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I have been able to make numerous changes to my site based on feedback in this forum that I hope will make me more successful in the SE's. My site was pitiful until I read this forum.
Would it make sanes for me to spend some of my budget having my site further analyzed and have this consultant give me a laundry list of further changes? Anyone know of a firm that does this kind of work? I hate to pay for HTML work - I can do it myself, but I also like to have my hand held on what changes to make....
In my opinion, your best best is to invest in tools to do SEO yourself. It does not take that long unless you are working in a competitive market, I would recommend putting your money into Link Development - i.e. building up strategic links.
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[edited by: Brett_Tabke at 1:25 pm (utc) on Oct. 30, 2003]
[edit reason] no solicitations please [/edit]
The whole search landscape is in flux right now with many changes. There are PPC possibilities, some industries have good vertical directories that cost a bit to get into, and there's Pay for Inclusion, which is sometimes a good option for Inktomi, especially with the Yahoo change coming up. We simply don't know it all yet, Yahoo is an important traffic source and we need to keep our ears to the ground with that and be prepared for whatever happens.
If I had a $3K budget for all of 2004 I'd set aside a good portion of that for whatever might come up that your own knowledge and wise counsel dictate would be a good investment after the first of the year with paid inclusions, PPC, etc. Set most of it up as a "stash" is what I'd do.
And I may be biased but I'd say that it's not only getting the traffic, but developing a holistic approach for running a web business and converting that traffic. So I'd sincerely suggest a Supporters membership here at WebmasterWorld, at least the one for 6 months.
You won't get the Kindergarten level SEO basics necessarily, but there are some of the best business minds around, and I can honestly say from a personal viewpoint that the exposure has broadened my horizons and practically revolutionized my thinking in certain areas.
There have been people here that testified that from what they learned at the board they took their web business from scratch to impressive profitability in record time, so you can probably do it yourself if you dedicate the time to participate. Not passively - active participation is one of the keys to getting the most advantage.
If you're hesitant, there are people who do simple SEO consultations that cover the broad points of what sites need, and then people can do it themselves, which you no doubt will be able to do quite effectively if you apply yourself and soak everything up here for a while.
Hey layer8, how about posting your SEO checklist right here in the forum for everyone to see, then people can add their favorites to it and we can all learn together. :)
There is no simple solution, and anyone that says otherwise is selling something that isn't real.
You are going to have to learn a heck of a lot, and you are going to have to pay for that in time or $$$$.
Things in the SEO business change constantly. IMHO it is better to invest the time than the $$$$. Good expert advice will cost you $10K to $40K per month...FACT! Try to do it on the cheap and expect to get burnt.
Give up 20 hours per month and you can learn everything you need to know to master SE positions.
Plan for it to take 4 to 8 months. Plan to spend the hours, plan to spend a few $$$ on mistakes. Plan to experiment with domains and education in a non-live environment.
$3K will not take you very far in sponsored promotion, but 20 hours per month can make you tens of thousands per month if you are willing to give up that level of time.
If you already know HTML and ASP you have the basic tools required. Spend lots of time looking at your competitors, they will teach you almost everything you need to know to become #1 in your sector:)
* Clean up my HTML per the many discussions in this forum - I have already done most of this, my site was pitiful
* A recpricical link strategy
* Submit to the directories - I have search a # of them that I find my competitors, so I will submit to those. I don't really see much traffic comming from them but I will trust that the spidering process will help me rise and what traffic I get will be bonus.
* I am going to spend sopme $ with morevisibility.com or similar for some pay-per-click.
Does this sound good?
Thanks for your responses!
Google Adwords has a very intuative interface, lets you split test ads against each other, and provides a basic conversion tracking facility. If you play around with small bids per click, and tightly target your ads (ie match keywords closely and make it explicit what you sell and how much it costs), you'll pick it up very quickly without wasting very much cash.
A word of advice with the first two. These are the only 2 of my plan of action thats costs me money. They do work great only if you know how to use them properly. Its not all about getting number 1 (although its nice) by using the CPC engines. If number one is £3 per click and number 4 is 10p, then I choose number 4. Keep that in mind.
I use all these methods to help get traffic to my site.
Link exchange for Google. However, steer clear from the Free-For-Alls. I believe Google does not like them.
Do It Yourself Search Engine Optimisation. Its quite easy really, don't waste your money getting somebody else to do it for you. Make the most of all the resouces given to you.
Google Adsense is a good source for revenue.
You say you have limited time, that will go against you. Search Engine Optisation is very time consuming and will take a lot of hard word and dedication to do it properly.
Overall, if you want something doing properly, do it yourself. Thats what I say. And one last thing that every marketeer keeps in mind is the old saying "If it sounds too good to be true - it proberbly is". The internet is full of scams in the marketing industry - be alert.
I hope this info is useful. Good luck
Terry
My one word of caution is to keep control of your site(s). Don’t go and hire someone that will deconstruct what you have already built.
Let me also agree with all of those that suggested Adwords. It’s a great place for a small budget program.
jb
I do have numerous PPC keywords Google and Overture - it is my best ROI for advertsiment that I have done ever. I hope to suplement. With SEO.....
Thanks again everyone!
