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Search Engine Campaign Results and Expectations
So what are you looking for in an SEO campaign? I'm sure like any capitalist you are looking for the best job for the least amount of money! Well that's a good way of thinking as long as you do get the "best" job done. Sometimes you need to spend more to get those better rankings though.
While it is very difficult to determine the results a given campaign might achieve it is safe to say the more you put into Search Engine optimization the more you might reap! Below I will attempt to break down the results and expectations for SEO campaigns and give you in depth analysis on how these SEO companies operate and what to look for!
So one day while doing SEO for your company your boss comes in and says we have sites that are not operating at full capacity. We really need to push them to get rankings ASAP! What do you do? Below are three different levels of results you might expect and the reasoning behind each one!
How to obtain the very minimum results!
So you decided to hire an SEO company. Good Call! Your search engine optimization company is going to want to make many changes to your site. They might want to the site structure, navigation, ALT tags, Title Tags, META tags, link titles, page copy and much more! If you do not allow them full access to these changes you might be severely limiting your overall search engine ranking gains!
Usually a professional SEO firm will initiate your campaign with finding the most valuable keywords for your field. They will research and refine a rather large list of keywords to target which will help you rank for more terms and bring more traffic to your site. These keywords will be optimized in your site accordingly. On the other hand a beginner SEO company might not optimize your existing website for keywords that DO NOT appear on your site already but instead make suggestions for additional keywords that could be targeted and could perhaps yield more traffic. Many site owners are very reluctant to hand over the keys to their website but if you are not willing to allow your SEO to develop additional web pages and supporting content for these keywords you are seriously limiting the effectiveness of this campaign.
Other factors come into play as well when examining the expedited results of a given campaign. A large factor is your PFI (pay-for-inclusion) and directory registration budget. Without a solid budget you will also be limiting your results. Now a days it is near impossible to get rankings without a budget for these programs.
How to Achieve Average Results
So the bare minimum isn't enough for you, huh? The folloing information is how to achieve average results and are not to be considered good nor bad. Just AVERAGE. 
So the first thing you would want to do is allow your SEO firm to make adjustments and revisions on existing pages. You choose to only allow the SEO company the freedom to make necessary alterations to EXISTING PAGES ONLY. Changes that will only produce a result for the researched keywords determined in the research phase. Again they will do the standard optimization on site structure, navigation, ALT tags, Title Tags, META tags, link titles, page copy and so on. Allowing your SEO firm to make these changes will inevitably bring your rankings up and effectively target the defined keywords.
You would need to allot "some" money for PFI programs and directory registrations. By doing this your results will definitely be increased but if your budget has a small limit you again will be limiting your results. By limiting your budget you might have to sift through what PFI programs you might want to join and which ones you don't by making decisions based on your PFI budget. Instead of submitting your sites to PFI programs like Inktomi, Fast Partnersite, Ask/Teoma and InfoSpider. You may only be able to choose one or two of them.
How To Achieve Above Average Results
So average isn't your style? You want to contend with the big boys, huh? For optimal results I have compiled a sure fire formula for expected results of a serious professional SEO campaign. Basically it is just an adjustment to the previous campaigns above.
Firstly, Instead of Limiting your SEO firm to working within the confines of your site you should work WITH them to help develop MORE web pages, website sections and quality supporting content for the targeting of additional keywords. Allowing your SEO firm this flexability might give them the creative edge they need to create a stunning SEO presence for your site and web visitors. Keywords that you might not be ranking for will now be targeted and you will be ranked. For example, if you are targeting "recording information" you may be missing out on other traffic for similar keywords like "recording tips", "recording education", "analog recording" and "recording techniques". Thousands of people search these terms every month so don't just focus on one!
By expanding your keyword list and diversifying your options you can expose your site to increased traffic and rankings and targeted visibility. Whenever you are limited to a small amount of keywords then your site will be in jeopardy of losing huge amounts of traffic. Again they will do the standard optimization on site structure, navigation, ALT tags, Title Tags, META tags, link titles, page copy and so on.
Diversifying your keywords and expanding on them helps give your site a strong foothold in the SERPS. If a few keyword positions fall or are temporarily miss ranked then you still have other supporting keywords that are going to keep bringing you traffic. It's important to not rely on only a few keywords as search engine rankings fluctuate all the time and by having rankings for many keywords you will not create a major setback when one does drop.
With a budget that fully supports registration to all web pages with PFI programs and all directory registrations will help maximize your premium search engine optimization campaign. It is imperative that you research and read current SEO news to be certain which programs have the most effect and will yield you a good ROI. Your budget should include an annual expense for yahoo's directory and Looksmart listings as well. The best tip I can give you is to always check the most up to date SEO news to better inform yourself on the SEO scene.
About The Author
Joseph "Joe" Whyte is dedicated to educating the beginning Webmaster and SEO in preperation for real world experience. Find all your seo tips and tricks at webmastermydomain.com
Previously on SearchEngineChannel
- Important Tips for a Top Search Engine Ranking
- How I Got My Web Site To PR 5 In 3 Months
- When to outsource SEO and when to keep it in house.
- 4 Sure-fire (And Free) Inbound Linking Strategies
- The war between the SEM and Search Engines
- Subdomains. What are the SEO benefits?
- Is there a way out beyond Google to bring in revenues?
- Optimizing for Rankings - Things to Do and Avoid
- Has Anyone Seen My Website?
- The Latest Google Page Rank Update
