At minimum, quality SEO must include analysis, implementation, tracking, reporting, etc… just to name a few. Basically, every client needs to be treated with a custom approach because marketing goals need to be considered and the budget needs to match the provided labor allocation.

Most businesses will typically have 6-18 main keyword phrases where the majority of their SEO traffic will come from. Notice I said “most.” Some niche business models have fewer than six phrases and I have seen some with over 100. Usually, targeted keywords are identified and the plan is ultimately based off the number of keywords. Some SEO firms base their approach from website visitor traffic, others from sales revenue, or a mixture of both… but I prefer to use the number keywords. There are no right or wrong answers to how you price as long as the client’s business increases and the work is done ethically.

I like to utilize a ‘hybrid’ approach to the proposal writing process. Essentially, I use a standard template with deliverables/verbiage and I customize certain areas to fit the client’s needs.

For Reference, I do some of the following on an introductory level plan:

1. Target phrases that have less than 10 million competitors (# of search results)

a. Example:  Faux Alligator Bags and Imitation Alligator Handbags are preferred to target.  In the short term, stay away from Fake Alligator Bags and Fake Crocodile Handbags.  *Get the first two and any other related terms with under 10m results, then go after the big dogs later, once you have developed a “footprint” across the search engines! 

Fake or Real? The money is real!

2. Only be concerned with Google, Bing and Yahoo (over 95% of all searches)

3. The ultimate goal is a 1st page ranking for the keyword for the above.

4. 12 month contract (to ensure client commitment and ability to show results)

5. Price is set according to increments of (6) keywords. *Each plan includes relatively the same number of management and reporting hours, which is why the price gets cheaper when more work is done.

a. Example 1: Six keywords cost 800/month
b. Example 2: Twelve keywords cost 1200/month
c. Example 3: Eighteen keywords cost 1500/month

In summary, I like to meet with the client and understand their business and marketing goals. Then, I use a standardized proposal template and modify it to meet their needs.  I hope this helped!

About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner of PalmettoSoft, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Charlotte NC and Charleston SC areas.

Working together to achieve a larger goal!

Why do this? From an optimizer’s perspective, I understand deeply how people search on the Internet, but I will never know what each individual keyword phrase truly represents to a client. This is one reason why I ask the client to explain their business model to me in layman’s terms and also explain the different type of product/service groups they offer with corresponding sales percentages. By doing this, I better understand where the opportunities are, and also what “SEO direction” the clients wishes to head towards.

When the first “Version 1” report is created, I have an immediate conference call with the customer to review it. The first thing we do is remove any phrases that are not applicable, then, we quickly discuss each individual phrase and how it impacts their business. Also, the client usually adds phrases to the list because the review process creates/stimulates new thoughts they didn’t have previously. It’s sort of like thinking about one thing and it leads you to think about something you previously never considered. You can see how the ‘back and forth’ ultimately creates a really good targeted list.

In the worst cases of keyword analysis, websites are optimized for undesirable terms that continually bring in the wrong type of customer. In addition, this lead generation problem occupies their staff’s time with having to answer emails and phone calls, which either results in a “zero sale,” or the lead is referred to another business who actually offers that solution. How does this happen? Usually it is because the SEO provider offered to research the keywords and the customer approved the work without actually taking a look at it. In even worse scenarios, the customer submits a list of words to the optimizer, and they are not run through the proper SEO research software to verify they are even viable terms. Viable terms are considered phrases that have a sufficient number of searches per month with an associated reasonable level of competition. Either way, this problem occurs because both parties did not collaborate and the customer was not properly advised by a professional.

With the best cases, an ever growing flow of good, new customer traffic is being either sold to via an online shopping cart, or the website email form is being answered along with a ringing telephone. As more visitor traffic arrives on the site, usability reviews should be done at least twice per year, because the lost opportunity cost of having a less than adequately functioning website can be massive. Another good rule of thumb is to refresh the keyword research report every six months because search behavior changes over time. There may be new industry words to gain and/or the customer may be offering a new product line or service the website is not currently featuring.

In summary, never forget the first impressions are the most important.  The optimizer and customer should work together methodically, using each other’s knowledge of their field in a collaborative effort to uncover the best opportunities for keyword phrases. Another great byproduct of this effort is that a more professional and respective business relationship is formed and it’s a “win- win” for both parties.

