With all the hype about SEO or Search Engine Optimization, many Website owners think they need a degree in Computer Science and years of study in the algorithms that search engines use to pull their Website into the top 10 search results. There are many SEM or Search Engine Marketing firms that claim they can get you in the top 10 results on Google. This claim is becoming less and less advertised.

Why?

Simply stated the search engine algorithms change every few weeks to every few months. The top engines SEO experts mainly focus on are Google, Yahoo, MSN and Alexa. These companies have paved the way for online marketers to earn profit, leave their corporate jobs and make a full time income through the Internet.

During the research to find the greatest SEM firm, the results have come up short.

What we have discovered are a few things:

1) Unless you are one of the top SEO earners who actually worked at Google in the early years, there are no guarantees for search engine ranking. Remember, Aaron Wall and Simon Leung were part of the team who created the famous algorithm; how much closer can you get to the source? If you want a guaranteed SEO ranking, be ready to pay for the help and results.

2) Without strong SEO content, your Website will not rank or be seen by any search engine. This includes updating your Web content daily with well written and easily understood copy focused on particular keywords. Embedding links into the content also doesn’t hurt to attract link exchanges and naturally directed traffic to your Website.

3) Submitting your Website to directories is another useful tool when trying to gain presence on the Internet. Besides submitting your Website, submitting well written articles with embedded links will also help boost your sites ranking.


Since the Web is the new source for product and service advertising, why do businesses feel they do not need a professional to help with organic search results or even professional Web design?

In earlier years, before the Internet, businesses would only focus on print advertisements and have a professional graphic designer design the layout, copy and brand. Today, your business Website is now your new print advertisement. Not only does your Website have the possibility of reaching hundreds of potential clients but now millions throughout the world!

According to copywriter and online marketer, Lisa Weinberger of PearlyWrites, LLC,
"When a potential client visits your Website, the average time spent reviewing the site is five (5) seconds. Within the first five seconds if you do not draw the attention and interest of the visitor, they move onto the next site offering the same product or service. The combination of the Website design and copy should attract and convince prospects to contact your business for more information."


To find the perfect SEO firm should not be too difficult. SEO companies come in all shapes and sizes from the solo operation where the company does everything under one roof to a company that uses sub-contractors for the different aspects of each SEO campaign. With the smaller operation, there is very tight control over the entire campaign to track their client’s ranking results.

There are SEO firms which employ ten to twenty employees who handle the variety of your online marketing campaign from PPC, to Meta tags to the uploading of new content daily through a CMS like Joomla. Individual treatment is sometimes lacking due to the bulk environment.

For a business that has no real presence on the Internet, working closely with a SEO provider is your best and most effective way to begin your Web marketing campaign. Many firms are open and willing to listen to your goals and work with you to devise a plan of action to achieve your business goals.

Mitch Strohm and Josh Gilmore of 20 Minutes to Park have been marketing their band’s music through the many forms of online marketing. This includes MySpace, Craigslist, online networking and link exchanges to other musicians and artists Websites. "We connect with other musicians everyday online and are always promoting our shows through the use of Internet Marketing. Once you find the campaign that works, the results may surprise you as it did us."


Just like when you advertise in print, building a brand is important; especially when marketing over the Internet. With new Websites and businesses popping up each day, finding your niche and branding your business is the strongest route to go. With the use of SEO and Website content combined, it should organically direct potential customers to your site and keep them there for a longer period of time.

There are many tools and information for the novice or experienced Internet marketer. From connecting to other online marketers and forming a strategic alliance to finding a reliable SEO marketing and copywriting company, by discussing your goals, it puts everyone involved on the same page heading toward the same direction, SUCCESS!