Small Business SEO - How SEO Consultancy Can Benefit Your Business

SEO For Small Businesses

How can an SEO consultant service benefit your company? For a small business SEO is marketing strategy that is absolutely essential. Why do I say this? It can be difficult to compete against the big, well-known players in your field of service. Very often a local SEO consultant service can benefit because of having local knowledge of how people are looking for services and purchasing goods.

Small Business SEO - It's Benefits.

Here is a list of reasons why small business SEO is necessary:

SEO is marketing, not web design. It's how your sell your products and servcies. There is no use having a slick looking website if nobody can find it. A professional SEO consultant will be able to get you a high Google ranking and keep you there. You need new customers coming to your business, which will in turn make you more money.

An SEO consultant will look after the whole process. Time is money, so with small business SEO you don't have to spend one minute away from your business.

Compared to old-fashioned advertising SEO small business services provide great value for money.

Results can be obtained relatively fast. A professional SEO service will usually be able to get you onto the first page of the search engines between 30 - 90 days.

Return on investment is fast. Small businesses who use SEO consultancy services usually make back their investment within 90 days and within 120 days they can even double and triple the investment
How Search Engine Optimization Works

Before you know what you are paying for, you really need to know how SEO works. Otherwise, you can be fooled into paying for something and for services that you don't really need or that aren't working. Here's the SEO basics:

Research your business related keywords that people are already using, but that have medium to low competition.

Audit your site to incorporate these keywords into your website in a natural way. A professional SEO consultant will never used tricks like 'keyword stuffing', which can have a negative effect on your overall Google ranking. The researched keywords will also be used in webpage descriptions and titles.

Write articles based on these keywords and have them published on line. These provide great exposure for your website.

Use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to increase exposure.

Build backlinks to your site.

Send you monthly reports so you know how your investment is being used.
Although the SEO basics seem simple, an SEO consultancy expert knows how to use them in the most effective ways together so that you get a higher Google ranking.

Free SEO Services

More often than not, a professional SEO consultancy service will offer some free incentives and will take a personal interest in making your business profitable. Because after all they need you to make money so that they can make money.

If you are going to hire an professional SEO consultant, make sure that you check his credentials carefully. Any affordable SEO service will offer you a free website audit report so that you can see what is needed and what you will be paying for. This audit also keeps the SEO services transparent. You know exactly what they are doing and what kind of results you can expect.

So before you hire any kind of SEO consultant ask for a free website audit.

Is a Professional SEO Consultant for You?

Many articles on SEO usually advice new webmasters to enlist the services of a professional SEO consultant in order to increase the chances of success. Unfortunately, this does not always apply to all cases. That being said, the following are a few things to consider before hiring a professional SEO consultant.

1. What type of domain do you own?
It will take a long time for a new domain to gain good SERP rankings on major search engines. This therefore means that you should invest in a professional SEO consultant if you want to expedite the ranking process. A reputable consultant will tell you that you must not have unrealistic expectations for a new domain because it usually takes the better part of a year before you start seeing the fruits of SEO. On the other hand, high organic traffic is more easily gained from aged domains. In that respect, you are better off buying an established domain over hiring a consultant if you want a lot of organic traffic for the product or service you are selling.

2. What kind of site do you own?
The kind of website you run will determine whether or not you need a professional SEO consultant. You should only hire a consultant if your website has a high probability of recouping this initial investment. Sites that fit these criteria are those in sales based niches, contain a lot of relevant content and have an old domain with quality backlinks. This is because the right reason for hiring a professional SEO consultant is to help in tapping into the full potential of your website and not to help you make money from any idea. In this case, a professional SEO consultant will help in the following:

Tracking down converting long tail keywords.
Developing content optimized for different search engines.
Creating a better link building strategy.
Using scripts to take advantage of traffic from all locations etc.
This therefore means that you should spend a lot of time to develop the concept of your website before bringing in a professional SEO consultant.

3. How much are you willing to spend?
A highly qualified professional SEO consultant tends to be expensive. This means that you should only hire one if your business plan and finances allow for it. This is because over and above the fees that the consultant will charge you, you will also need to spend money in the following areas:

Content creation - A consultant will advise you to hire freelancers to regularly create content for you if you are not in a position to do so by yourself.

Buying text links - Many established sites usually allow webmasters to buy text links in certain pages. A good consult may make a list of reputable websites for you to buy such. In some cases, a consultant will have a text link package for a fixed rate e.g. 500 text links for $1000 per month.

In a nutshell, you should only hire a professional SEO consultant if you are looking for a way to generate more conversions from an already established website.

An SEO Consultant Does Not Do a One-Time Job

An SEO consultancy does a whole lot of things to improve the condition of a client web site. They provide a complete web analysis and point out to the client what are the weak points of the site and why it does not have the required visibility. An SEO consultant can calculate the search engine ranking of the site, provide details on how the ranking is affecting the ROI, and analyze how much the sales is likely to increase by better site visibility.

Besides pointing out the shortcomings of a site, the SEO consultant can advice the client on how these problems can be rectified. Above all, an SEO consultancy can streamline the site, and tweak the site here and there so that the groping tentacles of search engines never fail to place it in the first few results.

