I'm giving up on seo

so after this last update or refresh or whatever, my three year old site went from around 100 to around 800. i clearly don't know what i'm doing when it comes to seo'ing my site. so what i plan to do is get a brand new domain and hire an seo expert to handle it for me. any recomendations on picking an seo company?

Don't do this for sure, unless your domain is blacklisted. You will be in a worse position.

Give more detail as to why this may have happened and you may be able to make a more rational choice as to what to do.


Yes, do your homework. There are many self-proclaimed experts and SEO companies out there willing to take your money and make promises, but the fine print will reveal all.


GaryTheScubaGuy

Sometimes it pays to hire a pro. When hiring a SEO expert, ask for sample works. If the expert claims he/she can make your site rank No.1 at Google, ask for those keywords and check it out yourself. I have been working with several clients and I have a stack of Google No.1 screen captures to show. If the expert can only make a phrase like "top quality computer support and networking service in boston" to No. 1, you should walk away because no body is going to search for phrases like that. He/she needs to show some short generic phrases, like "computer service boston".

Ask for references! If this expert has satisfied clients, those clients would love to tell you how lucky they are.

Best of luck!

Yes.....DO NOT GIVE UP YOUR URL!

Being on-line three years and having some established backlinks helps a lot and you lose those benefits if you start over with a new URL.

As for SEO firms, I also agree to use a firm that can provide references and has a proven track record of success. Avoid anyone who promises you top ten placement on their web site but they haven't even examined your web site or competitive factors.

Approach a couple of firms and have them do a competitive analysis at no charge. Most reputable SEO firms will do that.

On SEO experts having screen captures of your work is not always a good option , Being SEO have lots of things to consider. One of the important is how can he drive the site into good direction, traffic and ranking = sales, number of competition of keywords, and more....

This is very true. However, a lot of decisions are beyond what a SEO pro can control in order to jack up the convension ratio. But a competent SEO pro at least can bring good traffic to a site. As to whether visitors can convert, it depends on a lot of factors, such as prices of the products/services or promotional discounts. Also the real conversion ratio is reflected on the number of sales which often are not carefully tracked by business owners. Some of my clients have No. 1 rankings, but they never track of sales from the web. They can only vaguely tell you that things are better than not having No. 1 rankings. So, it is really hard to gauge someone who does SEO by conversion ratio.

I agree showing No.1 Google screen captures is not the best option. It is good start.

Please be aware: if someone guarantees you the No.1 rankings at any search engines, run as fast as you can. It is a scam. No one, except scam artists, can make that guarantee.

I would never take a company that was first a designer. This proves you're an idiot.

SEO is for the strong and those who can adapt quick. If you aren't one then hire someone. Otherwise, patience! and perseverance!


EDIT: Note about hte post above mine. i lambasted a firm in this SEO forum for putting a guarantee on their web site. In return I was personally attacked by their employees. So maybe there is a guarantee out there?......

Agreed!!! Most web designers have little or absolutely no clue about what SEO is and how it is done. They thought they could just stuff some keywords in the meta tags and the site will magically appear No.1 at Goolge.

When interviewing any SEO company, ask to see their own rankings at Google. Say if you are in NYC, and do a few searches looking for seo consultants in nyc, if the interested SEO company is nowhere on the radar screen, it's a red flag. If they can't bring their own rankings up, how can they do yours?

That's actually a good way to do it, it's pretty obvious. Only thing against it is as follows:

1) new firms won't be listed (i just launched one in September.)
2) If you have tons of clients and few employees then focus on your own site sometimes gets pushed to the back burner.

DJ.....you know I love you BUT I have to disagree with you on your second point (the first one is very valid though). In my opinion an SEO firm that doesn't have time to get their own site ranked is probably not on the cutting edge and falling behind their competition in a number of ways. I would steer clear of them but that is just me.

Did iamrussell ever come back to read these answers???

Can you explain to me what you mean by that ?



What is that number ?

Thanks

This is his ranking at Google for the keyword term that he was targeting (SERP...search engine ranking position). You can learn more about all of this by reviewing the forum's tips for new comers at this link.

http://forums.seochat.com/seo-chat-faqs-64/seo-faqs-17418.html

I'm going to agree with everyone else in saying to NOT give up your site just yet. It's already built up time, so it'll possibly grow quicker with some good SEO work on it.

When it comes to hiring another company, though, I'm going to say that there might be more than just asking them to provide references, then asking those references what they think about their page. To me, someone who's going to really help you optimize your site is going to spend some time with you, non charged (other than the upfront deposit, which I'd require), in some fashion asking you what you want, and learning more about what it is you do.

As a for instance, I'm also in healthcare finance, and I was talking to a friend of mine who had his site redone by someone who lives in his hometown. When I looked at the site, I realized immediately this person had no idea what my friend did for a living, based on the keywords he chose, and when I asked my friend how much information he gave the guy on what he did, he said he spent 10 minutes talking to the guy, and off he went. That sort of thing will always be bad for your business.

Just something else to consider.

thanks for the replies. if my site is being penalized then how long does it take to take the penalty off? and is that something an seo expert will know how to do. i'm assuming me sight is being penalized because of being dropped so drastically in the new update.

the only offsite seo i'm currently doing is link vault. and i don't even have any outgoing links on this site. just incoming from other link-vaulters. should i assume that the recent drop has to be attributed to this?

If the site has been penalized, then go thru it with a fine tooth comb and make sure it is squeeky clean. Then you can politely ask that your site be reviewed to lose any penalties. Do not assume you are being penalized tho. Get a few quality links from relevent sites with the keyword you are targeting as the links anchor text and see if your rank goes up.

Personal Opinion Tip: Get rid of link vault bloody fast.

Also, as a number of othrs said. Do not give up the existing domain, that would be akin to shooting yourself in the head with a 44 automag shell.