There are many “life lessons” I have learned through the years and one of them is that some things are worth the money, while others are not. We usually learn this one of two ways: from our own experience, or if we are wise, we watch and listen to others’ experiences and learn from them. I suggest the 2nd route, but most of us learn by doing and experiencing.
My husband and I were discussing this the other night, and we both agreed that one of these areas, that is important to us, is purchasing quality footwear. All too often growing up and when we were just starting out on our own, we couldn’t afford the price on a good quality pair of shoes so we bought lower priced-lower quality footwear and boy did our feet pay for it! Now, we will shift our budget around, and if need be, sacrifice a few meals out, just so we can purchase a pair of quality shoes. We have learned that if we want to stay healthy, keep active and keep our feet from hurting at the end of the day, we need to invest and spend the money on quality footwear.
The same can be said of your business website and the SEO service for small business you choose to use. There are so many choices out there and many facets of SEO services that are provided; you want to make sure you take the time to understand what your business needs and be willing to pay a little more for better service.
Now there are quite a few factors to consider when deciding if the SEO services for small business you want are actually what you need and what you should be paying for.
On-Page SEO Services
A basic start to on page SEO includes keywording your website pages by making sure all the meta descriptions, urls, alt tags, page titles, headers and the body content of the page include your keywords. There are a few technical aspects to consider, but you really want to step back and look at your website as a whole- what is the purpose of your website, who are you trying to reach and is the content you have understandable and helpful. Keyword research is ‘key’ to this process.
Search engines are getting smarter and smarter, able to see if there is an unnatural misuse or over use of keywords as well as if your site has duplicate content. These are definitely things to avoid when using SEO services for small business.
These types of SEO services for small business may be considered a project based or short term service. The cost may be a one-time fee or included in the cost of your website design. Depending on your experience and level of tech savviness, some small businesses can do this in house.
Off-Page SEO Services
Off-page SEO refers to anything you are doing off of your website to promote your website. One way to look at it is that even in our everyday lives we tend to be a little leery of those who constantly toot their own horn, but can really start to trust a company that other people are talking about and referring.
Some of the SEO services for small business may include:
Natural link building (avoid buy links at all costs!)
Setting up local listing pages
Creating or linking to social media accounts for your small business
Sending press releases
Blogging regularly and consistently to generate fresh new content
These types of SEO services are generally more long term or on-going SEO services. This is where having an experienced team to consult with or hand the work off to can be worth every penny you spend. Unfortunately, depending on the company you choose, it can leave you with sore feet and lots of back pain.
When purchasing on-page or off-page SEO services here are a few things to consider:
The scope of the project and whether it is a one-time project or if it is on-going retainer type work.
Your business goals and how the SEO services can help your small business reach those goals
The measurement you are going to use to gauge if the SEO has been successful or not
Consider the experience, expertise and quality you are looking for in the company you choose to get advice or contract to do SEO services for your small business.
And, just like a pair of shoes, make sure you try them on and see if they are a good fit!
If you are interested in talking a bit more about the changes in the world of SEO services for small business in the last couple of years and where the future of SEO is headed, feel free to contact us!
Want more information on the basics of SEO, check out a few more of our blogs on this topic:
12 Questions to ask when hiring SEO Services for Small Business
SEO Services for Small Business—3 Things to Look Out For in 2014
[Quiz] How Are Your Local SEO Services for Small Business Working for You?
