Web site development and SEO: Save money and time
By Duane Coleman, Principal, DLC&A Internet Marketing
duane@dlcainternetmarketing.com
Clients often ask me if it's OK to build a web site and then have it optimized for the search engines, after the fact. My answer is that it depends on their interest in saving time and money.
Search engine optimization (SEO)* is much more than adding a few meta tags since the search engines look at a number of criteria when ranking web sites.
These criteria should be considered prior to building the site, if the goal is to generate sales leads or to sell products or services via the Internet.
Unfortunately, many web site developers/designers are only interested in building attractive web sites as opposed to building attractive and functional web sites that generate a return on investment.
This creates a disconnect since many business owners are more interested in selling products and services and would like to do everything possible to reduce unnecessary costs, such as web site rework.
Web site rework occurs when search engine optimization (SEO) takes place after the web site is launched. SEO requires both a developer and an SEO expert, among others.
In situations where a web site is launched prior to optimization, a developer is paid by the client to build the initial site…and then paid again to do the web site rework. Profits are lost when the developer is paid twice.
The SEO expert provides direction to the developer, who implements the tags and other coding changes that impact search engine visibility. Keywords, search engine friendly copy, content, links and the development platform impact search engine rankings as well.
Employee involvement is also increased as rework requires additional interaction with key staff members. This commitment involves time, which comes at a cost.
It's much more cost effective and efficient to develop the strategy up front and then to develop and optimize the site at the same time. This approach reduces rework, thus saving time and money. Savings that can be applied to your bottom line.
*Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" search results. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it "ranks", the more searchers will visit that site.
DLC&A Internet Marketing is a Twin Cities-based Internet marketing firm. They develop and implement search engine friendly Internet marketing strategies that generate sales leads and revenue for small and medium-sized businesses.
For additional information, please contact 763-242-2454 or info@dlcainternetmarketing.com or visit DLC&A online at www.dlcainternetmarketing.com.