Shopping habits have changed, we used to go to the High Street and spend the afternoon buying clothes or provisions and we used to have a telephone directory to access business information for the services that we required. It is a very different world now and much of our shopping, whether it be for personal items, clothing or services, is carried out online. Retailers and service providers know this and when a search is made for the particular item or service, they want to be visible on the first page of the search engine for that product or service. Paid advertising is a possible route but the problem there is that the advertising will always have to be paid for and it is often the case that people who are searching on Google bypass the ads and favour the organic search results.
Businesses are increasingly moving towards Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) as a long term investment and viewing it as an asset for their business. SEO is the method used to increase a website’s visibility. Whenever a search is made on say, Google, results are displayed according to what Google would deem to be relevant to the search. Using SEO techniques, you can ensure that your website is shown as a priority in the organic searches.
It’s like anything, there are good ways and bad ways of carrying out a task and a company may well think that they can learn SEO techniques and go about the process of ranking their website by themselves and there is indeed information to be had online but the reputable SEO expert in Denver, Colorado know what they can and can’t do, they know the processes and have knowledge and experience that you would not have, even with an amount of research.
You should not expect instant results from SEO – it is a longer term plan which, when executed properly can provide you with a steady stream of traffic for your business. You can do your SEO by yourself, perhaps making use of resources like the Whitehat blog along the way to give you a bit of help and guidance, but this can be limiting, especially if you are trying to learn on the go and have lots of other jobs that need seeing to each day. Alternatively, you can bring in the experts. So, why would it be worth hiring an SEO Agency to do the the work for you?
Your website will have to be evaluated and it may be that some of its structures have to change. A reputable agency will also be able to offer you advice regarding the content of your site as well, after all, you have to engage the traffic that will be sent to your site.
An SEO agency will be able to advise and help you with relevant keywords and will be able to discuss traffic requirements with you. SEO is not for everyone and a reputable SEO Southampton agency should be able to tell you whether, in fact, SEO is going to be a good option for you. If the SEO company notices that there are not going to be many searches for your keywords, for example, they may recommend other strategies. Often SEO companies offer multiple strategies and it may be that they suggest and help you with some sort of paid advertising while your site is ranking.
Google works with an algorithm and that algorithm is subject to change meaning that its criteria for showing websites changes. A reputable SEO company is on top of the updates and although no one is privy to the exact nature of the updates, a reputable agency will have their bases covered, after all you would not want your rankings to be hugely affected with each update.
You can do irreparable damage to your website if you don’t know what you are doing. At the very least, the work that you attempt could result in a penalty or penalties against your site from Google.
By hiring an agency, it leaves you free to concentrate on what you are good at, rather than spending your valuable time trying to figure out a process which you may or may not manage to master. Remember that even if you think you have mastered the process, you would still be in the business of competing with SEO experts who have years of experience!
You can spread the cost of your SEO work usually by paying a fixed monthly amount to the SEO company. This will help you to budget. A reputable company will be able to tell you how much they would recommend that you set aside each month. SEO is not an ongoing process as usually when a website ranks, it remains ranked if the SEO work has been applied properly. Many business owners see it as an investment rather than an advertising cost.
Remember that no SEO agency can guarantee that your website will be ranked within an exact time frame and if they do make any guarantees, this should be a red flag. They will be able to give you the benefit of their experience and give you an idea as to what your progress may be compared with other sites that they have ranked. You should ask to see evidence of their work, at the very least, they should be able to show you the rankings that are attached to their own site. A busy SEO agency may not have top rankings for their own site and the reason for that could simply be because they don’t have to as they are busy enough without needing any more traffic or it could be that they are too busy with clients to spend time on their own rankings, so do not assume because you don’t see them there that it is a red flag, some of the best agencies just don’t need to rank.
Choose your SEO company carefully, a reputable company can increase your website traffic massively but a company who is unreliable can not only fail to produce results for you but can leave your website with penalties, ask around, ask for evidence of their work and keep a check on progress, remember that the process can take several months and remember, the more you chat to the company, the less time they will have to work on your project.
