Buffalo SEO Company – Is Your SEO Company Leading the Way?
Is your SEO company leading the way, or are you trying to play catch up by following the crowd?
To be a leading seo company, you need to understand what your clients want. What are their goals? What is their reputation? Do they need a new image? Are they looking for leads or sales? There are so many questions to ask and the key is to listen to the answers and draft out a game plan.
By leading the way, an SEO Company will research their client’s competition, analyze data and then put together a plan for success. It’s not just about optimizing a website. It’s about the big picture. It’s not about copying what your competition is doing, its about analyzing it and then incorporating the right moves into your clients plan.
Being a true leader in the seo arena means being honest and having integrity. No SEO company likes it when their client’s rankings aren’t as high as they’d like them to be, or that they haven’t received the number of leads they had hoped for. The worst thing any SEO company could do is lie to your clients about it. Be honest, always. Work with your clients to make things better.
SEO is not an exact science and there is no guarantee. If, however, you do things the “right way”, it will all come together in time and your clients will appreciate you and they will be clients for years to come.
Buffalo SEO Company – Embrace Learning – Pay it Forward
Filed under: SEO, buffalo seo company, internet marketing, search engine optimization
As a Buffalo SEO Company, I feel we not only have the obligation to provide exceptional service to our clients, but we need to share our knowledge along the way.
Embrace learning and pay it forward. By attending webinars and reading as much as you can online, you not only make yourself more valuable, but you make your clients more valuable as well.
People want to learn, and if you take the time to share with them the best practices for them to be successful, they will appreciate it, and in turn, they will embrace learning.
The better educated my clients are, the more successful they will become. In addition, they will take an active role in their internet marketing and seo practices. Pretty cool.
Fuel the Web is not only a Buffalo SEO Company, but we are a Buffalo Web Design Company as well. We believe in doing things the right way and are excited with each knock on our door. If you need a new website or your website optimized, we are here to help you.
Make a Change SEO Style – Try a Career as an Internet Marketer
Many internet marketers had to learn by being thrown into the arena. In my case, I didn’t have a marketing background at all, I just knew a lot about the industry I work for. That’s a good place to start.
If you find yourself at a dead end in your career, but know a lot about the field you are currently in, then use your experience and try internet marketing. Making the transition into internet marketing may not be as far fetched as you may think.
Search engine optimization is one place you can being with. Learn what seo is all about and then add other aspects of search marketing. I would recommend attending as many webinars as you can. Many are FREE. Ding Ding Ding. You can simply search on Google for Free Seo Webinars, or Free Internet Marketing Webinars, etc. If you are able to attend a seminar or workshop, they are very helpful, but pick a good one. I would recommend High Rankings with Jill Whelan. This will give you a great overview on what seo is all about and its best practices. You can’t go wrong.
Internet marketing is not for the lazy at heart. If you think you can make a transition into internet marketing and sit on your tushie eating bon bon’s, then think again. However, if you have a good work ethic and are ambitious, then I would highly recommend a career as an internet marketer.
Take Care All!
Patience My Dear Friends, Patience.
I am an ideas person. I have notepads full of ideas that are basically just waiting for an opportunity to be set free. It can be frustrating when you want to fly, but you’re grounded for whatever reason.
I do believe that God’s gotta plan, but you can’t just sit back and wait for that plan to magically land in your lap. You need to create opportunity. How do you do that? Well, first, you keep your eyes and ears open. Listen and watch what’s going on around you and in your industry. Connect with friends in your social media communities. Make sure your profile on LinkedIn and Naymz are complete, post a comment on your Facebook page, Tweet your thoughts, etc. Your friends are the best referrals out there, so just ask them. They will be more than happy to help if they can.
I truly believe the key to being successful is being able to put your ideas into action. Unfortunately, sometimes someone is standing in your way and often times you are knocked a few steps backwards. Have patience. Think things out and have a strategy. Once you have left your bread crumbs around town, it’s only a matter of time before someone starts to follow them, which will lead back to you.
As I mentioned in prior posts, I am a getter done kinda person and my patience is sometimes put to the test. The world is full of people who have their own agenda and their own timetable. Take a deep breath as I often remind myself. Find the things in your life that bring you happiness and focus on those while you get through the frustrating times.
Keep an eye on things, place those bread crumbs and be patient. Your time is almost here, I can feel it.
What is an Internet Marketing Specialist?
Many people in the Buffalo community are just learning the jargon surrounding internet marketing. I’m sure this is the case in other cities as well. I am often asked, “what exactly is an internet marketing specialist?” Well I’m here to help you understand the difference between someone who claims to be one and someone who actually is an internet marketing specialist.
