SEO for Small Business, Hiring an SEO Expert

As the owner of a small business, I am continually solicited by service providers and I'm sure I am not alone.  During 2013, there was a notable increase in service providers offering expert SEO, Search Engine Optimization, all promising we would "Stand out from the crowd". 

Who doesn't want great SEO! We all want to be on page one.  We all want to have content that speaks to our intended audience.  We want to be seen, heard, and recognized for the hard work we do and the value that we bring to our clients.  SEO is a lot like high school.  Popularity, a following, influence, trend setting... a date for the Senior Prom.  These are akin to Likes, RTs, Connections, Going Viral, and Conversions.  

One quick measure for checking out a potential SEO expert, is to do a search on their business name.  Does it come up in the search results?  How are they ranked with the search engines? A recent article on realbusiness.com listed 6 ways to make sure you find the right service provider for SEO: Here is a recap-

1. Don’t purchase based on price alone.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Give a lot of credit to someone who is trying to manage your expectations and doesn’t promise immediate results.  There are NO guarantees with SEO.
3. Check references and case studies prior to signing an agreement.
4. Make sure they have experience in your industry.  This is critical, as the expert must know your buyer.
5. Deliverables are clearly articulated. This can be a tough one because good SEO requires a lot of research and is ever changing. Be sure to get a documented scope of work.
6. Learn about SEO.  Do as much research as you can about how to hire before you embark on your quest for top rankings. 

The article went on to say, "search engine marketing is just that. Marketing. SEO is not just about stuffing as many keywords as you can fit onto your homepage anymore.  Creating valuable content and optimizing it for the user experience should always be the top priority."

This blog post is not going to help NSI with its SEO, because technically, it does not cover the topics of IT Support, IT Services, and it is void of many other keywords such as Connecticut and Computer. Additionally, the keywords are not integral to the article, they are simply all lined up at the end.  

That doesn't mean the article isn't helpful, and in the end, that is the most important thing.