Social Network Marketing | SEO SEM and SMM Services

Search Engine Marketing, Social Network Marketing, and funneling more traffic to your site is NOT about tricking the search engines, it is NOT about how much you can pay per click and it is NOT just about how many websites link to your website. At the end of the day, it is about how well you optimize your website and social networks for visitors as well as search engines.

The SEO process, when employed correctly, enables potential clients that are ALREADY LOOKING for your product and services to FIND YOU easier and faster!

What to Expect and What to Look for in an SEO Consultant

Ensure that your website is optimized using trusted Google webmaster guidelines. Never allow anyone to use black-hat strategies in your Search Engine Optimization process. Black-Hat strategies are dangerous to fool around with and can ultimately get your site removed from the index of most major search engines. The damage is VERY hard to reverse and in rare cases; permanent.

Here are 3 things to keep in mind when you are looking to hire a SEO consultant:

1. BEWARE OF TOO-GOOD-TO-BE-TRUE PROMISES

Beware of 'SEO' consultants that say they can get xxx links to your website in xxx time or get you to page 1 of SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) with little to no effort. They are probably using shady strategies. Search engines actually LOOK for these unethical methods to remove your site from their index. Some 'SEO consultants' even use methods such as spamdexing and keyword stuffing to get you amazing results, collect a check, and dissapear. A day, week or month later your site is nowhere to be found on Google. You call your 'SEO expert' and you can't seem to get past their voicemail or their phone number has been disconnected. Hmmmm?

2. WARNING... THERE IS NO SUCH THING!

Keep in mind that there is no actual 'SEO' certification or accreditation, so pretty much any 19 year old with a keyboard can claim they are an SEO expert. Yeah... ok... there are companies that 'offer certification', but I agree with Edward Lewis on this one. There are some of us that may be intellectually certifiable, but if someone tells you they are a 'certified SEO professional', they bought a piece of paper and are blowing smoke... well somewhere...

I, for one, am TOTALLY against standardization... Think about it! We would have to recertify every time Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter (and a multitude of other social networking sites) made a major change to their site, algorithms, applications etc etc. While this may become a gold-mine of a business venture for the certifying testing authority, it will become a financial nightmare and logistic HELL for those of us actually making a living practicing SEO for our clients.

Oh! You think it's just everyday scammers that try to pass off certification as a reality? Nope! Even the NAR® (National Association of Realtors®) is guilty of trying to make a quick buck off the back of unsuspecting consumers. At one point they too were offering a Social Media Expert 'Certification' to unsuspecting real estate agents! They collected money, scheduled the two day 'certification event' and then suddenly... without notice... they quietly returned everyone's money and cancelled the event. hmmmmmmm???... no further comments there....

3. VERIFY AND THEN RE-VERIFY

Look for references before you hire anyone to work with your website or social network. I have been in internet marketing for over 7 years, website design/programming for over 12, work with international companies, have testimonial after testimonial of real clients with verifiable profiles on linkedIn (no A. Smith or J. Jones testimonials), and tested in the top 2% for SEO expertise against a worldwide pool of 'SEO companies' and 'experts'. (This is displayed as top 5% on my elance profile; they display icons for top 5%, 10% and 20%... after that they pretty much shouldn't have taken the test... I mean, do YOU REALLY want someone who received a 'D' in SEO to work on YOUR site???)

I have helped hundreds of business owners get much higher rankings in the major search engines and improve the overall bottom line of their business without the use of unethical or ‘manipulative’ techniques of any kind. It takes time, it takes patience, it takes work. NOTHING in life is easy, there are no shortcuts. If you do it right the first time, you will benefit.

I charge for all phone consultations and I require that you spend at least 30 minutes to 1 hour on the phone with me before you hire me. This gives us both a chance to look over your website, see where you are, determine goals and then decide on a plan of action.

If you are not being charged for a marketing consultation by your'SEO company', then it is nothing but a sales call. I won't waste time on the phone 'convincing' you of anything and I know YOU have better things to do than listen to a sales pitch. If you are serious about getting your site where it needs to be, getting your social network up to par, and increasing your bottom line... then let's set up your marketing consultation right now and get started.

