I get asked that all the time when a new potential client is contemplating hiring me for SEO or Search Engine Optimization Services.

SEO is simply the act of optimizing your website and the off site pages that link to it – with a specific keyword or phrase.

Can anyone guarantee you a #1 Google ranking?

Of course not.

What can be guaranteed?

I personally can almost always (99% of the time) promise a first page ranking (depending on the keyword), however – giving  a time frame as to when that can happen is almost impossible. Factors like competition, cost, time, etc. are all part of the process. On average it can take from 3-6 months to rank for a medium competitive keyword.

Why would anyone wait 3-6 months to rank; simple — most keywords have two numbers associated with them, one is the “traffic” amount per month and the other is the “cost per click” if you were to advertise on Google.

Example: if your keyword get’s 1,000 searches per month and the per click cost to advertise on that keyword is $2, then that keyword has a monthly advertising value of $2,000.

That keyword is now worth $24,000 per year — and some keywords are worth millions per month; given those values you have to expect some competition especially when trying to rank naturally with SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

SEO works, and it takes time; anyone offering to “guarantee” you a top 3 ranking in a short period of time is either misleading you or they are choosing keywords with little to no value in terms of [traffic times cost].

Here’s what I can guarantee…

1. you’ll be satisfied that I’m doing the work; being able to see your rankings increase over time (I provide monthly reports).

2. you’ll be able to get in touch with me easily via email or phone – this is my business and I make myself available to all my clients as needed.

3. my current clients have been with me for years and years, I can guarantee that you’ll feel the same and that my SEO services will only grow and scale up as you see success.

4. I can guarantee that once you’re on my “inner circle” of consulting clients, you’ll get access to services that your competitors don’t want you to see, and I’ll show you “under the hood” so to speak within the internet marketing world and you’ll see possibilities that are truly amazing for your business.

No one can guarantee what the search engines rank and don’t rank, or what they like and don’t like however – there are a few fundamentals that I apply consistently that will give you the best chance of ranking success using my SEO services.

Terry Lamb
SEO Consultant

703-574-4719

If you’re looking for that, you probably already know that term stands for “Social Media Optimization”.

The first question I would ask is – Why are you looking for that?

Shouldn’t you be focusing on the real internet marketing foundation which is Ranking #1 in Google for your most valuable keywords?

Everyone wants a quick fix, and with all the buzz about Facebook and Twitter it can make you believe that Social Media Marketing is the most popular thing to do.

In my humble opinion, most (if not all) local businesses are chasing the “shiny” object called “Social Media” long before they have their true foundation and internet presence in place.

If you don’t rank #1 for all of your most valuable local search terms, why go after the 80% that only gets you 20% of the results. That’s the Social Media place right now.

You can Facebook and Twitter until you are blue in the face but if you don’t have a solid Google #1 position across dozens of your most valuable local search terms you are allowing your social media blitz to show up before your real content (which should be on your main website, and you have the most control over).

Imagine if your Facebook and Twitter content is at the top of the search engines and your competitor begins leaving negative comments or content about you on those same social media platforms — how much control do you have over that? Not much.

However, when you rank #1 in Google, you can add content to those #1 ranking pages and get it indexed by Google almost immediately.

Immediate indexing allows you to control the conversation in your market. Having no control over content outside of your company, with no #1 Google rankings to support you can be dangerous.

The truth is, most local companies leave their #1 rankings on the table because they are not easily won – however once achieved the power can be tremendous.

My “Top Of Google” service is the foundation a local business needs WAY BEFORE they embark on a Social Media Optimization program.

Engaging in Social Media Optimization or Marketing before you have a solid Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ranking is putting the cart before the horse.

Web Market Authority can put your local business at the “Top Of Google” for an unlimited number of locally targeted keywords – this is the 20% which will get you 80% of the results.

Hire a Local SEO Expert for your Top Of Google rankings and avoid the Social Media Hype today.

As an SEO Consultant myself, I can assure you that as I look around at the competition I am usually able to quickly see if the SEO services offered are of value to local business owners.

Here’s my top 7 list of items to look for when interviewing your SEO consultant and getting your internet marketing handled properly from the beginning.

1. Beware the web design firm that also offers SEO services; most are not well versed in proper SEO and will certainly not be able to deliver the level of SEO consulting most local business owners require.

– For Example: I have witnessed many web design firms stuffing keywords into the code of a web page calling it SEO – which is far from what real SEO is. In fact meta tag keyword stuffing can get your website penalized with search engines such as Google.

2. Most SEO consultants offer keyword research; however keyword research alone leaves many aspects on the table since the future is being driven by “market research”. Online Market Research takes into effect Google’s ability to compare a website to an established authority and quickly determine if a website is simply using keywords attempting to rank in the search engines as opposed to being an actual authority on the subject. Performing Vertical Marketing Research with a tool such as “ThemeZoom” is an absolute requirement in today’s online SEO activities.

3. Does your SEO consultant offer (or for that matter mention) link building techniques. Link building is more than half the battle when it comes to search engine rankings. A good SEO consultant has an established link building process in place. If your SEO consultant doesn’t include “Article Marketing & Syndication” in his link building plan, find one that does.

4. Does your SEO consultant have a plan for ranking your website or is he randomly choosing the most obvious keywords to rank your website for. Your SEO efforts should contain keywords that are specifically targeted to you and your business first and then grow into a broader market, essentially building from the low to the high volume keywords. This practice builds on itself and can give faster results as opposed to a haphazard unplanned approach.

5. Always check the source code of your website after SEO consulting has been performed to ensure that no “keyword stuffing” has occurred. To do so simply right click on your web page and choose “view source” to make sure your page doesn’t contain any list of keywords which don’t also reside on the content of your page. Search engines will penalize a website who uses keywords in the page code that don’t reside on the web page itself.

6. Does your SEO consultant really have past client experience? Ask your SEO consultant to place a word of your choosing onto the page of a current client site as proof that he actually has access to client pages that he has specifically optimized.

7. Make sure your SEO consultant understands the tools provided by Google, such as their “Webmaster Tools” and “Analytics” services. Request that you have proof by getting a look at the consultants Google Webmaster Tools interface as proof.

Any good SEO consulting firm will be able to provide those 7 basic things (and hopefully much more).

I would also avoid consultants who offer search engine submissions since that process is very outdated and only an SEO newbie would attempt to offer such a service.

As an SEO Consulting Firm; Web Market Authority is able to speak to all of the above concerns and many more. If you’re a local business owner ready to take your website to a new level of online success we are ready to show you the way. Click Here to download our Internet Marketing Services and Pricing White Paper.

Note: Web Market Authority and our Northern Virginia SEO Services division is one of only a few entities with the ability and training to use the above mentioned “ThemeZoom” application to perform Vertical Market Research and apply the data to an effective SEO campaign.