By: Aya Wilkinson
Submitted: 2010-02-08 22:47:20 | Word Count: 930
If you aren’t a computer expert or a web designer you probably do not know what SEO is, let alone an SEO Consultant. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, therefore, the consultants’ job is to assist you in optimizing your web sites possibility of being viewed and being in the first few pages of a web search using special techniques in building your web site as well as listing it. As everyone well knows, being in the first few pages, preferably the first page, increases the chances of said web site to be viewed, as few people go further than the first 3 pages of search.
SEO Consultants have had a rough history with search engines, and some were even banned from certain search engines along with their clients’ web sites due to excessive and irrelevant keywords. This has caused some rivalry relationships between search engines and SEO Consultants. In recent times some search engines have reached out and showed interested in SEO Optimization and how they could work together for the health of the optimization community. Primarily Google and Yahoo have taken these steps as they provide different tools for SEO Consultants to assist them in optimizing their clients’ web sites without using unnecessary keywords.
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There are two different types of SEO Consultants, one that is frowned up and one that uses the correct techniques. White hat Search Engine Optimization follow the guidelines and rules set by search engines to optimize sites properly, therefore the web site is online long-term and thrives. However, the second type of Search Engine Optimization is considered black hat. This means its spamdexing, in short, web spam. They try and get attention to their clients’ web site by using techniques that are not approved by the search engines or by using deception.
Some of the black hat methods of SEO Consultants are by using hidden text. With this method they either have text that is the same color as the background, positioned off-screen, or in an invisible div, which is a basic block level element in HTML. Other methods that Search Engine Optimization is used include using different sites depending if the page visited by a search engine or human. Also, cloaking is another technique that is used, where the page that you see isn’t really the company that you searched, it’s not from the company that’s hosting the page. Watch out for these types of pages as they are intended to download software into your computer without your knowledge. Sites discovered by search engines to use black hat methods are usually penalized. Depending on the level of dishonesty they either reduce their rankings or remove the listings from the database.
There are good and bad things said about using a SEO Consultant. Of course the obvious is that by using a Search Engine Optimization your web site will be higher ranked and therefore in the first few pages of a search engine. However, it depends on what kind of clientele you are looking to attract. In recent studies it shows that most sites don’t have visitors from direct search engines, instead from other web sites. Therefore, being at the top of a page or in the first few pages isn’t as important as advertising in other web sites.
If one still chooses to use a SEO Consultant it is good to keep the above information in mind in finding the right one to work with. The most important is knowing the benefits versus the risks of using Search Engine Optimization. SEO Consultants are specialists and will use all of their knowledge of different strategies and techniques in order to increase the traffic to the web site. With this being said like with any other company one hires references are necessary. These references should include the work ethic, success rate, strategies and techniques, as well as other companies that have used them for their Search Engine Optimization. Another way to get further information on a company is through a simple search using a search engine such as Google. There you should be able to find customer reviews, news, articles, and much more.
Other ways of verifying a SEO Consultant company is by requesting their keywords. By searching some of their keywords and seeing how they rank, you will see how your website will rank. It’s a bit of a strange request but you will see how their search-terms rank and how good they are at representing themselves. It is also very important that you not only look at one SEO, but a couple and review and compare them. One you’ve come in contact with a couple of different companies try and find a way to communicate directly to a member of the SEO team, not their sales department, as they will be able to better answer your questions and not read off a script.
Overall, once you know what Search Engine Optimization is and have decided that you want to use a SEO Consultant, you must know how to find the right one for you. You need to review a couple of different SEO companies and make sure that their references are good and reputable. That they don’t use any Black Hat techniques and jeopardize your longevity in a search engine, and use good ethic and properly assist your web site to climb to the top.
Author Resource:-
Aya Wilkinson is the CEO of SEO Consultants providing services to highly selected clients. Writing on Search Engine Optimization is like a passion to her. She has written several articles published at well know websites and blogs on SEO.
