SEO & Web Development - Get It Together!
Need Search Engine Optimization but unsure whether to hire an SEO-only shop/consultant or a firm that offers both SEO and Web development? We believe that true Web marketing success requires bringing all aspects of the web business together – from programming to design to SEO.
In fact, we had the opportunity to present our "Get It Together" philosophy in a session at Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2007, in what has been called an "overarching theme" of the show. (Get session recaps at Websense and TopRank blogs.) We're glad to be ahead of the curve...and to see that the SEO Community is starting to agree.
Here are four reasons to hire a firm that offers both SEO and Development:
1. Make your site truly search friendly. SEO-only companies tend to be focused primarily on top rankings. While rankings are crucial, so are a site’s design and functionality.
- Can an SEO-only shop optimize a site’s code, images and programming?
- Can they uncover design and programming issues that affect the search engines?
- Do they understand Web usability?
We believe that SEO is about more than just getting - or manipulating the search engines to get - high rankings. It’s about implementing “white hat” SEO strategies that create an outstanding user experience that ultimately result in increased traffic, leads, and sales.
2. Get an SEO team who understands how sites are built. Search friendly sites have good HTML (code) to improve the ability of search engines to find and index pages. Good code allows the search engines to focus on content rather than sorting through extraneous junk. An added benefit is that pages load faster, look better, and are easier to maintain.
3. Get expanded expertise all under one roof. Want to manage different vendors for SEO, PPC and development? We didn’t think so. The bottom line is that they rely on YOU to foster good communication between vendors. The benefits of a one-stop shop include:
- One production timeline and one team handling all your needs
- A more consistent final product
- A potential cost savings, since you’re dealing with one firm for everything
SEO and Dev teams that communicate help ensure your site is search friendly on every level, rather than consultants who outsource development or give recommendations for you to pass on to your own development team.
4. Get an SEO team that understands – and implements – development changes. Understanding development is especially important if you have a dynamic site, but still important if you have a static site. SEO-only shops or consultants without a firm grasp on development may not be able to implement their suggestions, or even understand the full impact of what they are asking your development group to do. A team that knows development can ask for - better yet implement - the right things, the right way.
Avoid headaches and hire an SEO shop that knows their way around sites and servers and can make things happen.
Want to read more about our common sense approach to SEO & Dev? Check out Geoff's Websense blog for his thoughts on the web business plus recaps from SES, Search Marketing Expo, and more.
Check out these sites where we’ve gotten it together: