Before Hiring an SEO Expert
There are a number of important factors to look at before perform any extensive search optimization to your website.
Firstly, there is no point in generating increased visitors to your site if it is not ready to receive those visitors. This means that the website must be optimized in some way to achieve the goals set out for it.
For example, if the goal of the website is to collect email addresses, then it must be designed for that purpose. As well, if the goal of the website is to generate online sales, then the site should designed to achieve an acceptable conversion rate. There are many goals that your website may have including:
- Purchasing a product
- Filling out a form to collect information
- Subscribe to a newsletter
- Call your telephone number
- Drive to your physical store
- Make a contribution to your cause
- Read a specific bit of information
- Click on an ad
Optimization of a website for organic search engine listings does not necessarily involve changing the website's content very much. Much of an SEO job goes on behind the scenes within the code of the page. When this 'hidden' part is accomplished, usually some minor changes in the text of a page can drastically alter the position of your listing for the chosen keywords.
Once you have defined your target audience(s) and have a website with a conversion page that performs its goal well, the job of the SEO expert is to increase targeted traffic to your website.
Not sure what search engine optimization
can do for your small business website?
Many small businesses have their websites designed by people they know, or a friend of friend. The websites are adequate and it serves the purpose of getting a presence on the web, which is a good starting point.
Chances are, however, that your small business website has not been optimized to be found in search engines.
You might be saying to yourself, 'when I type my company name into Google, the number one result is my company website'. That's great if it is, and that's the minimum that you should have.
But for that to happen, the person typing your company name into Google must already know that you exist. But what about customers looking for a service or product that your company provides who don't know about you yet?
What happens when they type phrases that describe your company into Google? Is your website even there? Worse even, do your competitors' websites come up before yours?
If one of the aims of your website is to attract new clients from the internet, then you need to be found by people searching for what you provide - but who don't necessarily know that you exist yet!