I have attended meetings as both an observer and internet marketing consultant and I can tell you that there are some companies out there that are so full of bologna, they should own a deli. As soon as I start asking questions, it is unbelievable how quiet a room can get. It’s pretty cool actually.
A true internet marketing specialist will sit down with you to discuss what your current game plan is and will discuss what is and is not working. They will discuss with you the traffic reports (analytics) connected with your website, online phone book traffic, and other directories you may pay to be listed with. Please note, analytics is the key to knowing whether a marketing strategy is or is not working. If your present internet marketing company isn’t sharing that information with you, I would question them and get your traffic reports as soon as possible.
Finally, after analyzing all the data, doing some competitive research and listening to your needs, the internet marketing company or person you have selected will sit down with you and discuss your options.
As a Buffalo SEO and internet marketing specialist, I believe 100% in being honest with my clients. I explain to my clients that search engine optimization (“SEO”) is a process which takes some time. Search marketing includes blogging, social media, press releases, SEO, PPC and more. An good internet marketing specialist will help you understand these various avenues and help you develop a presence in each or a portion depending on your needs.
A few red flags to look for:
1. If a company is trying to convince you to begin a pay per click (“PPC”) campaign, but not willing or unable to provide you with the keyword research surrounding the keywords they are recommending.
2. If the company doesn’t explain to you what the pros and cons of content marketing are. Content marketing places your ads on various websites across the web and the cost can ad up quickly. Often times, the clicks result in people bouncing off immediately, which isn’t going to help you. It may not be in your best interest to use content marketing.
3. If a company is trying to get you to list in their directory, but is either unwilling or unable to provide you with the traffic reports and various information related to the importance of that page or category.
4. If a company says to you that they can get you ranked number 1 in the organic listings on various search engines. Don’t buy into it. It takes time and effort to increase your rankings across the web. There is no guarantee you will be number 1.
Hope this helps some of you who are interested in learning what an internet marketing specialist is and how we can help you.
Is Fresh Content Key to High Rankings – Update 2
Well I was pleasantly surprised to see that for the keyword buffalo seo company, this morning our blog is now ranked #1 in Google. I then checked seo company buffalo and we are now ranked # 4. We weren’t even on the 1st page before.
It looks like my test worked. I hope this shows how important fresh content and keyword specific content is to your seo efforts.
Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July Holiday.
Fuel the Web – Buffalo SEO Company – Fueling business on the web one site at a time.
Is Fresh Content Key to High Rankings – Update 1
Update. Since my last blog (June 27, 2009), I checked to see how we were doing for buffalo seo company.
We moved up a spot to #9 in Google and we are listed 1 and 2 for buffalo seo company in the locat results.
This is fun. I’ll check back in a few days to see if this post has fueled any movement.
Fuel the Web – Buffalo SEO Company – Fueling business on the web one site at a time.
Is Fresh Content the Key to High Rankings?
Well simply, the answer is yes and no.
Fresh content is critical to your long-term life on the search engines. However, if you just fill your pages with content and don’t take the time to properly research your keywords and optimize your pages, then you could be wasting your time.
In checking out the various search engines, I obviously don’t know the algorithms and wouldn’t know what to do with them if I did. I do know, however, Google likes when you do the right thing. Meaning keyword specific pages, good links, good site structure, etc. Google also loves blogs, which means they loves fresh content. ding ding ding.
Yahoo seems to love fresh content, as well. Some tests I have done showed a significant jump in my rankings. Anytime I was on the move and made significant content changes or added new pages, it got Yahoo’s attention and thus affected my rankings.
Now with Bing, well it’s too early to tell, but my initial reaction is that they put a lot of weight on the url. I’m not saying it’s exactly that because I simply don’t know, but many of the tests I have done gave a ton of weight to companies with one of the keywords in their url.
I’m certain that Bing, as well as the other search engines are hungry to be fed, so feed them. If you don’t have the time or manpower to continue to add to your website, then a blog is your answer. Add content as often as you can. Twitter is also a simple way to tell the world what’s up and link it back to your blog, thus creating traffic and links.
Listen, I understand as well as anyone how tough it is to find time for anything nowadays. I work full time, am a wife, mother of 3 active children and am trying to get a new business off the ground. It’s not always easy to find the time to get your website the way you want it, but a blog can really make a difference. So once you get your site up and running, I would focus my attention on my blog.
Let’s do a content test for the fun of it. Our blog is currently listed 10th on Google under buffalo seo company. Once I publish this blog, over time, I will go back and check it out to see if I was able to get it to move. It’s not magic people it won’t happen immediately and may not happen at all, but let’s see. I’ll let you know in my next blog how we did and how long it took to increase our results (if I was able to do so).
Fuel the Web – Buffalo SEO Company – Fueling business on the web one site at a time.
With So Much Competition, How Can I Complete?
