The Internet Market is a huge one with a lot of potential. Consequently, everyone wants a bigger share of the pie. As with all products/ services there are bad apples amongst the good ones. There are hundreds of sites advertising different brands of a product. Many sites offer the same services. So, what does the average customer do?
He or she looks it up a search engine.
Search engines offer us a ranking of different companies based on various factors such as keyword frequency, meta tags, inbound links and so on. Different search engines like Bing, Yahoo and Google developed different algorithms and processes to rank the sites. Companies looked toward improving their rankings either by improving the contents of their websites or by hiring the services of an SEO.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Alternatively, it could stand for Search Engine Optimizer which is a firm offering Optimization services. There are many such firms around the world. One such company is results first. Based in New Zealand, this company offers a variety of services such as the following:
a) Internet Marketing
b) Online marketing
c) Web marketing
d) Conversion optimization
e) Web design
They offer a 90 day guarantee to boost your firm’s search engine rankings to the top of the list and the client gets to hold back all payments should the target not be achieved. With a snazzy website, they list out all their clients and have posted a few testimonials too. Also, listed are the accreditations and awards received for an exemplary service.
Additionally, this company assures you of complete professionalism and ethical techniques. They promise you the best customer care by dedicating a constant account manager throughout the duration of their services to you. Also promised are the services of a specialist in every aspect of your requirement, so that your website is received favorably by any search engine’s algorithm, thereby projecting your site in the best possible light.
So what should you look for in an SEO Firm?
a) The profile of the company should suit the hiring firm’s requirements.
b) Case studies and prior experience in the same field.
c) Background data, success and failure rates provide a clear image of the prospective SEO.
d) Transparency in techniques.
e) A visible time frame and a realistic target.
f) Regular and constant updating of site info to meet the ever changing market.
It is really important that the firm uses legal and above board techniques in aiding you to improve your search engine rankings. While it may be easier and definitely, faster to use black/ grey hat techniques, it will definitely not pay off in the long run. Furthermore, you run a risk of having your site removed from all search engines are shut down itself. So, what are these black hat techniques? Any technique which is unethical and illegal may be called black hat. These include link spamming, redundant and meaningless use of keywords and meta tags, deceptive rerouting, etc. All these strategies are basically designed to boost the ranking of the site rather than actually help any potential customer are a genuine product. On the other hand, white hat methods are legal and approved by search engines. They normally follow the Google Webmaster guidelines and are ranked solely on their worthiness.
Searches may be based on a variety of factors such as image, videos, locations, etc. and it’s the job of the SEO to ensure that your company gets placed high up no matter the criteria asked. With the advent of Google Maps, search engines help locate the closest product/ service provider and the SEO needs to be able to use this to the client’s advantage.
