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* Do it yourselfers – This category is populated with two types of search engine optimization people; those that are on their own for budgetary reasons and those that assume that SEO can be accomplished using their existing skill set. In many cases, those who are operating with limited budgets get better results than the existing skill set group simply because they need to maximize the results for each dollar spent. This group will often use grass roots campaigns to begin developing revenues and then direct some of that income toward outsourcing the work to an SEO company due to affordability and the time commitment required for SEO campaigns.
* Newcomers – The field of search engine optimization draws new people looking to “put out a shingle” on a daily basis. These newcomers are usually small (1 to three employees) operations with skill sets which can vary widely. There are a handful of potential problems in dealing with a newcomer including the lack of any track record, determining their level of expertise, and their daily work load. Regardless of skill level and track record, if a two man operation starts getting busy, current clients will suffer in terms of level of service and SEO activities due to the fact that the company is now spread thin with limited resources and not enough time in the day to do everything. It’s common in these situations for a newcomer to take on a new, high paying customer who requires putting everything else on the back burner or outsourcing the work of existing clients to an unknown entity.
* Professional SEO companies – Dealing with a reputable SEO company is, by far the best way to ensure a positive outcome for your search engine optimization efforts. These companies always have track records, satisfied clients, and a set protocol for developing SEO strategies, regardless of the type of business. This protocol always starts with keyword research, a step neglected by a high percentage of do it yourselfers and newcomers. The primary goal of the research is to define the keywords which will provide the best return on investment. On and off-site optimization practices are then determined from the results of the initial keyword research and the strategy is put into motion. With keywords in place, the work then revolves around the labor, time, and resource requirements of implementing a successful strategy. A professional SEO company will always be able to describe the process in detail with realistic goals and objectives. Of the three options, working with a reputable SEO company is usually the most expensive choice, but the ultimate outcome in terms of return on investment, targeted traffic, and conversion ratios are typically much higher.

Dealing with a reputable search engine optimization company can literally make the difference between success and failure. SEO companies, like the Gervais Group, which can provide past client successes and present search engine results are much more likely to deliver optimal outcomes than those new to the field. For more information, visit www.gervaisgroupllc.com or call (770) 529 2262.

* Spamming – This is perhaps the quickest way to alienate your followers and become a non-factor in social media. Pushing a sales agenda on sites where the primary activity is for social purposes simply won’t work. Communications should instead be conversational with intent to become a valued member of the community.
* Ignoring negative feedback and/or commentary – The advantage of social media sites is that they provide a great opportunity to communicate with a targeted audience. Failure to communicate should things go wrong won’t make them go away; it will probably make them bigger. Be sure to either monitor these conversations yourself or have your SEO company do it for you so that you can respond as quickly as possible.
* Being the “point man” for your site, even if your uncomfortable with it – If you’re not comfortable with, or have time for, regular communication on your social media sites have someone else do it. Depending on how things are going, this can be a full time job by itself. Having an SEO consultant provide that work instead can ensure that communications are prompt and framed properly.
* Set your pages and profile up in a haphazard manner – Remember, this is essentially an online storefront for your business. You would set up a physical location that looked like a hurricane just hit it so don’t do it with the social media sites. Like your physical location, your online visitors will be judging your business by the quality of its appearance and its presentation.
* Let your site get stale – Even if things are cruising along nicely, be sure to update your social media pages regularly. Just like SEO for your website, fresh content will keep your audience coming back, hopefully bringing their friends and followers with them.

Social media sites afford a fantastic opportunity for businesses to develop a following, brand their products and services and, communicate with existing and potential customers. To see how your business could benefit from the traffic generated from the growing audiences at social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, call The Gervais Group today at (770) 529 2262.

On experience:

* How long have you been in business? – Hiring a new company carries its share of risks, even if their rates are discounted from the other companies you’re interviewing.
* Can you show me some of your successes? – Front page success is what you’re looking for and if the company has done it with others you’re on the right track. Take it one step further and see if you can talk to the companies which have had successful campaigns run for them.
* Can you tell me about some of the people in your company? – This gives you another experience metric to measure and leads to the next question.
* How many employees do you have? – Avoid one or two man shops whenever possible. The risk here is that, should they get more work than they can handle, your project will end up being outsourced or put on the back burner.
* Have you done search engine optimization for anyone else in my industry? – Industry specific experience may not be critical as most SEO work follows similar paths. This question can be used more as a tie-breaker if all other things are equal between companies.

On the services provided:

* How will you search engine optimize my website? – This answer to this question should help define whether the company is going to use ethical tactics for the optimization of your website. Be wary if the company is offering to do your SEO work at a steep discount to other companies, especially when the discount is combined with an unclear description of optimization techniques. The likely outcome here will be underperformance at best, and major problems such as being removed from search engine indices if the company is employing unethical or black hat techniques.
* Do you provide search engine marketing? – Search engine optimizing on the site is only half the battle. Be sure you’re working with a company that can build in-bound links to your site and create content such as press releases and articles for submission to blogs, news sites, and social media sites.