With so much competition on the web, many people wonder how they can compete on the web. I’m here to tell you, you can make a difference.
We have missed the point of what this country is all about. With hard work, you can make a difference. Even if it’s just one little babystep at a time. If you sit back and hope that the magic fairy is going to catapult you ahead of the competition, well then I certainly hope you are a patient person.
I’m here to tell you that you can make an impact on the web and can compete with big companies.
Let me share a story with you. I began jogging a couple years ago and could hardly breathe. I thought I was in decent shape, but I could barely get around the block without gasping for air. After a couple of months, I was able to get myself up to about 3 miles. Pretty cool. Well, I then started having knee problems and had to stop jogging. Instead of grabbing a bag potato chips (which actually sounds pretty good), I decided to start riding a bike, which I enjoy pain free and continue to see the benefits.
There is a point. Search marketing follows the same concept. When you start off, often times, your website is out of shape. As time goes on you see steady improvements. Some times along the way, you may hit a road block or plateu. When that happens, it’s time to look for other options.
Many people are looking for instant gratification. I am a getter done kind of person and learned that putting the right pieces of the puzzle together can pay off. Here’s what I suggest:
1. Ask an experienced search marketer to look at your website. They will be able to tell you what areas you should focus on (i.e. tagging, keyword placement, etc.). If you don’t have a website yet, I would suggest you find a web design company that also understands search engine optimization.
2. Start blogging. You can make an impact relatively quickly. I would suggest you just be yourself.
3. Start participating in the social media arena. Start a Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn account to begin with.
If it sounds like a lot of work, well, it is. For seo people like me, however, it’s exciting to watch your hard work make a difference for the people who have hired you to help them. The biggest impact comes when people get involved in their own business and don’t expect an outside company to do everything for them. A hands-on approach is important.
If you are focused and make steady changes or additions to your seo and search marketing strategy, you can always make a difference and an impact for your business. You can compete with big business.
If you have questions or need help along the way, just ask. I am happy to help.
How to Choose an SEO Company
Not all SEO companies are the same. So what do you need to watch out for?
Well, first of all, any SEO company who guarantees they can get you top organic placement on the search engines is full of bologna and should be a red flag.
As I’ve mentioned before, search engine optimization is about hard work and focus, not tricks and the magic fairy. I personally don’t appreciate companies who blow smoke up my skirt, do you? The bottomline to rankings on the search engines boils down to algorithms, but we’ll get into that another time.
Many SEO companies offer you the moon. Be careful what you buy into. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
SEO or Pay Per Click?
Pay per click campaigns are great for quick results. Basically, you bid a certain amount per click and based on your bid and ad copy (and other factors), you get listed in the sponsored section on the search engines. I do caution that you need to really keep an eye on things and check your conversion and click through rates or you can spend a lot of money rather quickly. The point is not how much money you spend, but that it’s producing results. So when looking for a search marketing company, I always appreciate when they come to me with some research done. Then I can compare it to my own research.
When a company starts asking me what the important keywords are, it’s a red flag. Don’t get me wrong, you need to work together, but if they haven’t at least taken the time to do some of their own research, then to me it’s often a sign of them either digging for information, or not being hungry enough to get you results. Many times they are looking to just glide along. Also, if they throw around that they can get you listed number 1 for some amazing keyword, that’s great, but ask yourself if this keyword is really significant. Testing and research are the only ways to find out what keywords are right for your website.
Natural rankings are gained through search engine optimization (“SEO”). SEO takes time and results do not happen overnight. I do believe, however, trying to gain high rankings through natural (organic) listings is your best investment. A good SEO company will work with you to determine what your needs and goals are and they will research your keywords and your competition. Watch out for companies who promise you the moon, or who focus on one or two keywords. Every single page of your website should be optimized and the keywords should be consistent with that page. You don’t just want a company slapping keywords up there, just to make a buck.
So What’s the Bottom Line?
Don’t be afraid to do your homework. This is your money and your business we’re talking about. Ask the tough questions, such as how do you do your keyword research, what has your success been for others, can I have some references, and so on.
Here’s something I always do. Ask your potential SEO company if they guarantee top placement on the search engines. If they say yes, move on to the next company. We all make mistakes when hiring people to helps us, whether it’s landscaping, home building or SEO. The point, however, is to learn and make sure you don’t make the same mistakes again.
Over the years, I have learned to go with my gut. Again, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. My goal here is to help you along the way to hopefully avoid some questionable practices.
In closing, you want to choose a search marketing company that not only helps you with your search engine optimization, but will also sit down with you and discuss an overall search marketing strategy. Pay per click, seo, blogging, social media…each one of these can play an important part in the success of your business. Take it slow. You don’t need to give them an answer immediately.
Be smart. Do your homework and ask questions.
Have a great day.