Building a business without proper search engine optimization is about as useful as ice skating uphill: while possible, it’s an unnecessary challenge. That’s why so many people have gone to SEO agencies in order to help them craft or perfect their website for the purposes of raising their organic results and gaining more attention to their company, which is also why a clever entrepreneur can start their own SEO agency and really take advantage of this booming market.
Like with any business, it helps to know what you’re talking about, but with only a few tips you can get yourself started in the rapidly growing world of search engine optimization.
1. Learn the business inside and out
Unfortunately, there is no way around this part. You have to know how to do SEO and you have to know the business side of the industry. In fact, you have to know it better than all of your friends and almost anyone that you’re likely to meet since it’s an information-heavy field. The Internet is a rapidly changing environment and you’re going to have to know not only what’s going on, but how best to stay on top of that information as it’s happening. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to keep informed about the changes that are coming: industry blogs, search engine company updates you can get in your email, SEO forums and chat services, etc. Be ready to spend at least a couple of hours a week investigating rumors and preparing for major changes to how you do business.
2. Work with a reseller
SEO resellers can be the exact thing that you need to solidify your company as you start to take off. A “reseller” is essentially a contractor that you hire to help you do your search engine optimization work while still maintaining your own brand. Companies like Marketer’s Center take on the responsibility of doing all of the mechanics like building links and creating content while you focus on finding new clients and building the brand. A high quality reseller is usually cheaper than hiring your own people while your business is still growing and allows you the freedom that you need to keep building.
3. Make sure your own website is perfect
The very first test that any client will put you through is that they will be searching for SEO agencies on the Internet. If your name doesn’t come up, then you’ve failed the test. That’s why you have to make sure that you practice everything you’re about to preach to your clients. Scour your website code and make sure that every single little advantage that you can get is being utilized. Update your content regularly and make sure that it is properly formatted for search engines to get the most out of it. Research pay per click advertising and how to get people to go to your site that way. From day one you want to be crawling to the top of those Google ranks and never stop because if you can’t do it for yourself, you can’t do it for somebody else.
4. Be honest with your customers
This shouldn’t have to be said, but unfortunately it often does: just be honest. You have a solid product, one that people actually can use and will help their business immensely. As a result, there is no reason to try and oversell it. Don’t tell your clients that they’ll be on the top page of Google in a week because that is highly unlikely. Explain long tail advertising instead of promising dominance on the major keywords. Educate them on the limitations of SEO as well as the benefits, then show them why the latter outweighs the former. When you possess arcane knowledge of any sort, the temptation is to make it seem like magic to keep your client reliant on you, but in the era of instant information there is no way of keeping that data out of your clients’ hands, so instead of trying to dazzle or wow them, focus on educating them so they’ll support your well-researched decisions confidently.
These are only a few things you should keep in mind. Starting any business is difficult, but if you take your time and learn what you’re doing you can build a solid SEO company that will help others also be successful.