On the partnership:

* How and how often will we be in communication – Quantifying this answer isn’t as important as determining that communication is both open and welcomed. Run away if you get a “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” type of response.
* How will we define success and what’s our timeline? Getting to the front page for defined keywords will be one measure. An experienced and successful SEO company will be able to provide estimates on your timeline but can never guarantee a result. Should the company you’re interviewing respond with a front page guarantee within a certain time, they are simply telling you what you want hear and don’t have your best interests at heart.

Search engine optimization is a process usually conducted in a competitive environment with an ever-changing landscape. The best SEO companies won’t be afraid to convey to that information to you. One such company is The Gervais Group LLC, which has being executing successful SEO campaigns for a variety of clients across multiple industry groups. Call us today at (770) 529 2262 for an honest appraisal on conducting a successful SEO campaign for your company.

Wrong SEO companies usually play to the tune of telling perspective clients exactly what they want to hear, whether the promises can be delivered or not. Another aspect of a presentation from a Wrong SEO Company will include deliverables only attainable using tactics which can risk damage to your site and the reputation of your products and/or services. The following is short a list of what to look for from the Wrong side of SEO work:

* The approach – Spammed solicitations via email are a dead giveaway. Responding to them is an invitation to trouble, at the very least confirming that your email is valid which will result in an ever growing stream of more spam. According to Google’s Webmaster Help page, even they get solicitations such as “Dear google.com, I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories…”
* The guarantee of a number one ranking – The only guarantee of this nature which can be delivered is one where a ridiculously long keyword (eight words, nine words) is “optimized”. The end result is that you have a phrase which is ranked number one with absolutely zero traffic. Guarantees on any type of competitive keyword or phrase are a sure sign that you are being told what you want to hear regardless of whether it will happen or not.

* Submission the thousands of search engines – While it may sound great, these types of submissions are either unnecessary or a waste of time. Think about it; beyond the major search engines are a plethora of industry specific ones. If the promised submissions happened to occur, your apple-selling website would mean nothing on a site directed at buyers of home furnishings.

* A vague list of SEO activities – As Google points out, regardless of who does it, you are responsible for the actions taken on your site. A company using Black Hat techniques such as doorway pages and keyword stuffing might initially have some success in moving you up in the search engine rankings. The biggest risk is that, should the techniques be discovered by the search engines, your site could be removed entirely from their indices. At that point your online business is effectively dead.

Avoiding the Wrong SEO Company is critical to the success of your website. To see what the Right kind of SEO Company can do for your business; call the Gervais Group today at (770) 529-2262.

Here are five basic steps toward optimizing your returns through social media sites:

1) Find the sites that fit your company’s demographic – Locating your audience is critical so find the sites where people will be looking for what you have to offer.  If you are offering products and services geared toward the AARP crowd, building a MySpace presence won’t be the most efficient use of your resources. That being said, with the size and variety of users on the major social media sites, you might still get some attention but it won’t be near as much as being present on sites with a better fit. If you’re unsure, starting tracking your audience using social media monitoring software that can identify where your company related keywords, and content related to them, are showing up.
2) Clarify your SEO/social media objectives – Direct selling on the social media sites is usually considered an annoyance and often thought of as pure spam. Because of that, social media related search engine optimization is a different animal than SEO in its pure form. Here, the optimal role of SEO is to directly influence discovery of social communities and/or content via search, guiding conversation, and building/protecting brand perception.
3) Determine how you’re going to participate – Successful participation on social media sites is centered on providing content, interacting, and being a part of the conversation. Be sure to put your best foot forward in all areas. If you’re uncomfortable with public communication, find someone who is. Make sure that all your communications present your company in the best light possible, are search engine optimized for your keywords, and are easy to share amongst members of the community.
4) Develop your content mix – Your content mix for a successful social media marketing effort should be based on how your audience receives and shares content whether via video, articles, research, etc. Doing the due diligence here will be well worth the investment as a seamless integration in to your community will develop your credibility and provide the means for getting your message out faster.
5) Test, measure, re-test – One of the great attributes of search engine optimization is that there is so much that is measurable and quantifiable. Goals, benchmarks, and objectives should all be tracked in order to constantly improve results. The combination of social media monitoring services as well as web analytics can provide measurements which can tell you whether you are on track and where results can be improved.

The importance of successfully combining search engine optimization with social media is growing as fast as the social websites themselves. For a free analysis on where your social media efforts should be focused, call The Gervais Group today at (770) 529 2262.