategy template. The SEO strategy template I and many others use is as follows:
Understanding the clients business
Before any work can commence the clients’ business goals, objectives and market sector must be understood. A fact finding process is undertaken to establish how many sales leads or enquiries the client needs from the website, what skills the client has, have there been any SEO efforts in the past and if any obstacles exist. The SEO consultant will ensure that the client understands all stages of the project life-cycle.
Market research
As with any business, you need to perform market research to establish what the demand is and if the costs and returns stack up. In SEO this takes the form of keyword research and competitor analysis to establish potential market share and how much investment will be required to achieve business objectives.
SEO audit and recommendations
Deep analysis of the key elements of the clients’ website is performed and recommendations made for changes necessary for the website to be able to fulfil the clients objectives. A comprehensive strategy is developed before moving on to the implementation stage.
Implementation
This stage involves making the actual physical changes to the site. The SEO consultant overseas this stage, providing guidance and support to the development team throughout the process and verifying that the recommendations have been implemented correctly.
Initial link building
Search engines such as Google typically find a new website through links from other websites so search engine submission is no longer a requirement, however, there are high quality directories that can boost rankings and send targeted traffic. The SEO consultant will research the best channels and recommend these to the client.
Ongoing
Optimization, by definition is an ongoing process. Benchmarks are set and website statistics continually monitored to measure progress. The SEO consultant will leverage knowledge gained from statistical analysis and feed that knowledge back into the campaign, continually improving performance.
If you do not continually optimize then Google may think your website is dormant and/or no longer relevant and rankings will begin to drop off. Further, if your competitors are active and you sit on your laurels then they will continue to rise in the rankings, pushing you further down.
In summary
Don’t let an SEO consultant try and tell you they have some special secret. Good SEO consultant simply follow best practice, carry out extensive research and report their findings.
Never enter into a campaign without doing your research and developing a solid strategy first. Failing to do this could prove costly since, just as changes take a lot of time to be picked up by Google, undoing bad changes and then remedying those changes takes even longer and in the meantime you will be losing business and your competitors enjoying your profits.
Understand that SEO is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and it takes time to realize results. However, when those results come, SEO is bar far the most cost effective form of advertising, second only to word-of-mouth. Why do you think more is currently being spent on online marketing than TV, Radio or Print advertising?
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