Time is precious, let’s jump right in.
- Find a qualified SEO consultant. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the core tactic for any good web marketing campaign. Getting recommendations is the best way to find a good SEO firm. A good website designer is NOT always good at Search engine optimization so be careful of that pitfall. Just because they can make pretty sites, doesn’t mean they can make effective sites.
- Make it a win/win situation. First set a structured agreement with a proper scope of work, so you are both clear on the goals. Once you find a good partner for your web marketing campaign, compensate them fairly. If they do a great job, make sure to reward them. If they are doing their job, then you should be reaping the rewards. Remember, most likely you’re getting sales, customers and dollars in the bank that you wouldn’t have gotten without their help.
- Set realistic goals. Work with your SEO firm to get conversions, not just traffic and google rankings. Being ranked #1 in google for a keyword might be fun to talk about at parties, but make sure that keyword is bringing home the bacon too. Make sure the traffic they are generating will bring you qualified prospects, not just warm bodies.
- Be honest with your SEO consultant. Have you been doing web marketing on your own? Have you hired another firm recently that may have been, well, less than scrupulous? A good SEO consultant can distinguish much about your site and your business from a comprehensive online audit, but they may not be able to uncover all the skeletons in your website’s closet. So if you want an effective web marketing campaign, come clean and let them know about any problems with your previous web marketing efforts.
- Implement your plan properly. If you’re paying good money to a web marketing expert, leverage their advice and implement the plan they’ve laid out carefully and concisely. There are many tactics to an effective web marketing campaign, and often times they work in concert with one another. Leave out an important step and you may get less than the desired result.
The bottom line is despite how much you think you can “do this stuff yourself” it really makes much more financial sense to hire a pro. How much time will it take you? How much is your time worth? Take the normal precautions you use to hire any vendor. Get recommendations, check their references, and heck, google them online and see what turns up. If you follow these steps your web marketing campaign will most likely help you find new qualified prospects, bring them back to your website and convert them into customers, adding dollars to your bottom line.