About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner of PalmettoSoft, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Charlotte NC and Charleston SC areas.

Over the years, I don’t know how many people I have told that “SEO is like commercial farming,” but there have been many. Typically, I mention this in the beginning of a sales meeting to help set the stage for a successful and effective campaign.

SEO = Search Engine Optimization

Imagine being a farmer and surveying an empty field (your website) for which you later intend to plant crops. You wouldn’t run into the middle and begin throwing seeds everywhere, yet many SEO campaigns unfortunately begin that way. First, you would probably analyze your field for things like consistency (code validation), soil quality (message), irrigation channels (page loading times), etc… because having a strong platform is essential if you want to have a big harvest. Once that was under control, then you begin looking at what type of crops (keyword phrases) should be placed strategically in certain areas of your field, possibly because some require more or less sunlight than others. I do not have a background in farming, but am trying to make the point that a lot of analysis and planning needs to be done in order to increase your odds of success.

Once the field is plowed (Sitemap created for ease of indexing) then we plant our first crop, or in this instance, we create our first SEO keyword phrase landing page, and add it to the Sitemap as a text link. Like a newly planted seed, there is no visible growth (in the search results) in the beginning weeks or months. However, over time, you will soon see a sprout appear out of the soil (showing up on search results).  And eventually…with the proper maintenance (inbound linking with social media efforts), this crop will become large, strong and productive. Of course, I am referring to a 1st page search result ranking on the major engines (Google, Bing and Yahoo), which can deliver powerful results.

Over time, your field will ultimately become full of high yielding crops and the same thing happens with websites that have targeted all of a client’s industry related keywords. As a website adds more key phrases, the SEO firm’s maintenance duties increase as well. When I see website designers and SEO agencies offering “one time SEO services,” it makes me cringe because… like a farmer… you don’t just plant a bunch of seeds then go home. In reality, your job has just begun. In addition, competitor SEO enhancements and continually changing search engine ranking algorithms will always keep us “out in the field” plowing, planting, pruning, clipping, etc… in an effort to keep up with the changing times and conditions.

What does all this mean? SEO, like farming, requires a well thought out plan, lots of initial work, and ever increasing ongoing maintenance as larger yields are produced. How about a freshly sliced tomato?

About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner of PalmettoSoft, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Charlotte NC and Charleston SC areas.

Testing usability in the board room, or wherever you may be!

As the Internet grows with more users who spend an ever increasing amount of time online, the science of usability testing will become a more important factor with websites.  Usability is essentially defined as how easy or difficult an interface is to use. As a website’s traffic grows from enhanced SEO and/or social media efforts, more attention needs to be placed on navigation structure, font selection, layout elements, colors, etc… All of the aforementioned play a large role in the conversion percentage of website visitors into actual revenue.

Imagine if an E-commerce website with 400 products is earning $100,000 per month in sales and it undergoes a major navigation structure upgrade. Within seconds of launch, products are suddenly much easier to find and the site could experience an increase of +10% (+$10,000) per month in additional revenue (or more). As you can see, when the visitor traffic increases, a small percentage metric can have a tremendous effect on the bottom line. And this is just one reason why I tend to look at SEO “holistically,” and see there are several, key high level components that must be maximized for maximum success.

Within the particular post, I am mostly referring to E-commerce websites, which sell products directly to the public. However, other sites, such as information ones, can benefit from usability enhancements… think of “call, email, sign up for newsletter, etc…”

How do I test usability?
There are several ways to test usability. A business could bring in a small focus group of users and ask them to perform several website functions and then document the time each user in doing so. When the data is finish being collected, look for trends that occur and typically you will find your problems or advantages. Or, your website developer could prepare a checklist with pre designated elements (ex. font size, navigation, page length, page load time, etc…) and comment on each element with a detailed analysis which is then sent to the client as a recommendation upgrade. If you represent a larger company, you may even hire an independent usability testing firm, which typically represents the highest skill available… All of these activities are great for the website because they represent a targeted effort to better the visitor experience, which translates into better sales and conversion.

About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner PalmettoSoft, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Charlotte NC and Charleston SC areas.

Let's try and find some value!

