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SEO DIY or Outsourcing

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  • 20-03-2010 9:31pm
    #1
    blondechick
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3 ✭


    Are you better learning SEO and doing it yourself or is it worth outsourcing it ?

    I tried SEO myself when I first opened my website, but I stopped having the time to learn about it and then I just pulled away from doing it and went in another direction.

    I also tried outsourcing to at least 3 companies where I believe that what I paid for was just not worth it for the results I achieved (which was none).

    I haven't given up on SEO yet which is a start.

    Then if I do the SEO myself, how much time will I really need and then where do I even start to learn about it and who can I ask questions to ?

    If I outsource how the hell do I know who to choose to do it ?? Are there companies out there that would take a % of your turnover to do the optimisation which means they would be fully committed ?


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    #2
    D.W
    Closed Accounts Posts: 218 ✭✭D.W


    blondechick wrote: »
    Are you better learning SEO and doing it yourself or is it worth outsourcing it ?

    I tried SEO myself when I first opened my website, but I stopped having the time to learn about it and then I just pulled away from doing it and went in another direction.

    I also tried outsourcing to at least 3 companies where I believe that what I paid for was just not worth it for the results I achieved (which was none).

    I haven't given up on SEO yet which is a start.

    Then if I do the SEO myself, how much time will I really need and then where do I even start to learn about it and who can I ask questions to ?

    If I outsource how the hell do I know who to choose to do it ?? Are there companies out there that would take a % of your turnover to do the optimisation which means they would be fully committed ?

    SEO is not rocket science-however it is a long slow process that requires dedication with no guarantees at the end so can be highly frustrating or conversly highly rewarding. Most people that try themselves either don't give the proper dedication to it, give up or do it wrong.

    Timewise it really depends on the size of your site, the competitiveness in your niche, the number of terms/pages you want to rank well for etc... The main part of your time would go in at the beginning and after that its an ongoing thing but if you are serious about it then at least a few hours a week after you have all the on site structures in place.

    Its an expensive thing to outsource and selecting the right company can be tricky but there may be companies out there willing to work on the basis of a slice of the action-again totally depends on your site, what would be required with regards seo, what you actually sell, whether they feel they could get a proper return for their efforts, the trust element etc...

    Can you let us know your site url as a start so at least people in the know could have a quick look and you may perhaps get some free and decent feedback as well as some possible recommendations for well regarded seo companies.


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    #3
    blue4ever
    Registered Users Posts: 1,256 ✭✭✭blue4ever


    More Muck DJ?

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=65115021#post65115021


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    #4
    D.W
    Closed Accounts Posts: 218 ✭✭D.W


    blue4ever wrote: »
    More Muck DJ?

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=65115021#post65115021
    Blue4ever-I assume thats aimed at me so would appreciate your clarification as I am most certainly not the person you are referring to in the other thread.


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    #5
    blue4ever
    Registered Users Posts: 1,256 ✭✭✭blue4ever


    No, absolutely no aimed at you.

    There was a post there on Sunday morning from "djhanleys" - but because he's realised that he was talking sh1t - he's removed all his post here and from here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055860138 as well

    but that makes the posts look pretty strange now.

    it was directed a his posts - and certainly not you!


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    #6
    D.W
    Closed Accounts Posts: 218 ✭✭D.W


    Cool-no worries.:)


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    #7
    blacklawlessd
    Registered Users Posts: 41 ✭blacklawlessd


    I can recommend two books that seem to fit the bill for SEO

    Search Optomization an hour a day - Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin
    Get to #1 on google in easy steps - Ben Norman

    I haven't worked all the way through these yet, but from what I've done they've helped a lot.

    SEO is something that requires a lot of time commitment, and can be mind numbingly boring. I haven't seen any company operating in ireland that speaks professionally on the subject of SEO. Few are willing to show the results of what they can do.

    Personally I think you're better to work away at it yourself


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    #8
    blondechick
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3 ✭blondechick


    If you start reading books like that, don't they go out of date because google etc keep changing their algorithims ?

    I don't want to post my link, but to advise, its a pet shop


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    #9
    blacklawlessd
    Registered Users Posts: 41 ✭blacklawlessd


    blondechick wrote: »
    If you start reading books like that, don't they go out of date because google etc keep changing their algorithims ?

    I don't want to post my link, but to advise, its a pet shop

    They don't go out of date that quickly. There are lots of fancy ways and tweaks to get your website up the rankings, and these are the bits that google keeps changing.

    I build websites for a living, and from the work that I've done on SEO, there are a simple number of things that work, and work well.

    The main things that get you up the rankings are-
    Good content - if you have a worthwhile website with plenty of good relevant content, then you will score well
    Incoming links - one of the reasons that google has succeded so well as a search engine is the way that it conducts its searches. Eg. If there are two websites that are basicly the same, one has 200 incoming links, and the other has 10 links. Google reasoned that the site with 200 incoming links is a more relevant website than the one with 10, because more people want to link to it.
    Keywords - put yourself into the shoes of someone who is looking for your products or services. What phrases would they use to find you? The more specific you are with the phrases the better. You will get less traffic, but more targeted traffic. There are many ways of incorporating these into your website that I'm sure your web designer will tell you. In the case of your pet shop an example would be instead of saying - "dog collars", be more specific, "strong dog collars", "leather collars", "toy breed collars". There are many free tools to examine how popular your particular keywords are, and then you can incorporate them into the website.

    I understand that you are hesitant about giving the link to your site but, if you PM me I'd be happy to look over your website and make suggestions. Sorry for the delay in replying!


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    #10
    WebGeek
    Closed Accounts Posts: 145 ✭✭WebGeek


    blacklawlessd wrote: »
    I can recommend two books that seem to fit the bill for SEO

    Search Optomization an hour a day - Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin
    Get to #1 on google in easy steps - Ben Norman
    I would second that - epically the Hour a day book. Optimisation takes real patience and belief in your product.


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