Why
is Search Engine Optimisation Expensive?
By Rkd Unger
Many
of our customers (http://www.internet-marketing-australia.com)
find search engine optimisation (SEO) services quite expensive.
From the client's point of view the results are intangible and
the process is lengthy. Therefore, the clients are often reluctant
to commit to the additional expense.
Typically,
a call for SEO comes after the website is already up and running.
The quoted price depends on the client's needs, industry, positioning,
etc. The price varies a lot, yet the cost of optimisation is comparable
to the cost of Web design.
Is
it expensive? - You bet!
During
the negotiations with the Web designers the client gets an expectation
of having a beautiful and functional site developed for an X amount
of dollars. The client is also getting a free hosting, free search
engines submissions and other freebies. That is why the price
looks reasonable.
Only
at some later stage the client realises that there is not enough
traffic (and potential buyers) coming through the website. Consultations
with the Internet marketing gurus reveal that in addition to the
extra cost there is a need to restructure the content - copy.
Why was it not done during the Web design phase?
The
answer is simple. Skill sets of Web designers, graphic designers,
programmers and Internet marketing people are different. Each
of the specialists focuses on a different aspect of the Web site.
Thus, when starting the search engine optimisation, we come across
design obstacles that take time - the client's - money to overcome.
Consider
this: we discovered that the client’s home page was overloaded
with JScript and had only two sentences of actual readable text.
To rectify the situation,we suggested and created new home page
content (at least 250 words). We also asked the web designers
to move the script out into a separate file.
The
client had to pay for all the above services plus testing!
Wouldn't
it be smarter (read: cheaper for the client) to consider SEO issues
during the Web design phase, rather than after?
Customers
would be happier, the websites would perform better...
Will
the Web design firms have enough courage to approach SEO at the
initial stage?
We
hope they will….
(Edited
by Olya Crawley)
About
The Author
Rkd
Unger, Internet marketing consultant, founder of www.internet-marketing-australia.com;
articlecity@smartstrings.com
Article
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