Recently, I was talking with a good friend of mine who owns a large web firm in Charlotte NC.  From time to time, we will meet for lunch (or other venue) and discuss our industry and many of its pros and cons.  During this chat, he disclosed to me that his SEO team was having a very difficult time in trying to monetize social media efforts.  As a result, this issue was bleeding over into the sales process with customers and the overall mood of maintaining social media efforts for clients was becoming sour in general.  As he was mentioning this to me, I quickly realized this was a problem that my company has been facing and in turn, we have made some proactive steps to remedy the problem.  I guess the funniest part of the matter was that it took a casual lunch conversation to uncover and ‘frame’ a serious problem. In addition, I figured if we (collectively) were having the same problem, common logic says its probably happening to many others in our industry as well.

I did some research… it is happening, and I’m not saying it can’t be monetized.

Please don’t get the wrong impression and think I’m saying there is no way to monetize social media. On the Internet, if you put enough effort into anything you almost always at least find some form of a positive return on investment (ROI).  The real challenge comes when limited resources ($$$) are being used for campaigns which include daily Facebook/Twitter posts, weekly blog articles, reporting, tracking, etc… As professionals, we seem genetically programmed to always find and report positive ROI for our services, right? Maybe we can’t in some cases.

Google and Cosmic Black Holes have a lot in common.  They both are massive, have tremendous pull and affect those orbiting around them in mysterious ways.

Where exactly are we again?

Today, most people have a vague idea that Google holds a 66% market share of all Internet searches.  And Yahoo and Bing hold about 14% and 15%, respectively. Basically, just understand the ‘Big Three’ control over 95% of all searches and Google is the big kid on the block. If you are wondering why I am covering this mostly widely known data,  its to set the stage for ‘why’ I think so much effort is being placed on social media efforts these days.  Last year, in 2011, Google had a major algorithm update occur—enter the “Panda.”  Panda can be thought of mostly as “frequency/social signal” update that places strong emphasis on social media websites, their activity, and integration within (and to) an organization’s website.  Many experts say the update had an up to ~12+% effect on Google’s results and this is considered huge when a search engine has such a large market share.  Now, all of the sudden, the routine SEO techniques of building optimized landing pages with traditional inbound links is no longer yielding the success on the search results. So what happens? Bazillions (my word for many) of optimizers learn of the ‘social media counter measure’ and quickly begin incorporating social media management campaigns in conjunction with ongoing SEO. Does it work?  I have to say it does, based on the results we are seeing.

Social Media Marketers—this is not slam on what you do, it’s just a perspective from the SEO side.

There are some really good social media marketing firms out there who are showing positive ROI, but for the most part, when social media is directly compared with traditional SEO, the ROI is higher for the latter. This claim is mostly based on the fact that people use social media to talk to family and friends; not to buy things and/or conduct intricate product searches.

Thanks for the info, but what do I tell my clients?

Tell them the truth. Let them know that professional Facebook and Google Plus pages need to created and updated frequently.  Tell them you are primarily managing social media for the search engine algorithms and secondarily for people. This way, the client tends to be much more relaxed moving forward and any social media gains that directly convert into a sale is considered a bonus.

You may be reading this and thinking “he is offering an easy way out of this problem and there probably is a better way of handling it.” 

If you are thinking this, just understand that most of my solution is based on a limited client budget. Within any SEO/Social Media campaign, the ultimate goal should be to gain more search market share with a corresponding increasing revenue gain. When measuring, for example, Facebook activity against a website’s traffic data, one tends to show much more ‘direct ROI’ than the other. However, it is very difficult to measure ‘indirect ROI.’ Both matter and have a profound effect on each other.  And we have much to learn about Black Holes too.

About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner PalmettoSoft LLC, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Charlotte NC area.

Before we begin, I realize the correct way to spell “holistic” is with an “h” and not a “w.”  Since this subject is a bit theoretical, I wanted to try and coin a new phrase that matches my thoughts on the matter.

Most of the general public and many optimizers think that SEO (search engine optimization) simply means enhancing websites for high search results rankings. This understanding is only marginally true and does not provide a truly accurate picture into the complex science of SEO. In addition, it does not address all high level (overview looking down) parts of the field.  How do I make this claim? Let’s think about it in layman’s terms:  Businesses typically hire an SEO firm with the desire to ultimately earn more revenue via increased search engine exposure for their products and services.  Immediately, this ‘should’ sound like a long term (not one-time), customized and dedicated budget strategy. In addition, Wholistic SEO can/should affect the look, feel and message (and more) of the company website.  You can imagine that as new keyword phrases are targeted, they can have a profound impact on ‘what’ and ‘how much’ a company sells.

