Website Optimization (SEO)
Website Optimization for Organic Traffic
Just Be Awesome
Search engines are your #1 source of free traffic to your website. Have you laid down a solid foundation to take advantage of this free source? If you’re advertising and sending people to your website and haven’t optimized your website, then you are missing an opportunity.
Not all developers are SEO experts. If you’ve had a website developed for you and think “it must be search engine friendly” but it may not be. Web developers don’t tend to be SEO experts, or they may take shortcuts. Some basic foundational SEO — like keyword research — can pay dividends in the long run.
For larger websites, search engine optimization is a regularly managed task, and for smaller websites, a simple audit, cleanup, and strategy are sufficient to drive long term traffic increases.
“It amazes me how many websites I come across that don’t have basic foundational SEO in place. I look at these companies and get excited, because I know the potential they have to increase their visibility.”
“I often refer to SEO in terms of building a house. There’s an element of SEO that is like pouring solid foundation so that the house stands strong.”
“At the end of the day, the Pareto Efficiency wins (80/20 rule). There are a few key elements that make up 80% of your influence over ranking.”
“SEO is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Don’t expect immediate results. Be weary of anyone that promises immediate results. A six month timeframe seems to be a good agreed upon benchmark to see results. Though some initial changes can have fast impact.”
“I stayed away from SEO for so many years, because it was such a shady industry. With search engines getting smarter, using machine learning and AI, now is the best time to do intelligent SEO. You can finally lead with quality.”
“It’s not rocket science, though there is some complexity. It’s mostly knowing how and where to send the right signals to search engines.”
Pricing
Get one the path to success with an audit and development.
Baseline Audit
All Clients Start Here
The Starter Audit gives me a chance to review your unique situation, and allows me to scope out a more complete picture of your needs. It includes some ‘quick wins,’ a summary of findings, and a proposal for the “Full Audit.”
Full Audit
Based on Starter Audit
Every client is different when it comes to optimization. I start at the Starter Audit level to get an accurate full proposal with a detailed list of optimizations, or areas of focus. Full audit includes more specific details you can implement or take to your developer.
Hourly
All Clients Start Here
Need someone to dive in? Development is limited to WordPress, Squarespace, and a few other platforms.
Working with a SEO Specialist FAQs
How it works
I offer a Search Engine Optimization Audit that focuses on various elements of your website. After a discovery call and a quick analysis of your website, I’ll identify the most appropriate areas to address for optimization. You’ll receive in a few business days an actionable report that you can take to your developer, or you can hire me at my hourly rate to implement the changes. I craft this by hand, using my toolbox, experience, and my knowledge.
What is Search Engine Optimization?
SEO as a verb, is performing tasks to increase the signal, volume, and ranking of the keywords that represent your website in search engines.
SEO elements that get examined and optimized are many. Some include technical aspects of your website like architecture, security, speed, domains; and on-page content like Page titles, alt tags, and unique content.
Philosophy & Methodology
I ascribe to what is known as the White Hat method of SEO. White Hat SEO strategy means doing the things that Google and other search engines recommend so they can better understand your website/business/products more effeciently. It is also the ethical standard.
Algorithms change daily, it’s important to stay on top of the changes (and another reason to monitor your traffic). I have a few favorite resources such as, SEJ, Rand at Moz, Ahref’s blog, Stone Temple SEO blog and SEO Rockstars podcast are some of my favorite industry resources.
Service Packages
A well optimized site can boost your Google AdWords campaigns by increasing your “Quality Score.” In AdWords, this means decreasing your Cost-per-Click (CPC), while increasing your Average Position — Google is in the business of relevancy after all!
Bundle a SEO audit with a new AdWords account build and save! …then get ready for more leads!
Elements of SEO
Backlinks
Schema
Content
Sitemaps
Domains
Speed
Architecture
Images
Mobile-Friendly
Your website shows well on mobile devices. Also known as “responsive design.”
Page Titles
Secure
SSL security (https) is a priority in 2017. SSL Certificate verifies visitor data is encrypted.