Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
I know that there are many members in this forum who are in this business from long. I wanted them to share their experience with us and give some ideas as to how to make this part-time job into a profitable business.
That's not to say that the field's not crowded. Like web design, anyone with a little technical skill can claim to be an expert. But I'm finding that, as I talk to people about their web development needs, many want to know about how to get good search engine ranking. It seems the tide has turned from people wanting a website, to wanting a website that actually produces some type of return.
I'm not a SEO guy, so I was looking for someone to partner with in order to offer it to my clients. Two previous experiences left me with the feeling that the firm took my client's money and basically did nothing. There was no system in place to measure results. As I talked to other SEO people, they did nothing to allay my fears that they wouldn't do the same thing. In an overcrowded market, you can differentiate yourself if you address people's concerns and talk about want results you can produce.
According to a report released late last year by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), advertisers spent $4.1 billion on search marketing in the United States and Canada in 2004, with paid placement hauling in 81.8 percent, organic search engine optimization taking 12 percent, and paid inclusion accounting for just 4.4 percent. Predicted growth for 2005 is 22.5 percent, and 2006’s is 17.9 percent.