We here at Big Red SEO in Omaha are always hard at work helping our clients rise to the top of search engine results pages, but admittedly the work we do is kind of an enigma. Search engine optimization isn’t a product that you can see and touch, so it’s hard for those who don’t know how it works to buy in. That’s understandable. The mistake, though, is to not perform your due diligence as a business owner and miss out on all the ways that SEO can benefit your company.
Too many business owners come to search engine optimization providers wanting a solution that’s both cheap and effective. While it’s possible to come up with an affordable SEO marketing solution that gives you good returns on your bottom line, it’s equally true that you get what you pay for.
Cheaper SEO “solutions” generally come with strings attached—maybe the company promises you “First Page Results in 14 Days GUARANTEED!,” or another equally outlandish offer. As a business owner you want to believe that you’ll be able to see big returns with minimal cost and effort, but when price is your number one concern it’s easy to fall prey to SEO companies that don’t have your company’s best interests in mind.
How can you tell whether an SEO company is on the up and up? There are some telltale signs you should be aware of, but a good general rule is that if an SEO company is offering something that sounds too good to be true, you should follow your gut.
There’s cheap SEO out in them thar hills…
There are many reasons to avoid search engine optimization companies that only provide bottom dollar services, but maybe the most compelling is that using these services can do your business more harm than good. These cheap services employ techniques that major search engines like Google find very shady, and if your company is caught using these “black hat” techniques to get ahead of your competition the fast and easy way, you’ll often be penalized with few avenues of recourse. Most often your company will be dropped off the search engine results pages completely, sometimes for months or even years, and this can mean the death of your business.
In short, then, using certain SEO services simply because they don’t cost your company much money is a strategy that can easily backfire. Most of these providers don’t keep up with their industry knowledge and use years-old shady methods to get you to the top quickly without caring about long-term consequences. You’re much better off looking for a local SEO company that has the industry knowledge and experience to get you the results you want at a price that’s reasonable for the services they’re providing.
So what does an effective SEO provider look like?
First of all, you’ll want to begin by looking for an SEO specialist who’s interesting in getting to know you and how your business works. The best local SEO company will sit you down for an initial consultation. This covers the risks and opportunities associated with your business, an analysis of the market as well as your competition, and a review of your current strategy, budget, and timeline for success. Every business is unique, with its own goals and growth processes, so every search engine optimization strategy should be uniquely tailored to your company. Beware of “off-the-rack” SEO plans that come at a fixed price and only a few rigid tiers of service—these SEO providers treat the process like a product, and an ill-fitting one at that.
You should look at search engine optimization like the pros do; they won’t promise to get you on the first page of Google in two weeks because they know that’s unrealistic, but they will tell you that with the right budget and ongoing support from professionals in the SEO industry, your company will see substantial gains in traffic, audience, and conversions. This won’t happen overnight, but that’s no different than anything else that’s worth doing to grow your business, and that’s why treating your SEO efforts as an investment in your company is the smartest approach.
Contact Big Red SEO Today at (402) 522-6468!
Big Red SEO is an SEO and web design company based in Omaha, Nebraska. We help our clients gain more exposure on leading search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, by implementing individualized strategies tailored to the needs of their growing businesses.
We’re also the only SEO company in the area to offer industry exclusivity, which means that we only work with one client in a given industry and market at a time. This way you can be assured that all of our efforts are going to get you to the top of the SERPs!
If your business could use some more online exposure, give our team of affordable SEO marketing professionals a call today at (402) 522-6468! We’d love to get started working for you!
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