As you are reading this, you may see I am building a case that Wholistic SEO is a serious strategy for a business… and in some cases… can either make or break a business model. At PalmettoSoft, we explain what Wholistic SEO is as one of the first objectives when meeting a potential client. By doing so, it helps to better educate the customer and sets the stage for a much better working relationship moving forward.  With a better understanding, the client tends to allocate a higher budget, and in addition, may even dedicate supporting internal resources towards their Wholistic SEO initiatives.

Commodity SEO:  Get out the of kid pool and rinse off, you are in the wrong place
Commodities are basically anything that can be bought or sold at cheap prices by many producers—and quality SEO is not as simple as creating a brochure.  When trying to find a great attorney, would you haggle over his hourly rate? Probably not, because you realize his/her time is valuable and you are ultimately paying for their expertise and experience in order to get something accomplished. Then why do optimizers offer competing “packages” with numbers of keywords at certain prices to the public?  I’ll tell you why… they think it’s what the public wants to see and it ultimately drives down the quality and effectiveness of SEO.  I have nothing against attorneys and the fine work that most of them do, but we are not ambulance chasers; and should not present ourselves in that manner.

In Summary, Wholistic SEO is serious business for the Serious Business
Wholistic SEO is the practice of coordinating business goals, message, budget and long term product/service development via the Internet. It is not a cheap and/or low quality service, nor should it be offered in that manner.  Thank you for reading my post today and we look forward to the possibility of working with you.

About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner PalmettoSoft LLC, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Charlotte NC area.

A Website by Itself doesn’t cut it anymore.These days, a website needs to have an integrated blog, professional Facebook page, Twitter account, etc… all working in tandem in order for the company/organization to be perceived as a forward thinking and technologically proficient. At PalmettoSoft, our Charlotte NC SEO firm guides our customers with an integrated, high level strategy which continually brings new customers in—and strengthens relationships with the current base. If you have not figured it out yet, search engine optimization is used to bring them in the door, and social media is utilized to maintain and enhance customer relations.

How is it done?
Normally, our Charlotte NC SEO company integrates a WordPress blog or similar technology—and this software is either fully integrated within the website, or is ‘stand alone’ and features its own keyword rich domain name. Blog entries need to be around 400 words (or more) and feature a keyword density of 1.5-2.0% for every 100 words. Anchor text links are used (typically 3) at the beginning, middle and ending of the article and they all link to the same targeted page. Don’t forget your targeted keyword in the blog title, either. Depending on the competiveness (number of search results) for the targeted keyword, more or less blog posts are needed in order to boost the rankings. Basically, the search engine algorithm is seeing a lot of targeted, keyword specific content that links to each other. If you were an unethical or “quick strike” business website, you probably would not be going through all the “best practice/White Hat SEO” trouble to enhance your rankings. Our Charlotte NC SEO company uses only best practice techniques and this guarantees long term stability on the search results.

What about Facebook and Twitter?
Once your blog entry is posted, you can update your Facebook status with the same link. If this seems a bit redundant, it is. However, you are essentially integrating your website and social media efforts and the search engines tend to reward you for taking the time to do it the right way. Once Facebook, is updated, go ahead and select the “Like” button as the engines will notice…and if you have some friends who are not doing anything at the time, have them “Like” your post as well.  The main point of this exercise is to post your blog entry on Facebook and get as many “Likes” as you can. In addition, your Twitter account should be setup to automatically receive your Facebook posts, so that makes managing the account a minimal time activity.

Thank you for reading another blog post from our Charlotte NC SEO firm and we look forward to the possibility of working with you.

About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner PalmettoSoft LLC, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Charlotte NC area.

Can SEO be packaged? No. It’s driven by budget and client goals.

First off, let me tell you that SEO cannot be boxed up and packaged with cool package names which feature coordinated and consistent branding graphics.  I don’t know how many times we see “Gold, Silver, Business Plus, Express, Executive, etc…” packages on SEO provider websites.  Packages include everything from numbers of keywords to numbers of keywords, etc… What’s overlooked in this scenario:  Quality and conversion. When an account manager is backed up with work at the end of the month and knows he must produce, for example, (8) SEO keyword landing pages… you can imagine the work being done can become commoditized—and rather quickly.

