The secret to SEO success (plus a bonus)
Search Engine Optimisation.
Are your palms sweating? Did you heart start racing? Has panic set in?
SEO.
No other acronym has the power to strike such dread into every small business person who relies on the whims of Google to get customers or clients. Well, except maybe ATO.
Unfortunately, it is in a lot of people’s interest to make SEO seem scary and mysterious and daunting. Because if they can do that, they are more likely to convince you to outsource the whole shebang – to them of course.
And while there are many, many decent SEO professionals, there are also a lot of snake oil salespeople. And it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference, mainly because all the dodgy stuff is done behind the scenes.
So how do you if and SEO “expert” is actually try to sell you snake oil? There are a few dead giveaways:
Too-good-to-be-true promises
If someone tells you they can get you to number one in a week, run, don’t walk, away. Firstly, if they can do it, it is likely to be for a very unhelpful keyword phrase. A good SEO expert knows what keyword phrases work, and also knows that Google is very protective of its algorithm and may change it without warning. Hence no reliable SEO consultant will make such a guarantee.
Link buying
Natural, organic links from established sites are awesome (and are hard to come by). It’s much easy to buy links – or use automatic link-building software. But Google is pretty good at spotting the difference, and you might find yourself penalised as quickly as you can say “I got to number one on Google today”.
Content
Ask to see some of the content they have provided for other clients. If it smacks of keyword Adelaide Copywriter stuffing and is not Adelaide Copywriter written for actual people, it’s dodgy. And, as you can see, you can spot stuffed keywords a mile away 🙂
Client base
A reputable SEO consultant will have a good solid client list of established companies, who rank well. And will rank well themselves.
Price
A dodgy SEO company will be cheap. It takes time to build real backlinks, and to develop (and implement) a content marketing plan. Not to mention provide the content. So a reputable firm is likely to set you back a couple of thousand bucks a month. And will want you to lock in a certain number of months – because they know that good SEO, like Rome, was not built in a day.
Now, what if I was to say that there is a cheaper (and easier) way – you can learn all you need to know about SEO with Kate Toon’s new e-course The Recipe for SEO Success. For a fraction of the cost of hiring an SEO consultant, Kate (who is also my copywriting hero) will take you through the ins and outs of DIY SEO – in layman’s terms and based on her tried and true tactics that got her site to number 1 for Sydney Copywriter.
No need to fear the mysteries of SEO, Kate’s 8-week course is aimed at beginner. She even throws in an SEO audit of your site and one-on-one consulation.
Course registrations close on February 23rd – with an early-bird discount of 10 per cent valid till February 1 – and the course begins March 1.
And if you use my affiliate link, I will throw in a half-hour Skype session where you get to pick my brain about your biggest marketing or PR barrier.
I hope to chat with you soon.
Till next time
Nicole