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do they usually charge a flat fee, or do they charge recurring maintenance fees?
Between onpage keyword optimization and doing link exchanging, I'm pretty much clueless as to what else I can be doing. Can you give some hints that the pros use? :)
That's pretty hard to answer don't you think?
It depends on who you hire, and what you sell.
Most everyone says it's still relevant today.
There are all kinds of reasons to farm things. Lack of expertise, lack of time, need to focus on other things, etc.
Many of us here run companies. We don't have time to do everything from mopping the floors to fulfilling orders to making sales calls to planning marketing strategy to answering customer queries to developing new content to deal with suppliers, etc.
Unfortunately, SEO is one of those areas in which there are more snake-oil salesmen than you can shake a stick at. I'm personally scared of the entire profession.
So farming out carries substantial risks. You might be really happy to find your site vault in the SERPs only to discover it disappearing altogether because of some trick the SEO pulled.
Well, that, and I am pretty well connected.
Keywords. I read so much being bandied about regarding various methods. Makes little to no sense to me.
Here's my secret:
Have keywords relevant to your site. Ex: If your site is about automobiles, use any term relative to them...spark plugs included. Do not use terms like 'picnic basket'.
Use Anonyms, Homonyms and Synonyms of the words you've selected.
The text verbiage describing a site, generally found in the about sections, are the very words I use to describe the site I've listed. Those terms, in turn, become the results the engines return. Your 'about' section becomes my keywords.
Do NOT change keywords. Let them alone.
If you are one that constantly adds content and then plays the SERPS game, don't pay any attention to what I'm saying.
A rudimentary search of WebmasterWorld will pull up all kinds of pages regarding Linking and it's drawbacks.
Since the advent of hyphenated URLS, I rarely add them to my listing because I know they are only interested in making money. I am interested in providing my visitors with valid, albeit eclectic, material they can use. That's why they keep coming back looking for more.
When you do a search for your domain, check out the linking policies of those who are 'similar to you'. Write them and ask if they think your material is worthy of inclusion. Don't tell them about how reciprocal this is and how we will all benefit. Not everyone cares.
In my opinion, based on my results, Google and any other engine that 'Ranks' a site is a waste of time. A waste of time because those rankings are so fluid and very much out of the control of those involved.
Spread that focus out a bit.
My domain was manually listed in every engine that was around in 1995, when it went online with Tripod. In September 1998 I purchased the name.
I do NOT accept sites that throw pops of any kind. When I discover they've begun doing so, I drop them without so much as a Howdy-do. I have a personal distain for them and refuse listings to those that throw them. Forget the late JavaScript pops too. I check the source coding for those telltale companies providing them. If it's there, bye-bye.
Quality, quality, quality.
Remember, my premise is NOT to make money, it is to have traffic. I'm an altruist with an ego. When they come, I will serve them. They come because they know they can get thru all my indices without having to dodge pops.
Do NOT rely solely on Google determining who links to you. That is sooo lame, it's almost pathetic. There are plenty of other sources out there and the vast majority of them list true listings of those linking to me. Google shows a lot of my pages, which of course, link to me. Duh! Google is overrated in many areas.
There are all manner of webmasters who come here and from every conceivable site. From Porn to those who make their money via UCE/SPAM and everyone in between. You can bank on that, so yes, there is also a bit of mis-information running around too. It's up to the reader to decide.
Anyway, where are all those SEO experts from the boards? I don't see them responding. Am I expected to assume anything from a poster, or just what they say so as to tailor my response?
I prefer ballpark until the poster responds.
The most important lesson others should glean from his post is that if you create a new site, you should create it in 1998. For those who don't have a time machine, well, you'll need to pay attention to the advice given by others in this forum.