This quick strike, package strategy can bring a false sense of security to the client because the real “driver” of any search engine optimization campaign is the client’s goals coupled with their budget. Think about it…what is the true value proposition of an Express Package when a company is trying to market to new customers and increase market share? The value, connection and proper expectation is not there and the customer may as well go and order the “Premium Package” for their new cable service. I say this tongue in cheek and also don’t intend for fellow optimizers to take offense to what I am saying… but… at the end of the day… it’s about the customer. Why do we see so many “package style offerings” out there? I think it’s because it very difficult to sell a customer on a 100% customized plan. They want to see the neat brochure, with 3-4 offering schemes… and don’t forget the “Our Best Value!” one.  Our Charlotte NC SEO firm would rather slow our marketing message down a bit and educate and consult our customer so they truly understand that what we are offering is 100% customized and tailored to their business model.

In addition to customized plans, we offer very personal service. As a matter of fact, every PalmettoSoft customer works directly with the owner, Rhett DeMille (me). Every one of our clients has my personal phone number and email and can get in touch with me 24 hours per day if they need to. Our Charlotte NC SEO firm has some outstanding technical programmers on staff, but the research, strategy and execution falls directly in lap of your account manager/owner. If you would like to speak with PalmettoSoft, please contact our Charlotte NC SEO firm today.

About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner PalmettoSoft LLC, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Charlotte NC area.

Our Charlotte NC SEO company has clients in, but not limited to the following areas:  manufacturing, education, fundraising, real estate, and print fulfillment. By working in various industries, we have learned that sound and ethical techniques always yield the best results… even in a world of constantly shifting algorithms and marketing strategies. Recently, for example, Google updated its algorithm (Panda change) to place more emphasis on fresher content, such as blogs, for example (wink). As an experienced Charlotte NC SEO consultancy, we quickly learned of the change, and then began the process of changing our own SEO methodology to better work within Google’s new parameters. Since Google currently has about a 65% share of all searches, we never overlook or underestimate anything they do.

An example of positively responding to a major algorithm shift is begin placing more emphasis on blogging, news posts, moderator controlled comments, Facebook “Likes,” and other components/systems that make Internet content more interactive and up to date. When we talk to new and existing clients, our Charlotte NC SEO firm discusses the update and we also help them create their own, in many cases, “in house” blog producer which can work in tandem with—and under our direction so all search engine optimization efforts are maximized.

At PalmettoSoft, we don’t view ourselves as “just another Charlotte NC SEO company,” we view ourselves as a long term strategic partner that uses experience, care, ethics and leadership to get the maximum benefit for our clients. This is another reason why your account manager will be the owner of the Charlotte NC SEO company, Rhett DeMille.

Rhett first started his web development career working in the field of website design. After building hundreds of websites over the years, he developed a keen knowledge of usability, quality graphic design and message. These aforementioned items constitute the three main components of any successful website and also help provide a foundation for successful search engine optimization. You see, all the off page optimization techniques and link building won’t matter if the website visitor lands on a sub par website. Our Charlotte NC SEO consultancy understands this deeply and we hope have an opportunity to work with you—or somebody you may recommend to us.

About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner PalmettoSoft LLC, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Charlotte NC area.

Good morning Gary:

I enjoyed meeting you the other day at Patriot’s Point.  Within this email I have attached a recent Keyword Analysis Report which we use as a basis for Spectra’s optimization strategy.

About 10 years ago, I began my career in web design and it has evolved into full service search engine optimization, whose roots are founded in the aforementioned along with marketing, usability, and a heavy dose of leadership. After talking with you about your website, I think you have great vision and are a system-type thinker like myself and Walker. It is very rare that business owners in related vertical markets collaborate towards a common goal—and when they do, their output increases exponentially. I look forward to the possibility of working with you on future projects.

Below are some of the SERPS (search engine results pages) where Spectra holds top rankings. In addition, I have attached a keyword research report which shows the actual search volume of these phrases in the “KEI” section found in the left hand navigation of the PDF. It is important to understand these are real and viable search terms directly related to what Spectra Integration is selling.

Pick and pack fulfillment

Inventory management fulfillment

Print fulfillment

Kitting fulfillment

Pick and pack fulfillment

Before I look at your website, I wanted to show you some of our capabilities. Next week, I would like to create a list of recommended changes to your site—along with a detailed keyword analysis of your industry. Have a good weekend.

About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner PalmettoSoft LLC, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Charleston SC area.