Is your web site optimized for search engine results?
What type of results are you seeing?
What has actually been done to optimize your site for SEO results?
If you would answer "No" or "I don't know" to any of these questions, you"re missing out on a very important part of having a website; an actual internet presence.
When someone queries a search engine for a keyword related to your site's products or services, does your page appear in the top 10 matches, or does your competition?
What is search engine optimization? It is the process of returning a high ranking in search engines and directories by customizing a site"s code to make it more search engine friendly.
For example, if you are a Chicago carpet cleaning company, your site should be structured around logical keywords and phrases such as "Chicago carpet cleaning", "carpet cleaning", "carpet cleaning Chicago" and even target search terms such as "Chicago flood restoration", and so on.
Not many web design/development firms have the skills or experience required to successfully optimize a site. Many companies get stuck in a single core service such as design or development and feel that this type of work is more of a “marketing process” left up to the client or an additional company, whereas many marketing companies will focus more on banner ads and reciprocal linking, thinking of title tags and meta tags as the developer"s responsibility.
As a result, regardless of how informative, well-written or designed your site may be, it may very well never get seen.
While some web design / development firms do not provide or feel obligated to provide any type of search engine optimization or others presuppose which keywords to target without consulting you, resulting in the wrong campaign being launched and generally, disappointing results. This is, believe it or not, standard across this industry.
Search engine optimization is a process that needs client participation, structured planning and proper review to be fruitful.
If a company cannot provide examples of successful campaigns they have launched for other clients, don"t walk, RUN! Find a specialist with a good track record and reap the results.
Remember, the goal is to appear in the top 10 to 20 listings in a search engine. If your site isn't in the top 20, you may very well be overlooked. Always prepare your budget to include search engine optimization when planning to launch a new website.
