SEO Alone is Not Enough
I just happened to be listening to a discussion on the TV last night when a couple of commentators were discussing how to make money during the recession. Of course my ears pricked up when I heard one of them mention SEO. He stated that there is a lack of SEO experts in the market and there is a lot of demand for this expertise. He also mentioned that there is a "small amount of learning" involved.
I was horrified. A small amount of learning?? This means that huge numbers of the unemployed population will now think that they can become SEO experts and their unsuspecting clients will be losing out big time.
Don't get me wrong, SEO in itself is really not that difficult to learn and is certainly essential for all websites. There are plenty of tools out there to help you find the relevant keywords and niche words for your website and tons of articles written on how to use the terms to optimize your pages, however SEO doesn't just finish with getting your site on the first page of Google.
Firstly, if the wording that appears within the results on the Search Engine is not compelling enough your result might be completely overlooked, and surfers might click on a different link to one of your competitors sites, even though this link maybe be lower down on the search result page. Writing title tags and meta descriptions for the search engine results page needs some expertise.
Secondly, even if you are lucky enough that the surfer clicked the link to your website this doesn't guarantee that they will remain there for more than a moment. If the page doesn't answer the question the surfer was looking to answer, he will be gone within seconds - literally.
The back button is only a click away and often we find it easier to click this, return to the search engine , and click on one of the other results rather than spend time trying to find a needle in a haystack on the web page or website we just landed on.
Web page writing and design is an art, not so much in regards to beauty but just in regards to how quick you get the message across to your visitor. The main message needs be clear and hit the surfer in the face as soon as he arrives on the page. Once you have accomplished this you need to tempt your visitor further into your site. The visitor's purpose might just be to collect more information on your products or services, to purchase online or complete a form to receive further information; however you need to give him all the options in a clear and precise fashion. Even if your visitor doesn't purchase or complete a form today at least his experience on your website should be good enough that maybe he will come back when he is ready to go ahead and purchase.
Like I said at the beginning of this article SEO is essential, however, when you decide on a SEO company make sure that this isn't the only expertise they claim to have. Ask for proof of their success not just in ranking a company on the first page of Google but keeping the visitor on the site.
