When you are working with an SEO company to improve your organic search rankings, generate leads and increase sales there are a number of ways that you can maximise this opportunity to ensure you get the best return on investment.

I was motivated to share some of these thoughts with you after speaking to a prospective client about how we can be successfull working together to increase the organic rankings for his latest book.

The strange thing is that I didn’t actually realise how valuable this example was until I read it again after I saw his response.

Here is the statement I made in the email:

I often hear the response from people ‘but I am outsourcing to you, why do I need to do anything’ – I can still get these people results, they just won’t be as good as they could be and you will be leaving money on the table.

Any search engine optimisation company that is even half as good as they claim should be able to increase the organic traffic coming to your website however the traffic alone is not the only factor, the quality of this traffic is as important, if not more important than the quantity.

If you gave me the choice of a website that had 10,000 unique visitors per day from rubbish traffic sources or 100 pre-qualified, targeted prospects each day then I will take the latter every time.

Why? Because I know that if I present those 100 qualified targets with a high quality offer to get information or assistance on the topic that they are searching for, then I have a very high chance of converting them to a lead or a sale.  With the 10,000 – I would be just hoping someone might be interested – I would be better off going to buy a lottery ticket!

How do I know that they are pre-qualified? Because I know that they have most likely come from articles, content or links that I have placed on the internet that specifically target these prospects on sites that already have existing related content and direct them to a relevant website with valuable information and resources to solve their immediate problem.

How does this relate? Well, there are lots of ways to produce content to drive traffic to your website.  This content needs to come from your keyword research along with your overall market research.

You can get a lot of valuable information by using keyword research tools or looking at Google, Yahoo or Bing to see what your competitors are doing.  A third party can even give you spreadsheets full of keyword research and data you have to know how to bring it all together and how to supplement it with real market knowledge that only comes from being an expert in your particular industry of choice.

If you choose to work with an SEO company make sure that they are involving you in their process and taking the time to explain to you what they do and how it all works – and where your traffic and links are going to be coming from.

If the SEO company you are working with does not ask you about your business or your product or where you see potential revenue streams, then wonder why…and ask why.  Unless they are actually SEO Experts in your industry then I am sure if you questioned them you will find some simple basic things that they don’t know about your industry (or your clients buying habits, more importantly).

It is up to you to determine if this knowledge gap is important or will cause potential problems in the market if simple concepts are not understood or mis-represent your company in a negative way.

I am not saying that these other companies won’t be successful, some do a great job of handling the entire process for you (and may even care about your brand just a bit) however there are potential risks if you choose to deal with the wrong company or look for quick and easy solutions.

Collaborate with your SEO company and share your knowledge, you never know what potential opportunities or hidden assets you may discover that have been overlooked or have passed their used-by date to your offline customers but could be re-purposed to add value to your online search marketing efforts.

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Filed under: SEO Updates

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