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Carolina SEO

Internet marketing is new but can make a huge difference as a

• sales tool,
• communication base or
• social platform.

So let’s cut to the chase.

What if you want to get busy and market your self or business online? What does it cost?

Most business people are evasive about cost but internet buzz regarding cost can be the hardest to find.

Here is information that will help you decide how to go about the process of Search Engine Optimization for your site.

• How much you can expect to pay and
• how long it will take.

First a few basics tips

Your site will rank better when you optimize it properly with strong keywords.

Not too many and not too few. Choose keywords that people are already looking for. A good SEO will find obvious keywords as well as hidden terms to use.

For example- If you sell shoe polish in Charlotte a good keyword might be ‘Charlotte Shoe Polish.’ Why? Because that is a term a person would likely search.  What do you type in the search bar when you are looking for say… SEO in Charlotte? something like search engine optimization charlotte or just the initials SEO with the city name included, right? You get the idea.

Your site will serve your needs better when it is interactive.

The natural order of things when the internet started evolving was for website’s to start as ‘brochures on the internet’. That can still serve many needs. It helps just to have a web presence, like a business card, with vital information and a little bit about you or your company.

But today’s serious, money making sites are more like business media centers. Think of it as your own magazine and TV station. It must be kept vibrant and interactive. Look at MSN or CNN. You need a smaller, local version of that. Something that changes, if not everyday then at lease regularly.

New internet-age thinking means new budget.

You will need to put some money into your site to make it work. How much? I know national SEO companies that work for no less than $10,000 a month.

Many local SEO’s can do a good job for  $500 to $5,000 a month for an initial start period. After the rocket is in orbit it doesn’t take so much to keep it there.

How much should you expect to pay for SEO?

Like copywriting or other marketing support, SEO is a huge field with wildly varying price ranges. If you run a local business and want to be a major contender in your search engine results, expect to pay from $1000 to $4,000 a month for three or four months. Then, if things work out the way you had hoped you can drop back to a maintenance plan of $300 to $1,000 a month.

That is for the basics. If you want a blog kept up and other interactives you should budget up to $4,000 or $5,000 a month for a while. Done effectively, it will pay for itself quickly. ( in five or six months, maybe a year or so).

The internet is a lot like farming.

• Plant,
• Nurture,
• Tend,
• Grow,
• Harvest.

Despite what you hear about getting rich quick, or even having a fast well known presence, the way to make the web work for you is through steady, smart work. Just like the off line world, success takes time and consistent effort.

So that’s a general rundown of what it takes to get a site from zero to success in a few months. Of course it varies but these ballpark figures are generally accurate for Charlotte SEO.

One- Local searches are  instantly self refined. Searchers know to include a city name like Charlotte,  Raleigh or Greensboro in their search.

Two- Each city or area has a different dynamic. There are different ways to rank and with the right SEO, get results. The landscape changes and is unpredictable. No stagnation here.

Three- When a web user sits down to type in a search query, they often  already know what they are looking for.  ( self refined again)

Four- Once a web user gets results, they can ‘act now’ by making a fast phone call,
getting in the car to drive over, or do comparison shopping online.

Five- Many local web users will write a review about their shopping experience. Good or bad, the feedback is valuable.

Six- Local web users don’t have all day. They want action now and usually skim the results and make a preliminary decision to call or drop by quickly. If your business is the one they find, congratulations. Your SEO was worth while.

Seven- Phones are now computers. Local searches can be done from  the car anywhere, like  Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh or Independence Boulevard in Charlotte, in the shopping center, and even in the store!

Eight- Word of mouth is still King in marketing. Local search results in word of mouth advertising.

Nine- The main search engines- Google, Yahoo and MSN-Bing are all different. Lots of shoppers use only one. Dominating the right one with your search results  can pay off in a big way.  Even a moderate result can be well worth it.

Ten- The more a web user finds positive results , the more they will use local search as an information tool. It just gets better.

Your Search Engine Optimization and Marketing can put you and your business in front of your target audience  24-7. That’s smart local marketing for Charlotte and the Carolinas.

Charlotte seo

Working in Charlotte media for over 25 years, I have been involved in hundreds of advertising campaigns. The  marketing of any product or

service requires a media mix including SEO and any other media that gets the message delivered to the prospect. But there is more. Read on and

see why  if you don’t cover all the bases you are making a mistake. Why?

First consider the purpose of advertising. Is it to get a message out? No.

The purpose of advertising  is to motivate qualified people to take focused action and trade their value with you.

The shallow thinking of just getting a message out accomplishes little. Graffiti does that. The words ‘Bob loves Mary’ spray painted on an

overpass gets the message out. Thousands of people see it and register the idea, ‘ Bob Loves Mary.

Big deal. From an advertising standpoint, it goes nowhere.

Marketing is not easy. It is NOT a matter of putting up a Craig’s list ad or even buying a radio , TV campaign.

First there needs to be some purpose driven thinking behind why you are even marketing the product or service.

I have seen the same wrongheaded scenario literally thousands of times but it is hard to blame anyone who does makes this mistake.

Here’s why.

• People are in contact with advertisements all day for many years.
• They start to assume they know what advertising is about.
• They assume that since they saw a funny TV commercial and laughed out loud,  it must have been a good commercial, right?

Wrong.

Totally wrong thinking. A good or effective commercial  message is one that actually motivates a prospect to

complete the buying  process.

Doesn’t matter if the commercial is funny or well produced or uses the latest fad or spokesmodel. What matters is  the end result and potential

follow through. ( This is also true of web design but that’s another post for another time.)

When your goal is to market a product or service successfully, it helps to stand back and look at the big picture. Ask-

• Who and where is your potential audience?
• Are they already in the market ?
• Are they saturated ?
• How can they be reached most effectivly and efficiently?
• To what message would they be receptive ?
• What’s their language, ( literally and metaphorically),
• do they perceive that they can afford it?

Good SEO is just one spoke in the marketing wheel.  ( I like that cliche so it stays.)

The reason SEO was even born is because the audience was already using the web to search for

products and services. Helping potential customers or ‘followers’ find what they are looking for is one of the uses of SEO.

So we are back to square one.

The purpose of advertising  is to motivate qualified people to take focused action and trade their value with you.

That’s why using whatever means are available is the key. Of course over time traditional channels have developed to carry advertising messages

to consumers but there are plenty of alternative ways as well.

• T-shirts,
• coffee cups
• and other carriers.

So back up and take an overview of your marketing plan.

Mass media tends to cover more ground less effectively than SEO , but within mass media there are opportunities to get highly focused in similar

ways to SEO.  (Example- a specific sports cast on a sports radio station.)

To maximize your effectivness all these options need to be explored.

So which Charlotte SEO has made this mistake more than once? That’s right. Of course, I have.

It is easy to get so close to your work that you miss the big picture.

Even with the sweeping changes the web has wrought, the various forms of media will be here for a long time.

( always wanted to use the word- ‘wrought’.)

The way of the world is- transcend and include. That guarantees radio, tv, and print will be viable forms of communication for many moons to come.

At least that’s what the smoke signals said this morning