The benefits of tapping experts and consultants to implement your SEO campaign are obvious. The prospects of online business have already boomed extensively, and search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial – make that ‘necessary’ – part of drawing more customers to your website. But while every other Internet marketing agency and professional SEO vendor will be ready to take you up on the challenge of implementing an effective SEO campaign, the more important question is: are you?
Here’s how you know you’re ready to tap and take professional SEO help:
- You know it’s not a short-term thing. People say everyone can do SEO – but that’s only true insofar as ten years ago, when you could just hide keywords in backgrounds of the same color, and pay for a thousand useless links, and leave comment spam everywhere as though you just swallowed the whole can of spam. Today, there are no shortcuts. You have to realize that, to successfully implement an SEO campaign, you’d have to have a team of professionals dedicated to helping you – every step of the way.
- You know it’s not a short-term thing that doesn’t involve you. The thing about SEO that a lot of people don’t realize is that it’s a long-term investment – a long-term commitment that will involve you and your people, and not just the group of specialists you’ve partnered with for your project. You don’t leave all the work to them; SEO requires your active participation – and at some point, you’ll have to get your feet wet. If you’re fine with that, then chances are you’re ready.
- You know what your SEO team is doing. Part of the “active participation” we’re talking about above is educating yourself about SEO. You take the time to find out what it takes to make a website successful, you read blogs on SEO-related topics, and you consult your SEO team or vendor on industry subjects you’re not particularly abreast of. SEO is not about whistling in the dark and hoping your website ranks number one on Google the next day. It’s about gathering all the resources you have at your disposal and knowing, as best as you can, what it takes to get there.
- You know they’re not always right. Yes, they may have all the tools and technical expertise in the world, but this doesn’t mean you can’t ever question those who are implementing your SEO campaign. After all it’s your website. You’re the client. And as an educated, actively participating client, you try to comprehend what exactly is going on, and you ask questions if you have to. You don’t just stand there and let the mysteries go un-deciphered.
- You know it’s not always about rankings. The Internet evolves so rapidly that it’s not what it used to be. And SEO is not what it used to be. Search rankings are now only one of many equally important indicators of a successful campaign. Or at least that’s what your SEO team should tell you, and which you should understand. Factor in social media, video SEO, real conversions, and a bunch of other terms and numbers – and you’ll realize that indeed, it’s not always about rankings. It’s about results.
- You believe in teamwork. As we keep emphasizing, there’s no “I” in SEO. It’s a team effort, and don’t be surprised if your SEO consultants ask you for information that would help them understand better how your site works. If you’re ready, truly ready, to have your site optimized, then you’ll collaborate. If you’re not ready, you won’t exactly be called “selfish”, but you’re keeping your SEO team from doing the job that you’ve paid them to do.
- You pay attention to what the experts say. SEO experts and consultants – just by the very nature of their work – will have lots of recommendations for you to implement. That’s to help the SEO campaign move forward, and to help you generate more results more quickly. Being ready means listening with an attentive ear to what they have to say, and implementing the next steps that have been discussed as being part of your SEO game plan.
- You’re willing to write about what you know. Content is King, many experts and professionals in the SEO industry have argued. You know what? They just might be right. Nothing may prove to be as crucial to your SEO campaign as generating content that you specialize in, and content which your team can then use to optimize your site better. If your targeted audience knows that what you are writing about is something that you know very well, they will keep on coming back to you.
- You have the patience. As we keep emphasizing, SEO doesn’t happen like an overnight success. The experts are here to help implement the plan; your role includes sticking to that plan, and not getting distracted by some new vendor that guarantees instant success, or some magical SEO technique that you’ve read about in a blog. Your team of SEO experts will be dedicated to the success of your SEO campaign (that’s how they would measure their successes, too, after all), and so should you.