Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
Being that I'm new to web development, I had not encountered that question before. I really didn't want to get into a discussion about it because 1) It would've gone way over their heads, 2) I know they're not going to budget money for web marketing.
I more or less said there is an entire industry focused on getting high page rankings for specific keywords. It's a science that is constantly changing as the search engines become smarter. Given the client's business is not unique, the best we can do is optimize the site. More importantly, since they're bricks n mortar with no out of state customers, my emphasis would be on promoting the site through local media.
It seems to be a can of worms topic but I need a better response to this question rather than try to deflect it.
TIA.
As you say if you start a discussion on search engine optimisation it will be over their heads
Starting with "Well there is this spider called googlebot which visits your website and requests your robots.txt file...the spider and the web they may understand but googlebot and robots will blow their minds" ;)
You could start with these for your search engine promotion
[webmasterworld.com...]
[webmasterworld.com...]
information about google
[webmasterworld.com...]
successful site in 12 months with google
[webmasterworld.com...]
more info
[searchengineworld.com...]
hope this helps
In the initial meeting with a client (a retail chain), one person asked "how can be be at the top of the list when someone searches for "widget" ".Being that I'm new to web development, I had not encountered that question before. I really didn't want to get into a discussion about it because 1) It would've gone way over their heads, 2) I know they're not going to budget money for web marketing.
I get asked this question quite a lot. It pays to be able to answer it, because it goes a long way to establishing your crediblity as an expert.
The trick is to be able to reduce the "technobabble" down into something they can understand and process. With a little practice, it's entirely possible to present the information in a manner that non-technical people will understand. (I do it all the time.) The key is to focus on the concept of "what" rather than the technology of "how."
Since the answer to that question is, "search engine marketing/optimization" try writing a definition that does not use a single "technical" term. I even avoid using the term "keyword" until I've explained what it means. (Remember, you're giving a simple explanation of what search engine marketing is, not how it's done.)
I more or less said there is an entire industry focused on getting high page rankings for specific keywords. It's a science that is constantly changing as the search engines become smarter. Given the client's business is not unique, the best we can do is optimize the site. More importantly, since they're bricks n mortar with no out of state customers, my emphasis would be on promoting the site through local media.It seems to be a can of worms topic but I need a better response to this question rather than try to deflect it.
What you want to do is take the client through the process of determining if their business can benefit from search engine marketing. What you did instead, by deflecting the question, was to essentially tell them that it would not benefit them, without actually knowing if it would or not.
By doing so, you've left the door open for someone else, armed with actual facts, to show them how it could benefit them, and steal your client from you.
-webwoman
The page titles, the nav link titles, the headings, the keywords, the description, the content, the internal/external non-nav links, etc. all bear directly on both the site design and the site marketing (especially SEO).
The very first thing I do with new clients is get a dialog going to determine exactly what they want to accomplish with the site. Once the end purpose(s) are defined the site design and marketing fall into place and I can initiate a quote for, and general description of, services included/excluded. And why.
I also include mention of additional available services such as ongoing maintenance/SEM at various cost levels.
In the initial meeting with a client (a retail chain), one person asked "how can be be at the top of the list when someone searches for "widget" ".
My answer to that question is "your ranking in any search engine depends, like any marketing campaign result, on the amount of time, effort, imagination, knowledge, and experience that you are willing to budget for ongoing SEM and how well managed that investment is compared to your competitors." Stuffy, I know, but I have found it is received much better than: "you get what you pay for".
Managers/owners dislike spending money, especially for "technical" items with which they are unfamiliar. However, they do understand marketing/advertising and they do understand the ROI of marketing.
Think marketing, forget the SEO geek speak, present a range of cost/benefit choices, both within the site design quote and as after sale services, and let the client choose.
And under no circumstances promise, however indirectly, a particular ranking.
Just occurred to me that a tutorial might be appreciated by any client and secondarily, might help to pre-sell services. If presented in the initial meetings, it conveys the "this guy knows what he's doing" image we all want to project.
food for thought.
