Google’s SEO Rules
Nothing really new here, but sometimes it’s good to see what the big guns think about search engine optimization. Does Google approve of SEO? Do they have an opinion on it? Good? Bad?
Well, they most certainly have an opinion on it. In fact, they even offer solid advice to anyone interested on the Google SEO page (a page with guidelines, within the Webmaster Tools pages).
The fact is that Google is very aware of SEO, and will even encourage someone to do it, if they do it right. They have this to say on it:
“If you’re thinking about hiring an SEO, the earlier the better. A great time to hire is when you’re considering a site redesign, or planning to launch a new site. That way, you and your SEO can ensure that your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up. However, a good SEO can also help improve an existing site.”
So Google does encourage doing SEO from the start of web design. And forgive me for the shameless plug, but yes, Tulsa Marketing Online does full SEO, and can do several levels of SEO included with our professional Tulsa web design. And the standard web design package includes on-site SEO. /End of shameless plug
If you do decide to get some SEO done for your site, there are some questions you should ask the company you are going to have do the optimization for you. Google themselves have an excellent list:
- Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
- Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
- Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business?
- What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe?
- How do you measure your success?
- What’s your experience in my industry?
- What’s your experience in my country/city?
- What’s your experience developing international sites?
- What are your most important SEO techniques?
- How long have you been in business?
- How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?
These are all great questions to ask someone talking about doing SEO for your site. You should also check to see if their tactics are white-hat or black-hat. Some companies use nefarious means to get improvements for site listings that will eventually cause more harm than help. Avoid these if possible.
Following Google’s tips and guidelines for any SEO work is good advice, and while they will not give away assistance on how to rank in their search engine, the best tips are to not break any of their webmaster guidelines, as this tends to cause penalties or even black-listing for the site involved. Any SEO work that keeps with these rules should be solid.
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