How to Pick an SEO Professional - SEO Professionals
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There is no degree in Search Engine Optimization offered in colleges and universities, but there are accreditations from various organizations like SEMPO and Bruceclay. Search marketing has become a course in marketing schools world wide (from universities in the United States to universities in Spain). Search Engine Optimization requires a mix of skills that range from the hard (technical) to the soft (people skills and "spin" marketing).
This article is aimed at institutions who are looking to get professional SEO done on their site, and want to identify their needs and what to look for in an SEO "professional." It is also aimed at those who simply want to get their web sites optimized for the search engines. Before we go deeper into what kind of SEO professional you need, let's look at whether you need an SEO professional at all.
DIY or Outsourcing
Depending on your needs, you could actually just draw up your objectives and learn how to do SEO yourself. Some knowledge of server technology is required, as well as web development skills. Everything else requires an ability to write some text and send persuasive emails.
But most importantly you must have time on your hands. To do organic SEO you need a lot of time -- time to source/write and edit copy and time to trade links; time to totally redesign your site from scratch if you see it is not meeting your traffic needs. You do not need to work on your SEO full time, but you need a lot of time. Think of it as taking on a second job.
Automated DIY
A good way of doing your search engine optimization yourself is by using SEO software, one of the most common programs being seoelite. The software is pretty user friendly and costs less than $200. Apart from that it satisfies some of the conditions traditionally required of SEO professionals (especially that of ranking well on the SERPs for your key words). Type in SEO software and the web site for this software ranks number one.
DIY Not for Everybody
Note that this is only for small sites which can be comfortably run by a single individual, not for a mega site with thousands of pages. Your SEO is a full time job. DIY is good only if you have time. If you want to spend most of your time on whatever your core skill is, you may have to hire an SEO professional to handle your optimization. It is in this area that most individuals find out that picking an SEO professional is a lot like picking a financial consultant: if you pick an inept one, you lose money. We will look at how SEO professionals develop (from my perspective), some good ways to pick professionals and what to ask for when doing "due diligence." We'll also look at one common myth about SEO professionals, and how they bill.
Next: Not Every Professional is a Professional >>
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