The Importance of Recognizing SEO Success
The world of SEO always has and always will be divided between the white hats and the black hats.
Firms that practice the white hat approach are ethical, accurate information providers and utilize appropriate techniques. Black hat firms are the ones to watch out for as they can be deceitful, following improper practices, and can get your website banned from search engines.
Unfortunately, many people don’t understand the true difference between a white hat and a black hat firm. Their frustrations and wariness to engage in SEO may be a result of not fully understanding the value of SEO engagements.
I read a story recently of a company who claimed to have been deceived by a black hat SEO firm. They felt taken advantage as they thought the SEO efforts did nothing for their website. In fact, the only reason they hired the SEO firm was because they were told it was mandatory. After an initial audit of the website and analytics, the author of the article did not understand why the company felt deceived. According to analytics, the revenue brought in by SEO alone, over the past year, was hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Looking at this scenario, it’s clear that that many people do not fully understand what it is that SEO provides. The bottom line for most businesses is to drive sales and SEO can aid in this goal by effectively optimizing the website in order to drive qualified traffic. Through analytics tracking, SEO firms can track various criteria (time spent on page, search engines used, pages visited, etc) about the visitors that landed on the website.
It is most important for an SEO firm to take the time to explain to their clients the importance of an SEO engagement. Clients will feel more comfortable once they understand the value of SEO, how it can be measured, and how it affects the company’s bottom line. This will ensure that the working relationship between client and SEO firm is positive and enjoyable for all parties.
