Almost everyone involved in promoting a business today knows that search engine optimization is no longer optional. But can you have affordable SEO?
As a business owner functioning as your own marketer, or a sales and marketing manager trying to work with a limited budget, having affordable SEO services is a must. But it can be a sketchy endeavor to find a truly affordable local SEO company that is both high quality and reliable, as well as ‘affordable’.
Affordable SEO Does Not Have to Mean “Bad SEO”
Getting found online through organic search, both globally and locally, is the ultimate goal when it comes to SEO. And, because of this, marketing firms everywhere now offer “SEO services” as an option for clients. But the actual quality and level of service provided is all over the board, especially as Google continues to lead the changing SEO landscape with new algorithms and updates.
However, some things almost never change. For example, keywords are still critical. But how they are used and where they matter continues to evolve. Content is still king, as well, but what it can look like and how it's distributed has changed since the days of short, keyword-packed, superficial blog posts.
In addition, not only does the quality and efficacy of SEO services offered range from superb, to abysmal, to downright criminal, so does the pricing. It is not uncommon for companies to find that they are paying thousands of dollars every month for some vague service offering labeled “SEO” and not even know that very little is actually being done from month to month.
Good SEO is not a “set it and forget it” endeavor. Unfortunately, when it comes to SEO service offerings, you don’t always get what you pay for.
But the reality is that, aside from the scammers and the “cookie cutter” firms, there are companies that do provide truly affordable SEO services. In addition, there are actions that you can implement yourself to attain an affordable SEO approach.
Affordable SEO Service is a Cooperative Venture
One of the hallmarks of a good SEO company is their insistence on input from you, the client. From target market information, customer demographics, and your brand’s positioning - good marketing firms will extract as much information from you as possible.
In addition, when it comes to SEO, they will ask you for content, for website improvements, additional landing pages, and more. If you don’t want to provide these, or don’t have the resources to, they should be prepared to do that for you.
In the meantime, here are some affordable SEO initiatives you can take on to improve your organic search results and increase your search engine results page (SERP) ranking.
Longer Content with High Quality, Long-Form Posts
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, it was common practice to pump out short, keyword-stuffed blog posts and articles with the hope of driving traffic to a site. True this is no longer.
According to research from Snap Agency:
“If you can regularly hit 1,000-1,500 words, along with occasional 2,500 words posts, I believe your overall results will be better. Since prevalent stats generally indicate that 2,500 is really an ideal word count for a post in regards to search engine traffic, we’ll add this: for keywords you’ve identified as definite opportunities and that face a lot of competition, the ideal remains 2,500.”
Improve Your “On-Page” SEO Efforts…
While there is a great deal that can be done with your On-Page tasks, as opposed to Off-Page items, there are a few key things that make a significant difference.
- Title: A good title tag will include the target keyword(s), will be relevant, and have 70 characters or less.
- Description: The page description can help boost the click-through rate if it is relevant and optimized.
- User-Friendly URLs: Keep your page URLs short, easy to read, and include a primary keyword.
- Keyword Frequency: In addition to using your primary keyword 2-3 times in a post, include related keywords, as well.
- Internal Linking: This refers to links from one page on your site to another page on your site. This can decrease the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing a page. It can also help you rank for keywords.
…And Your Website
There are many, many factors that impact the overall search results for any website. In fact, Google, counts over 200 "signals", or ranking factors, when it's algorithim ranks a particular page in a search. It is difficult, if not impossible, for any one person, to optimize them all perfectly.
However, not all signals are created equal, so to speak, and there are really only a dozen or so that have the most significant impact on ranking. While they all matter in aggregate, there are just a handful of signals that should always be considered.
Here are a few.
Optimize Your Site with Mobile-friendly, Responsive Design:
Google has always put their user experience and satisfaction as a foremost consideration. Because of this and the fact that mobile use is skyrocketing every year, Google now uses responsiveness as a significant ranking factor in its algorithm.
Numerous surveys and studies continue to show that a site that is not mobile-friendly and responsive is far more likely to be clicked away from than those that are. Despite your great content and high value. Even despite the great videos and other resources your site might have for them. If it doesn’t fit well on their screen or they have to scroll endlessly to find anything relevant, they will leave. Simple as that.
Improve Your Site Page Speed:
None other than Amit Singhal and Matt Cutts of Google have said, "Faster sites create happy users and we've seen in our internal studies that when a site responds slowly, visitors spend less time there."
Sometimes your site’s upload speed is a factor determined by your server. But there are things you can eliminate from your website to help improve response time such as extra-large images, for example. Typically, JPG, PNG, and GIF images load quickly and well, but you should avoid heavy formats like TIFF and BMP files. Try to stick with images that are 80Kb-100Kb at most, which is around 800 pixels on average.
Along with images you can count on too many graphics slowing things down for your visitors, as well. The problem is often when a website uses graphics to display text. While these might look great, too many can be a drag on site speed.
And More...
In addition, without getting too “tech-y”, other elements you can avoid would be too many RTTs, or file requests, too many redirects on your site, and even an outdated CMS, or “Content Management System” , which is a tool that a person can use to design, manage, and publish a website. If you have WordPress or WIX, for example, that is your CMS.
The Best Affordable SEO Company Will Fail You Without Quality Content
Jayson DeMer noted in Forbes’ online magazine:
"More than ever before, content is at the very heart of the practice of achieving high rankings in search. Neil Patel called content marketing “The New SEO” as far back as 2012...
With a proper distribution strategy for your content, your content is far more likely to gain traction; through social shares, links and through increased search rankings. Creating useful, thorough, well-optimized content is key, but so is having a plan in place for getting that content in front of a wider audience."
In addition to your keyword research to provide terms that are relevant to your audience, you must make sure that your content is well structured and valuable to your readers. Of course, this takes time and effort on your part, or someone you can delegate the content creation to. Quality content comes at a price, but the “ROI” is well worth it.
You want your SEO efforts to attract mobile users and work to earn links and shares. But, ultimately, it is quality content marketing that matters most in the end. Large numbers of “clicks” mean little if you don’t garner “conversions”, repeat visitors, and sales or subscribers, etc.
Should You Manage Your Own SEO?
This is really a question of available resources, not costs. Content creation and SEO are tasks any capable business owner can manage. So why consider outsourcing these functions to a third party, no matter how good the SEO company is?
Because your time is valuable and your resources should be prioritized.
And, while you probably can do your own SEO, the truth is that you may not have the time, resources, and knowledge to make it happen effectively. In fact, many most companies don't. For resource allocation and cost-effectiveness, it often makes more sense to enlist the aid of an affordable SEO company.
Why You Should Use a Local SEO Service
The good news is that you don't have to do this on your own, and you don’t have to go across the country to find a good and affordable SEO service! Your options for implementing a successful local SEO strategy include turning to a local professional firm that can work with you to maximize your efforts.
A qualified agency like BroadVision Marketing will develop a road map with an implementation time line, marketing milestones, and key deliverables. Using this road map we will create the framework and structure for us to work with you and help you to achieve your marketing goals.
Get your Free Complimentary Inbound Marketing Session to help you make an informed decision or call BroadVision Marketing at 707-799-1238.
