Girl Geek Web Designs

 

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Click here to download our flier

Search engine optimization is the art and science of getting your site ranked highly in organic search engine results. It's a complex subject and I just want to hit a few highlight here. SEO is not for the faint hearted, but for someone who is serious about getting business from their website.

For more information or to schedule a FREE initial SEO consultation, email me  or submit a request for an SEO consultation.

What is involved in SEO?

• Website design - The site has to be designed correctly for browser compatibility and so search engines can read (spider) and include (index) every page of your site.

• Keyword research and placement - your site content has to include good keywords and have those placed in the correct places in your site. Selecting keywords that no one searches  is a waste of time. I refer you to my newsletter learn how to select good keywords. Also go to the Search Engine Optimization Tools page on my website.

• Link Strategies - having quality inbound links to your site is vital to achieving a high ranking in search engines. This takes time. Adding too many links too fast can get you banned from search engines. Your SEO person needs to know what kind and what quality of links to accomplish at least 2 objectives: a) increase ranking and b) send targeted traffic to your site.

• Site Maps - A new site is hard to get ranked. Often times a new site isn't even picked up by the search engines for at least a month. Some search engines and directories require manual submission of your site. Your site needs to be designed so that every page of the site can be indexed. This happens through text navigation links and/or a sitemap. Google and Yahoo now require your site to have a specially designed sitemap in order to index all of your pages.

• Ongoing Maintenance - Search engines ranking change all the time as new sites come online with your same keywords, as you add new content to your site, and depending on which datacenter is crawling your site.  Therefore ongoing monitoring and tweaking of your site and addition of new links is needed if you wish to get and keep a high ranking.

What kind of success have I had?

Here are just a few of my successes.
The information was accurate on Jan 7, 2007, but rankings fluctuate all the time for a variety of reasons.

 

http://www.girlgeekwebdesigns.com

Go to Google and type in "girl geek" and you will find my site in the # 2 position. I've held that position for at least 2 - 3 years.  Go to Yahoo and you will see links to my site in the #6 and #9 position.  Go to MSN and you will see my site  in the #1, #5 and # 6 positions.

 

http://www.cabinbythepond.com

This site, that's only been online since September 2006, enjoys a first page ranking of Google for 5 keywords.  On MSN it is on the first page of results for 5 others.  On Yahoo, it's is ranked on the first page for 2 keywords. (as of August 19, 2007)

 

http://www.siuniversityapartments.com

This site is ranked on the first page of Google and MSN for all 6 desired keywords, and on the first page for all but one of the desired keywords.  The comment from the site owner is that other landlords are wondering how he did that..."you're everywhere."  I tell him to tell them "it's magic!"

 

http://www.JoffeLaw.com

 

This huge site is ranked on the first 1-2 pages of Google for 109 search terms, on the first 1-2 pages for Yahoo for 103 search terms and on the first 1-2 pages of MSN for 165 search terms as of February 5, 2008.

 

http://www.woodlandcabins.net

 

This small site is ranked #1 on Yahoo for all of its designated keywords, and on the first or second page of Google and MSN for all the rest.  Comments from the site owners: "The business generated by the web site is unbelievable. We are busy. " - Penny, co-owner Woodland Cabins

http://www.PaulDeming.com

This site is ranked in the top 20 results on Google for  12 keyword phrases, on the first page of MSN for 9 keyword phrases (including three  #1 rankings) and in the  top 20 results on Yahoo for 9 keyword phrases. (as of January 5, 2008)

 http://www.stlouisguitarlessons.com

This site is ranked in the top 20 results on Google for 5 keyword phrases, the top 10 results on MSN for 3 keyword phrases and the top 5 results on Yahoo for 4 keyword phrases. (as of January 5, 2008)

 

What does SEO cost? Get ready for sticker shock!

What the "Big Boys" charge

From February 2007 Website Magazine, " Outsourced professional SEO campaigns can vary between $10,000-$50,000 per month depending on factors such as keyword competitiveness, backlinking required to improve rankings, whether or not original content is necessary, current site ranking, technical and editorial factors hindering site ranking and length of time required to achieve improved results."

I recently got a quote from a top-notched SEO company for a client of mine to optimize his 177 page website with a desired keyword list topping 200.  The estimate was $24,000 per year for only 15 pages, plus $2000 for each additional page. They also required a 2 year minimum commitment.

Imagine what it would have cost to optimize all of his pages!  Wait...lemme do the math...177 - 15 pages =162 x $2000 per page = $324,000 + $24,000 = $348,000 times 2 years = $696,000. Holy cow!  I guess the $5000 he's spent on search engine optimization with me is a bargain!  This week, the site owner told me the site has more than paid for itself in generating new business leads. Whew!

If I were you, I'd want to calculate what kind of return on investment I would need in order to determine a budget for SEO.  Spending $2000 to make $3000 might make sense, it might not. That depends on your financial needs and goals. 

What Girl Geek Charges

That being said, my fee for optimization is $150 an hour.  Each jobs has to be bid individually, depending on your needs, goals and objectives. I offer a FREE initial SEO consultation. Email me or give me a call AT 1-877-866-GEEK to set up an appointment.

I can also tell you what I've charged other people. 

• Just to run reports to set a baseline on an existing 5000 page website and to review the site for search engine readiness was approximately $850.  My reports included recommendations that the client could implement herself or have her web designer implement.
• On the other hand I've built sites that have reached first page ranking without any deliberate optimization in 3-4 months because I guided my clients through the process of content development and I know how to construct a site that is ready for optimization.