Re: Search Engine Optimization Agencies

From: Doug Klein <doug.klein_at_centric.com>
Date: Fri 03 Nov 2000 13:51:44 -0500

DEBRA BRANDT <debra_brandt_at_yahoo.com> WROTE:
> I've been given the task of optimizing our web site's
> presence in search engines. A while back, our company
> contracted an agency to assist us with this effort, and
> I've been quite disappointed with the results. They
> achieved some decent rankings for us, but only on a few
> of the minor search engines, and only for
> keywords/phrases that were not high priorities for us.


Wow, what a great summation of the kinds of stories we
hear EVERY DAY from marketers who have been "given the
task of optimizing" their search engine positions.
First, let me say you should pass this on to some other
unsuspecting victim if you can because you're in for
quite a journey. Let me lay out the landscape a bit
for you.

First off, the most important aspect of SEO is making
sure you select the right people to do the job. People
who stay in touch with what's going on, new search
engine rules, etc. This is frequently a task that
in-house people don't have the time for. But if you
don't know what's going on at Direct Hit, have a
connection at Yahoo, are an editor at ODP, and know
what cloaking, gateway pages, and robots.txt are, your
chances of success are pretty slim. It takes a lot of
ongoing research and know-how both technically AND
creatively.

You then need the RIGHT keywords. Do you know exactly
how many people per month across all the search engines
are actually searching for the words you have chosen
and done a ROI analysis on whether or not the effort is
worth the placement in the long run? Use what is
actually being searched for as a basis for selecting
your keywords and you'll be much better off. Did you
know that "internet marketing," for example, is
searched for eight times more often than "web
marketing"?

Finally, ask for case studies from anyone you talk to.
Ask for approximate time to get you indexed and make
them stick to it. Look for performance-based SEO
programs, not monthly retainers. Make sure that any
changes that are made to your site or content are yours
to keep. Many of the best agencies offering SEO make
changes and place them on their own servers so when
your contract with them is up, they take down all the
work that got you your placements.

Is it possible to do all this yourself? Yes. But it
takes an extraordinary amount of time. The right
agency is still your best choice because they have
dedicated resources to ongoing research, hopefully have
a track record to show you what they're doing works,
and have research, success tracking and reporting tools
already in-house to manage and continually optimize
your program.

And finally, if you have any more questions, feel free
to email me.

Doug Klein
Director, Web Marketing
CENTRIC
T 800.9.CENTRIC F 661.295.8525
http://www.centric.com





Received on Fri Nov 03 2000 - 12:51:44 CST