Who are you going to have train your new employee?  As a business owner, do you really have the time to allocate towards training your new employees?  Most businesses have management in place to conduct the training.  If there is a specific goal or strategy, one might hire an outside trainer or consultant to facilitate the process.

Hiring an SEO Specialist for most small to mid sized business owners makes the most sense.  Most likely as a business owner you will have a hard time committing the time required to truly climb the search engine rankings.  Hiring a firm to optimize your website will free up your time as a business owner and compared to hiring another employee, outsourcing will be much cheaper.

As a small business owner you should understand that there are three categories of SEO firms.  The first is mainly interested in doing business with the largest companies and their prices reflect it.  These firms generally charge anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 a month.  This price is outside most small to mid-sized businesses marketing budgets.

The second type of SEO firms is a web designer that advertises that they also do SEO work.  This category is the most common.  I have taken over accounts where the design work on the site looked great, but from a search engine stand point, the site was a complete mess.  It is important to understand that just because a person does website design does not mean that they understand search engines.  It should also be noted that just because you have a web designer does not mean your website is being optimized for search engines.

The third type of firm has true SEO Specialists who specialize in working with small to mid sized businesses.  They offer flexible plans that respect your budget.  To maximize your websites marketing budget, look for a firm that offers complete Internet Marketing plans as well as website maintenance.  This way your Internet Marketing, Webmaster, and SEO Specialist will all be under one roof.  A qualified and flexible Internet Marketing company will be able to offer these services.

Buyer Beware: The truth is no company can guarantee a first page listing for every keyword. If acompany is advertising a guaranteed first page listing, you should walk away.

Part 1: Hiring Process – Your Website: A Neglected Employee
Part 2: Taking Inventory – Your Website: A Neglected Employee
Part 3: Measuring Your Websites Performance – Your Website: A Neglected Employee
Part 4: Training Your Employee – SEO – Your Website: A Neglected Employee
Part 5: Hiring a Trainer – What to Look for in an SEO Firm – Your Website: A Neglected Employee