Who should be managing your search engine optimisation? - Webfactory

What is Search Engine Optimisation? (SEO)

Search engine optimisation is a process by which elements of your site such as content and code are optimised in order to send out the correct signals to Google to improve your search engine ranking. The higher your ranking on the search engines, then the higher your traffic will be, and thus in turn the more likely you are to see an increase in your sales.

There are countless agencies out there offering to get you to the top of search engines. The question is how do you choose between them all? Also how realistic are there promises?

The process of optimisation isn't a simple one, there’s no quick fix. The process is gradual and can take a good few months for it to start producing clear results. Even then, there is no guarantee, no matter what you may be told, no one can promise you that number one position. If you are new to SEO or are simply changing who provides your SEO you’ll no doubt be told you have been doing everything wrong so far, this is of course what you would expect as it would not be in their interest to say everything is perfect. What you need to be careful of is the lasting effects. Some, once they've had your money won’t care if you leave. This is why it’s important to have a build a good trusting relationship with your provider.

SEO Options:

Generally you have three options. Yourself, your website designer or a dedicated SEO company.

Doing your search optimisation yourself can be a good option. Many of the things that need to be done to get your website ranking well are not too difficult to do. Someone who is reasonably computer literate should be able to change the things that need changing. The main problem with doing it yourself however is that you do not have the years of experience a professional has optimising websites. Some things you read on the web suggest you should do one thing, but from experience a professional might know there is a more detailed picture behind seemingly easy changes.

Your web designer is another good option. You already have a working relationship with your web designer and they will know your business too. Your web designer will have an expert knowledge on how SEO works and how it can be applied to your website and will also have the access to make the changes needed and those changes will probably all be included in the SEO cost.

A dedicated SEO company is your final option. If budget is not an issue then the expertise these companies can offer can be very valuable. Concentrating on one area of website such as SEO will give them a likely edge on the performance of your SEO spend.

So which to choose?
As always there is no right answer for everyone. If you are up on all things internet and don’t mind spending the time to learn, giving it a go yourself is certainly viable. Your web designer we think is a good balance between expertise, cost and access. There is also the point that your web designer cannot hide behind the excuse of a badly designed website like an SEO agency might. Finally the SEO agency if you pockets are deep will probably get the best results but expect to pay higher fees.