I know this topic has been covered before, but I need some advice. One of my clients has been reading a lot of business development books. The latest one suggests that he invest time and money in SEO.
I just spoke with him a few minutes ago and he asked me if I was an SEO expert, which clearly I am not and that’s what I told him. For those of you who have your own website design businesses, do you contract SEO out or did you simply learn to do it yourself? Also, since Google and Bing are constantly changing their search engine algorithms, do SEO experts really exists?
What would a so-called SEO expert do for your client that you don’t already do or can’t do yourself? If the answer is something obviously beyond your current understanding or ability then maybe you should outsource it. But personally I doubt they can do any more than you could with some effort, such as logical and relevant: content, description, page titles, semantic markup and so on.
I’m pretty sure I can do this and thanks to you and other FT members, I’m much better versed in SEO than I was 2-3 years ago, but I still feel like I need to learn a little more.
What is a good way to become better at SEO? Also, have you ever tracked the results of a page you’ve optimized to see what effect your efforts had? And finally, how long did it take you to achieve the desired results?
Thanks Todd. I appreciate your help.
ps: I ordered my new BCs today, after a lot of deliberation. I really need to work on my indecisiveness. It’ll likely be the death of me.
Become better at SEO? The articles Walter linked to are a good starting point.
The time it takes to see results - assuming there is a noticeable improvement, which there may not be - will depend in part on how often the site currently gets indexed. Some sites like FWT may get indexed a few times per day whereas others languish in the cold recesses of deep (virtual) space for weeks before Google comes-a-knocking.
There are so many variables that can affect your results it’s easy to end up like a dog chasing its tail. You can’t make Google do anything, especially when the goalposts keep moving, so let the concept of Content is King be your guide and you won’t go far wrong. Though I suppose there are ways to go about purchasing better results from Google.
Todd
What is a good way to become better at SEO? Also, have you ever tracked the results of a page you’ve optimized to see what effect your efforts had? And finally, how long did it take you to achieve the desired results?
Like a lot of things on the interwebs, SEO is a moving target - so if you
feel like there is more to learn you are always on the right track.
I remember back to my early days and the webstandards movement, which today
is all so grown up. It still looks familiar to me but is not the wide-eyed
idealist of it’s infancy. I imaging this conversation will sound very
different in just a few years, though I hope we will all remain somewhat
nostalgically in love with the idea of content separate of presentation.
