When to Hire a Search Engine Marketing Firm

Before working for The InterCon Group, I worked for a small manufacturing company. Working in any small company, you switch from one responsibility to the next, wearing many different “hats”. Two of the assignments I was responsible for were online marketing and sales operations. Switching between the two duties it came apparent I needed assistance with the online marketing. However, where and how does one find a reputable  SEO (Search Engine Optimization) firm?  The article below provides useful information when searching for a SEM firm.

When to Hire a Search Engine Marketing Firm from Yahoo Business

What Constitutes A Great “Keyword”?

Many times a potential new client informs you that they already have the #1 position on Google – so why would they need to do online marketing? They type a keyword they assume is driving traffic to their website into the Google Search Box and their company appears in the #1 position, which is often referred to as “prime real estate”.As Search Engine Marketing Specialists, the first step is to perform keyword research. Is anyone really searching for that keyword? 9 out of 10 times, that word or phrase is not a word that is frequently typed into the search bar. So even thoughthey are appearing in the 1^st position for that particular keyword no one will find them!

A Search Engine Marketing Specialist will always conduct a Keyword Research report based on information the client provides.  This report lists the keyword phrases searched, along with the number of searches conducted for each keyword phrase each day on search engines such as Google and Yahoo.  It also shows the number of competing Web Pages (your competitors) vying for top ranking under the keyword phrase.

As you can see from the chart below, the sample keyword phrases “surplus metals” and “selling surplus metals” yield 0 searches.  What does this mean? Even if you have #1 or #2 ranking under these search terms, it will not generate any traffic or direct visitors to your site.  Our goal as Search Engine Marketing Specialists is to discover highly targeted search phrases unique to that client’s niche and get top 10 rankings for these terms.   This process will efficiently and effectively deliver targeted visitors to your website.

Keyword	# of Searches in 24Hrs	# of Competing Web Pages
metal distributor	2	263000
used metal plate roll	3	340000
scrap metal buyers	8	975000
scrap metal pricing	18	2050000
used metal plate rolls	4	2720000
surplus metals	0
selling surplus metals	0
aluminum metal distributor	0