February 1, 2013
Category: Search Engine Marketing

No, you should not do your own SEO

Time after time I keep reading the same questions on website related forums; How to do seo, Where can I learn SEO, I SEOd my site but Google doesn’t see it!, Can you look at my site to see how I did my SEO?

Unfortunately with those last titles, more often than not the damage has already been done. The SMB owners with the new website built by their cousins Jack & Jill didn’t want to spend the “big bucks” on a professional SEO service and went about things themselves. So now their website is nowhere to be seen on the first 50 pages on Google, and they’re having a fight about how much they agreed on paying. After all, the website might be done, but there hasn’t been a single visit all month!

If you’re one of those small business owners, and you’re reading this article because you’re looking for ways to learn SEO so you can “fix” your own site, tell me; does the above scenario sound familiar?

There’s nothing wrong with getting someone who you know to design and/or develop your website – as long as they are qualified designers and/or developers obviously. The same goes for your search engine optimisation person. If the person who is trying to SEO you site isn’t actually qualified, why on earth would you let them work on your site? That’s like asking me to fix your car. Trust me, you don’t want me to fix your car. Chances are that it’d explode when you turn the key, or that your wheels would come off while you’re going 100kph on the freeway. I’m not qualified for the job (at all, you can ask my wife about that!)

If you take your online business serious, and you’ve got a lot riding on it – do yourself a favour and hire a professional to optimise your website for you. In the end you’re looking to have your website work for you by generating sales, attracting leads and inform your visitors. A professional can make sure your site gets the right kind of traffic from Google, so you can focus on running a business.