What Do You ‘Do’ to Dominate Google Search Results?

There are several key elements we will be working on to improve your website rankings over the next few months. (This process is only employed after you have scheduled your consultation.)

Keyword Research and Selection: As the foundation of your entire SEO project, I will research your current keywords and provide feedback as to what keywords we need to continue to use, what keywords we don’t need to be using and what keywords we should add to your site. Once we have our initial list we will get to work on optimizing your site for these keywords.

Meta Data SEO: I will take each page on your website and begin to categorize each page for specific SEO goals. The titles, descriptions, keyword content and on-page navigation will be made search engine friendly and will enable your site to be more properly indexed. One of the most shocking things that I find during this step is that many of my clients are using the same titles, descriptions and keywords across many pages… this is actually one of the top 18 Ways to Mess up Your Search Engine Optimization strategy.

Website Content SEO: One-by-One I will take each webpage and optimize the content to be both search engine and visitor friendly. It is important to carefully balance what the search engines want to see with what people will want to read and more importantly REACT to by contacting you for more information or making a purchase on your site.

Inner-Page Linking SEO: I will work with your code and navigation structure to make sure that all of your pages are being indexed properly, that there is accurate inner-linking relationships for all of your web pages and that both search engines and visitors will be able to find the information that they are looking for quickly and easily.

Link Building and Social Networking: Depending on the plan you choose, I will submit your site to various websites around the internet using my social network and many connections. These links will be relevant to your website and business. Many times I get the question during this phase, “How many sites will you submit me to?” or “How many links will I get?” and my answer is always the same. It depends on your business and where I can place relevant links back to your site. Yes, you can probably find a site somewhere that will give you 14,000 links to your site for $14.95, but how many of those are even relevant to your business, how many are link farms and how many will actually still be there in a week. You DO NOT need 14,000 links to your site… what you do need are relevant links to your business from reputable websites that are trusted by search engines. We do this by developing a link campaign SPECIFIC to your business, not by paying for links or participating in link exchange scams.

How Do I ‘Know’ it Is Working?

Not only can you Google the key word phrases that we chose in the planning phases of your search engine optimization project, but I also provide reports about your site before we start, during the process and at the end of the project. During every step of the process you can always contact me directly and ask questions. I know my business like you know your business and it’s my job to make sure that you understand how my services are affecting your business every step of the way. I will forewarn you that even though much of the SEO will affect your site almost immediately, that it may take time for the traffic on your site to convert. That is why we use Google analytics tools to measure the progress and watch how visitors navigate your site and make improvements along the way. Once we have the traffic to your site, we have watched visitors navigate your site and given visitors exactly what they are looking for when they arrive; then you will start to see significant change in your conversion rates.

What Makes You ‘Different’ Than Other Consultants?

Many SEO consultants are just that. They understand SEO and how it works but they have no background in web design, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Marketing or Social Network Marketing. I’ve heard horror story after horror story of people that went to lower cost ‘SEO companies’ or ‘SEO Consultants’ (see warning above) and spent thousands of dollars on nothing but guess-work. I not only understand SEO, but also web design, SEM, SMM and Social Network Marketing. All of these work TOGETHER to funnel traffic to your site and get your website in the top 10 of Google results for your search phrases; naturally!

My having a true understanding of all of the elements, knowing how they all work together and being able to implement a plan that works faster, more effectively, and MOST importantly is time-tested and long-term is what sets my services apart from the competition.

What Can You Do for ‘My’ Website?

Looking to dominate Google Search engine results for your business? (8 tips for DIY SEO)

What to Expect and What to Look for in an SEO Consultant

Here are 3 things to keep in mind when you are looking to hire a SEO consultant:

1. BEWARE OF TOO-GOOD-TO-BE-TRUE PROMISES

2. WARNING... THERE IS NO SUCH THING!

3. VERIFY AND THEN RE-VERIFY