All that is the job of an SEO consultant and more often than not, he does the job to perfection. But website owners should not be under the illusion that because a website modification has been done successfully, the job is finished once and for all. Even if an SEO consultant does the best job possible, things go on changing in the internet world and the web site will have to be modified repeatedly to suit the changing trends in the cyber-world.

First of all, now and then search engines may change their selection criteria subtly, as a result of which a site that has been at the top of the list will lose its ranking. Further, the keyword for which the SEO consultancy had tailored a web site might lose its popularity. That too will affect the site negatively. With these changes, even the best-done site will lose its popularity. What this means is that web owners have to go on modifying the contents or other attributes of the sites to suit the changing ambiance. They will have to do it themselves or get fresh help from an SEO consultancy.

Further, the site owner himself might want to change the site. Sometimes new products are to be incorporated to the existing website and this would require substantial modification of the site and fresh help from an SEO consultant. The addition of new material might also demand some change in the links to which the site has been connected and also change in its deep linking pattern, if any. All these will require that an SEO consultancy have a fresh look at the site. Alternatively, web site owners can take some SEO training from an SEO consultant so that they can modify the site now and then as necessary instead of doing a complete overhauling after a while.

Whatever the reasons that lead to it, the help that is required from an SEO consultant is not a one time job. While website modification can be done in-house also, an SEO consultancy can do the job better because they have special antennae to pick up the changing vibrations in the Internet world.

SEO Consulting Increases Exposure, Generates Traffic, and Drives Sales

SEO consulting has evolved into a set of complementary disciplines that push your website into the top positions for your space. Years ago, the search engines' ranking algorithms were relatively simple and static. Search engine optimization consulting at the time was focused almost entirely on link popularity and on-site content. The landscape shifted dramatically when Google launched their Florida Update in 2003. It marked the beginning of a new era in search.

Today, the ranking algorithms change continuously. Sites that were once listed in the top positions have since plummeted into the depths of the search engines' organic listings. SEO consulting has become more important than ever for controlling your search territory.

Below, you'll learn how professional consulting increases your website's exposure, generates targeted traffic, and drives sales. We'll describe the services you can expect and how they give your company a competitive edge in your space. We'll also provide useful tips that will help you find a search engine optimization consulting firm that can catapult your website into the top positions.

How SEO Consulting Delivers Bottom-Line Results

If your website does not receive exposure, it cannot attract targeted traffic. Without targeted traffic, it cannot contribute to your bottom line. Search Engine Optimization consulting uses a multi-pronged approach to lift your site to the top listings for your keywords. By appearing higher in the search engines, you'll enjoy more exposure to your market. By targeting specific keywords that your customers are using, you'll attract visitors who are more willing to take a predefined action. Whether you're collecting customer information for an email campaign or driving visitors into a sales funnel, SEO consulting provides targeted exposure - the engine for bottom-line results.

Basic And Advanced SEO Consulting Services

Every search engine optimization consulting agency is unique. Most offer a core set of services that will help push your site higher into the organic listings. These will include keyword research, content creation and syndication, and link building. The speed with which you're able to climb into the top positions, and your site's ability to control those positions, will depend on a few factors. The proficiency of the SEO consulting firm is important. So too, is the breadth of services offered.

Many SEO consulting professionals offer a comprehensive menu of services that includes online reputation management, reverse SEO, and social media optimization. Some will also launch and manage your pay-per-click campaigns. This is not to suggest that your site needs every service in order to meet your objectives. Instead, a search marketing specialist will review your goals and design a tailor-made strategy for you.

The Hidden Value Of An SEO Consulting Professional

One of the most overlooked benefits of hiring an SEO consulting firm is that they will contantly monitor the search engines' ranking algorithms. As the algorithms change, they can modify their techniques to gain greater leverage for your website.

Too often, site owners watch their rankings suffer without fully appreciating the root causes. Their pages slowly plummet in the organic listings, causing their traffic volume to deteriorate. As their traffic declines, their sales dry up. A search engine optimization consulting expert will watch the algorithms closely and adapt quickly to changes. While your competitors struggle to maintain their positions, you'll more easily control your search territory.

Search Engine Consulting Provides A Competitive Edge

Most site owners are slow to adapt to the changing landscape of the search engines. For example, when Google launched their Universal Search platform, savvy SEO consulting firms devoted more attention to social media optimization. In doing so, they uncovered multiple entry points for their clients; Google had given social media sites more ranking authority.

This type of competitive edge is critical, though it's often hidden from site owners. As the algorithms change, an experienced SEO consulting firm will carve out new opportunities to produce this type of edge for your site. How To Hire An SEO Consultant

Experience counts, of course. A professional SEO consultant should have several years of experience in the search industry. That will have given them exposure to the tumultuous roiling of the search engines' algorithms. Beyond experience, tactical and strategic foresight is critical. An SEO consulting professional should not only monitor the current state of the algorithms, but have formulated an impression regarding what the near future holds. Tracking and reporting is also important. Ideally, your SEO consulting firm will have the necessary tools to track organic positions, traffic, and even conversions.

So, does your company need SEO consulting services in order to capture and control your search territory? That depends on your niche. If your space has very little competition in the search engines, a comprehensive approach may be unnecessary. On the other hand, if your competitors are struggling to capture your positions, hiring an SEO consulting firm may be the most appropriate response.