FAQ about Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO FAQ our Internet Marketing Agency Common Answers

There are many factors that contribute to a website ranking on the 1st page of Google and it all comes down to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Many business owners either don’t have the knowledge or the time to dedicate to their website’s SEO. In this case, hiring a professional SEO & Internet Marketing Agency is key to high rankings and organic traffic that converts to sales. Read our SEO FAQ guide to know what you should ask when you’re ready to hire an SEO agency.

SEO FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): Answers to 10 Common Questions

Why Hire an SEO & Internet Marketing Company?

Some businesses design a website as a purely promotional piece of material for their clients. Other businesses want an authoritative, high-ranking website that drives qualified traffic. If you’re in the latter, your company will benefit greatly from hiring an SEO agency.

Do you Guarantee Rankings?

No and we don’t advice giving your money to a company that does. No reputable SEO company will ever guarantee rankings. While the ultimate goal is to have your website rank #1 for every keyword in your industry, the real point of an SEO agency is to drive qualified traffic that converts to sales.

How Long will it take my Website to Rank?

An age-old answer to an age-old question: It Depends. Competition in the industry and keywords can affect your ability to rank. We generally tell our clients between 6 months to 1 year to start ranking in a highly competitive industry.

Why is SEO Important?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important to grow your organic traffic, but an effective SEO plan takes times and investments.

Can I do it myself?

Sure! After you’ve spent all day managing a business, sales and employees you’ll have plenty of time to sit in front of your computer generating backlinks, writing keyword-rich landing pages and resubmitting to the top search engines.

If you don’t envision yourself being able to commit to your website, hire a professional SEO & Internet Marketing Company.

Do you have to build my website to offer SEO services?

Not necessarily. If you have a good website designed in the WordPress platform, we can easily take it over and implement best SEO practices. However, if your website is older and the CMS is not easy to navigate, we may suggest rebuilding the website through our sister company Total Web Company.

My website isn’t built in WordPress, can you help get it to rank?

Yes. Many of our older websites that haven’t been redesigned in WordPress do rank very well. To get a better understanding of why WordPress is the superior platform for SEO, click here.

Do you offer off-page SEO services?

The Total Web SEO packages include best practices for both on-page and off-page optimization.

How much will it cost?

We offer a range of packages to fit the budget of small business, all the way up to large national organizations. At Total Web SEO we will never oversell you anything you do not need. As part of our commitment to excellence we are totally transparent with our customers and offer quality SEO services.

Does my business have to be local to you?

No. We specialize in both local and national SEO practices to best serve your business.

Am I locked into a contract?

No. Total Web SEO stands behind our work and never locks our clients into long-term contracts.

Will my search results last?

Keyword rankings do fluctuate, but you can expect to see a steady increase in your results over time.

I like the design of my website; will your SEO services change how my site looks?

Not necessarily. We keep the overall look and design of the website, but some subtle changes will need to be made. This may include adding/editing existing heading tags, rewording or adding more copy onto the pages and improving navigation.

Why is SEO a separate charge from website design?

Website design and SEO are two separate entities. Designing a website includes development and incorporating buttons, images and an easy-to-follow navigation. SEO comes afterwards and includes well-written, keyword driven copy, internal linking, meta titles/descriptions, among many other things.

Does SEO eventually level off?

It is possible for keyword rankings to level off, but that does not mean it will become ineffective. Once you’ve gained #1 rankings for all your targeted keywords, slowing down on SEO for just a few weeks can result in significant decrease in your rankings, traffic & sales.

How do I know if it’s working?

Total Web SEO uses several software tools to track traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks, etc. We send our clients quarterly reports containing this information. The numbers should reflect consistent and steady growth, which should directly reflect sales.

Do you offer a “one-off” SEO project?

We do offer SEO plans where we’ll simply optimize the existing pages on your website. While you may see a slight increase in rankings, SEO is long-term and requires constant, consistent work and effort.

Does SEO work for all search engines?

We all know Google is the powerhouse search engine, but SEO is meant to work across all platforms. Bing, Yahoo and DuckDuck Go are equally important and should be treated as such.

What are analytics?

Website analytics is a tool, commonly Google Analytics, used to track the number of users coming to your website. Besides the amount of people, it can tell us where they come from (referral, organic, social media), how long they stayed, what pages they visited and if they purchased an item! This is an extremely useful, easy to navigate and free tool you should be using whether you’re investing in SEO or not.

Does SEO impact sales?

Yes, both positively & negatively. Good SEO with strong rankings can improve sales month after month. However, using black hat SEO tactics can resulting in you being completely removed from the search engines and your sales will plummet.