This is an excellent post on how to explain why search engine optimization is so important to clients.
Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
Many people decide, when faced with the fact that they need a website, to go the inexpensive route. They hire a nephew, the kid who lives down the block, or someone who charges under $100 for a website.
This is a very bad idea in a number of ways. A website should reflect both how you want to be seen online, and that you are ready to do business online. Having a cheap website, or one that cannot handle changes in browsers, detracts from this purpose.
A number of clients have discovered this. By going the less expensive way, they end up having to fork over a lot of money further down the line.
I do not advocate spending more than your business can afford on a website, nor am I suggesting that you need all the newest bells and whistles on your site.You need a site that can withstand the test of time and change that occurs online.
The best way is by having a straightforward website that presents your business in a professional way and that can be changed, if the need arises.
Are you #1 in Google? It Doesn’t Matter
A wonderful article on why ranking #1 in Google is no longer as important as it once was. I so agree with this.
Selecting a Domain Name
How do you select the best domain name for your website URL? Not all of the “good” names have been taken. In fact, a lot of domains expire every day.
You need to find a domain name that has keywords in it that are relevant to your topic. Contrary to rumor, hyphenated domain names are fine. The search engines see the keywords with or without the hyphens.
Keep the domain name short, if possible. It will be easier to remember. Initials can be confusing, so stay away from them. If you have a company name, use that for the domain name. You can have domains that are “parked” (i.e. sitting on the register’s server) that will forward the user to the correct site (called a “redirect”).
Nameboy is a free service and domain register that will tell you if a domain name is available, and will also give suggestions with different combinations of your keywords.
I recommend getting both the domain name with and without hyphens. You should try to buy both the “.com” and “.net” domains. The others do not yet attract much attention. The “.org” is used for organizations (or at least it started out that way), and the “.biz”, and “.info” has not yet caught on.
The new HOT topic is SEO
Apparently, everyone is now talking about and claiming that they can do search engine optimization. The amount of misinformation flying around the Web is amazing!
Search engine optimization is not easy, nor is it magic. It is a lot of hard work and keyword research and requires a deep level of understanding of both the search engines and their users.
I keep getting emails from marketers that says that this automated program or that software will do SEO for you. Unfortunately, many of these programs are actually a lot harder to use than just learning SEO.
Automated submission programs should be avoided (like the plague), and software often has a lot more bells and whistles to them than just doing the SEO.
Another problem is that software is rarely updated as fast as the search engines change. Unless you can find a program that does regular updating of itself, I suggest avoiding these sorts of programs.