If you are in the process of looking into promoting your website, you will probably have heard so much about SEO you feel like crying. After all, search engine optimization is the best way of promoting your Web site online… or is it? We all hear so much about SEO that people inevitably wonder if it is as necessary as the experts say, especially when it seems like there is a perfectly viable alternative.
SEO is all about getting your website to the top of rankings with search engines, particular the big three of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft’s new Bing. With good SEO, you increase the visibility of your website when people search for a company or service like your own, and this in turn translates to good customer potential. Excellent, that’s the sales pitch. But, one cannot help but wonder, what about sponsored links? After all, one can instead pay Google, Yahoo, Bing or any other search engine to feature your website right at the top of their search results. Doesn’t that do the same job – in fact, doesn’t that do the same job more effectively?
On the outside, it’s easy to see why people think that SEO and sponsored links are just versions of the same thing. Both cost money, both get your website to the top of search rankings. So surely, one must surmise, they have the same effect. What’s more, one doesn’t need to engage a company to do work for you for a sponsored link; you can do it and pay it yourself.
It’s tempting, it must be said, and sponsored links do result in a good success rate. No one is going to claim they are a thing of the devil, but it should be stated that these are not the answer. Paying for links with search engines does have considerable drawbacks.
Most sponsored links are done on a by-click basis, meaning that when someone clicks the link, you will pay a nominated fee for that visit. This can seem less expensive than a good SEO package, yet it does have a drawback. What if, for example, a user clicks your link with no real interest in purchasing? They might just be browsing or, worse yet, doing market research for a business similar to yours – and you’ve had to pay for the privilege! With SEO, you will rank normally and will not pay for clicks, so any searches of this type will have a null effect on your business.
The most important consideration, however, is appearance. Many internet users distrust paid links, for various reasons. Some even have their web browser configured so they can be blocked, so your sponsored link would not even appear to those users – yet one produced due to thorough SEO and a normal ranking would. Strike two.
The third problem with sponsored links is that anyone can get one, whereas good SEO and normal rankings are far more difficult. Oddly but truthfully, this means people are more likely to trust a normal link achieved with good SEO. That’s three strikes! In sponsored links vs SEO, SEO wins every time.
When you are starting a business, service or trying to sell a product, you need to be able to outsource tasks that you yourself are not an expert in. Any working business is a testament to teamwork, with different knowledge bases coming together to create something special. In the offline world, there are tried and tested means of outsourcing, including the ever reliable word of mouth. Online, however, that can be a little trickier.
For any new Web entrepreneur – or even if you’re just using the Internet to sell an existing business – finding people to trust is difficult. There is a standard feeling of distrust on the internet in general, with the anonymity factor a huge problem for many employees. We don’t know that someone is what they say they are or can do what they say they do, and this creates a problem. This is all the more true when we need to outsource a service like SEO, which is solely web-based, and you’re unlikely to find SEO specialists’ in traditional, local offline ways.
When it is something as crucial as choosing an SEO company, you need to know you have made the right choice. SEO is essential to the success of any online business, as good SEO means your Web site will appear in search rankings and this boost your potential customer base. Considering this is such an important facet of online marketing, it seems all the more daunting to have to outsource to someone you have never met.
An important thing to remember is that while you may not be able to meet a company or service provider in person, on the Internet reputation still counts. All SEO service Web sites should have a testimonials section, preferably with links for the websites they have worked on. Look through these and check the websites themselves; perhaps even go to Google and see how well the Web site appears.
If you are looking to recruit off industry forums, the feedback scale is even easier to understand. Most forums will have a rating of some kind, so check it. Does this person have a reputation of providing a good service, being good to worth with etcetera? This is the Internet version of word of mouth, and is as trustworthy as its offline cousin.
On a similar note, check the SEO company you are considering working via search engines, such as Google and Yahoo!. Online, if someone has had a bad experience with a company, they will generally write a dissatisfied rant somewhere which you can find with a simple search engine reference on the company name. Anything particularly bad will be revealed in the first page of Google or Yahoo!, so you should be able to spot red flags.
When you have made these basic background checks, look at the company website or sales page itself. Is it impressive? Does it answer your questions? If the answer is yes, proceed into dialogue with the company. Ensure they lay out the terms of service fully and so you understand everything, and you have a workable agreement on the fee. By proceeding carefully and cautiously when it comes to selecting an SEO company, there is no reason anything will go any worse than it would offline.
