So, what do websites and penguins have in common? If you’re an SEO specialist or a web developer, you probably know the answer, but if you’re one of the millions of small business owners trying to figure out how to market your business online, the jargon is just one more obstacle in moving forward.
According to Google, 55% small businesses don’t have a website, and confusion seems to be a key stumbling block. Whether you are going it alone or hiring someone to build a site and “do SEO” for you, it’s important to understand the basics. That knowledge will keep you from being taken advantage of, or making mistakes that can takes months to correct.
Where do you learn about SEO and internet marketing?
There are thousands of choices, millions of articles, and more videos than one could ever hope to watch… and a lot of the content is either outdated, or is just total junk. That’s why web designer and internet marketer, Valerie Cudnik created websitelessons.com, to present basic concepts about SEO, WordPress, and internet marketing in general, in short videos and articles that are presented for a beginner audience.
Over the 7 years that Cudnik has been involved in web design and internet marketing, she has seen many clients get taken advantage of when purchasing a website or SEO services. That’s mostly because they don’t understand what’s involved, or what they are paying for.
“Depending on what the SEO company is providing, $100 may be too much,” Cudnik states, “and $5000 a month may be perfectly reasonable.”
“That price range sounds a little insane, but it’s all about the services being provided,” she explains, “how competitive the market is, and the value to a business of a new customer.”
When shopping for SEO services, prices may reflect some of the following:
- Initial keyword research
- Initial strategy planning
- On-site SEO
- Off-site SEO
- Social Media
- Advertising (pay-per-click, display ads, etc.)
- Copywriting
Other things to look at when considering the ongoing costs are:
- One-time or annual functions (such as research and strategy)
- Monthly, weekly or daily functions (which can include ad management, blogging, social media posting, monitoring results, and more)
WebsiteLessons.com has broken down the concepts so they are easy to understand. People don’t want to watch a 30-minute video, they want specific information in small pieces, which is what makes websitelessons.com so different from many other resources.
Understanding what you are buying makes you a smart consumer, and a smart business owner.