I recently had an introductory meeting with a new client. I asked her to tell me about her business. Her face lit up as she described the new web site that she was having built. She has always had a website, but the photos and look and feel were outdated.
She hired a designer who had a fabulous reputation. She said “I could almost buy a small car with what I am spending on this, but it is going to be awesome when it’s done! I know how important a website is to business today!” She excitedly told me more about the look and feel. I shared her excitement and agreed that the look and feel is definitely an important part of a great website.
I then asked her what keywords she was using to help drive traffic to her site. She paused for a minute and said…ummmm, I’m not sure what you mean. We talked a little more about keywords as well as the some of the other web design factors that help to drive traffic. She seemed confused and started to get upset.
She then said, well my web designer did say something to me about keywords. She just told me to go look thru all of my materials and see what words I use the most and then send her the list. I asked her if she had used any other methods to figure out keywords. She looked at me very puzzled, said no, and asked what else she should do.
We talked further about the role of keywords as well as the other factors that are important in driving web traffic. Yes, an attractive website is important, but the truth is, it’s only important when your prospects can FIND your site!
Otherwise…it’s just sitting out there in web land costing you money to maintain, versus using the turbo power of the web to help you attract new clients and generate revenue!!!
My client was getting visibly upset…her voice started to rise and she said, “I am spending thousands of dollars on this site and I don’t understand why my web designer has not talked to me about ANY of this stuff. Shouldn’t she KNOW all this Stuff?”
The answer is, that some designers are familiar with Search Engine Optimization, but in many cases they are not. Web designers most often come from a world of graphic design and their expertise is on the visual pretty.
SEO is an emerging science and art. Knowledge about SEO often comes from the technical side of the web site equation. So, the answer is that most web designers don’t know all of “this stuff.”
What Should You Do?
1) Ask your web designer about their approach to SEO. If they have one, then request references and call them! Find out if their customers are happy with that part of their work.
2) If you get a blank look or an Uhhhhh, either find another designer who can do both, or ask your colleagues, friends or network and forum buddies if they can refer you to an SEO expert. If all of that fails, visit e-lance.com or guru.com and do a search on SEO. Be sure that you read all of the reviews of anyone that you are considering and start with a small, low cost project.
3) But your best AMO, is to learn something about SEO yourself! I would highly recommend the SEO Bible by Jerri Ledford if you want a high level non-techie view. If you only read Chapter 2: Creating an SEO Plan, you will be better prepared to make a good “business” decision on how to approach SEO.
What other suggestions do you have?
5.5 Secrets to Easily Turn the Web into Your #1 Sales Rep training series and
