SEO For Service Companies
by Chris Wade
So lets talk about search engines. They’re what the yellow pages used to be. You need to be there.
There are really three ways to get your site to the top of the local search engines. One is commonly used, very expensive, and is like the sugary candy my kids used to crave. This is external site pay per click. Maybe you’ve used this type of service. A company sets up a special website for you (that they own) and guarantees a certain number of leads per month, or agrees to a specific budget. And they do generate leads by placing sponsored links for your goods and services on Google and other search engines. The problem with these services is that you are paying to develop traffic on a website that someone else owns and as soon as you stop paying any longer term value you would have certainly retained if this site where yours, is gone. And like my kids after the sugar buzz where’s off, your just left feeling a little tired and a little guilty. It really makes no sense.
The second quick way to develop traffic and leads is pay per click. This is expensive, but fast, and can be a smart play for contractors wanting to develop business in a specific niche quickly. The key here is that any pay per click investment not only generates leads in the short term, but drives traffic to your site, so it builds the organic value of your site that will continue to work for you after you’ve suspended your pay per click campaign. This strategy is clearly better than the first, but it is like considering your vehicular needs only in light of what they look like on the outside, not the overall business functions they need to perform. Today’s website need to be a broad-based business tool, not just an expensive rolling billboard.
So what did I mean by “organic value”? That’s the third, most profitable, and most difficult way to build search engine performance -and more importantly, overall site value.
Before we get too far I have to bring up one thing. If you’re like us you are getting phone calls and emails every week from people offering “white hat” site optimization. While there are some good companies that can help, the vast majority contacting you are people you need to be careful with. There are no secret codes or bits on magic knowledge that will enhance your site’s performance overnight (aside from pay per click). The bottom line here is you get what you pay for and good white hat solutions are not cheap.
So for most people it is when your site is properly structured, gets enough traffic, and is updated enough so that it is at or near the top of searches for your local market when a consumer is looking for your types of products. And most importantly, good organic search results are a by-product of good online operations. Good organic site performance is an investment in your business’s future.
It is so true that building relations in your business is the first thing you need to establish to see success. Some people do that by sharing things for free, some do that by creating highly unique content and some do that by getting personal.
Good post mate!! Keep ‘em flowing!