Web Design Perth Graphic Designers + eCommerce Website Designs & SEO Perth Australia

Written by Dale Carter of Perth Web Design Firm GTP iCommerce Pty Ltd
27/10/2008

Experts agree that search engine optimization (SEO) isn't JUST one of the most effective forms of online advertising, but one of the most effective ways to market your business online or offline using any media - period.

SEO has become a constant battleground for website owners trying to grow their business and is important not only because it brings lots of visitors to your website, but also because it helps to increase the whole return on investment from your web site marketing program.

Here are 7 important factors to consider before you engage a search engine optimisation firm for your web site.

Ask these Questions Before You Choose Your SEO company

1) Has the company been around a long time?

SEO services are the latest booming business and everyone with 100 hours of research behind them thinks that they are the guru. If they are a new company, how much experience do the people behind the company have in SEO? and what resources in terms of already existing linking resources do they have at their disposal?

2) Does the web design company get high rankings without even trying?

Are they a web development company that build sites that rank well without any active SEO? Or are they exclusively an SEO firm? We’ve found that many web design companies disown the SEO stage so they don’t have to justify their client’s poor rankings and then up-sell them to their SEO partner for the optimization side of things. It’s a nice way to extract more money out of the client but that doesn’t sit quite right with me. While SEO does cost more, it shouldn’t be a completely separate exercise. The web design needs to set the foundation for a good SEO program otherwise there will need to be rework once the "external" SEO guy or gal gets involved.

3) Does the SEO company get high rankings on competitive keywords or does it boast about the easy pickings?

Check out their clients results and see if they are claiming high rankings in a competitive area or if any lame duck could get a result. Typically 2 keyword phrases that rank highly like "florist Sydney" show some real skill where as "city florist Sydney" would be so easy, a keyboard tapping cat could almost do it.

And make sure you get successful examples across a broad range of industries. Call the SEO companies clients and see what they think of them.

4) Do they uses Ethical Tactics or engage in Underworld Tactics?

In the search engine world we call sneaky tactics black hat and the good tactics white hat. Black hat may get you good initial rankings but you’ll be sorry when you get sent to the back of the line when found out.

5) Are they someone you feel 100% comfortable with

If the SEO guy seems a little sleazy or pushy and seems like they can talk return on investment to you all day until you are blue in the face and at outrageous prices then stay well clear. Good SEO providers are coders who get their head down and bum up and use ethical linking and SEO tactics. Trust your gut instinct and don’t let your greed gland get the better of you despite all the lofty promises.

6) Can they provide you with a competitive analysis of the top performers?

Being able to analyse the competition and know things about the age of the domain, numbers of incoming links that they have collected and the quality of those links is important information to be able to get a realistic assessment as to what can be achieved in the short, medium and long term with your web site.

7) Do they try and teach you what they are doing or keep everything secret?

Search engine optimisation is hard work and it can be expensive, especially if you always pay for someone else to do it all. If you know some of the tactics, you can become your own SEO guy while you grow your business. If you are a bigger business then a staff member should be trained to do some of the work. Web design firms will pass on this information while exclusive SEO firms will remain secretive to protect their own investment in learning the skills.

8) Do they have any guarantees and can they be believed?

While a guaranteed page 1, position 1 ranking is not something that should necessarily be trusted, Guarantees in terms of traffic increases are much more measurable.  Beware a guarantee that is worded vaguely enough to never be called in, and beware the guarantee that is mentioned on the marketing material or sales spiel and never heard of again on the contract page.  At GTP we do offer a Guarantee of page 1 rankings where we are confident that we can get you onto the front page.  We do this after we review your web site, targeted keywords and a competitive analyses of your competition.  We can then educate you about what to expect in terms of time frames to achieve top rankings.

9) Do they rank well for the phrase "SEO [CityName]"?

A good SEO firm should have good rankings for a number of keyword phrases in their geographic target market e.g. SEO Perth or SEO New York. The bigger the geographic area that they rank well for will indicate a good candidate to get a quote from. If they can search engine optimise their own website properly then they should be able to help you.

In Conclusion

SEO is an important part of any marketing plan and mix as it is one of the most important online marketing channels available right now. As with any booming industry their will be the professionals who take pride in their SEO work. Professionals will generate fantastic results while the slick, quick and dirty trick characters may promise the world, yet never deliver.

Get three quotes before you embark on any SEO program to give yourself the best chance of finding the best SEO partner for you.

Contact GTP to get A Search Engine Optimisation Proposal for Your Web Site

If you're looking to optimise your web site, and want to make sure that you will get a return on investment that pays for itself many times over then please give GTP Internet Commerce a call on 1300 856 533 or fill in our search engine optimisation and marketing contact form.  We can also help you set up your Google Adwords campaign.