SEO Service comparison pg 1 of 2 Revision B-11/02

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Overview
When Internet users type a keyword or phrase into a search
engine query box, they expect a list of websites that offer
information, products or services related to that keyword.
Search Engines strive to list the most qualified websites at the
top of the list. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the
practice of modifying visible and invisible website content in
addition to establishing links from other relevant websites. The
purpose is to gain higher ranking among search engines.
Higher ranking produces more qualified visitors and more sales
prospects.
A lot has changed in the Search Engine Optimization business.
What once was a relatively easy task of optimizing web pages
for top ranking among the most popular spider-based search
engines has turned out to be a complex process requiring
research, analysis and lots of hard work.
Gone are the days when good ranking among the spider-
based search engines like Google or AltaVista meant simple
adjustments of metatags (the place on an HTML page where
page title, description and keywords are listed). Now, in their
3rd generation, these search engines de-emphasize metatags
in favor of analyzing visible content to establish website theme
and off-page factors like links from other websites to
support that theme.
Different Strategies
Not all SEO companies offer the same services. Some
offer basic submission services. For the most part, these
services are worthless because getting listed in a search
engine is very different than attaining good ranking. And
high ranking is where the benefits are. Most quality
websites are already listed in the primary search engines
just not ranked very well. Try typing your URL into a
search engine. If the results returns your website, you
are listed in that search engine.
SEO companies offer different strategies. Some
strategies are quite acceptable for weak keywords and
can produce good rankings. But, as keywords increase in
popularity (and typically competitiveness), more robust
strategies may need to be employed.
One way to determine your keyword competitiveness is to
use a publicly accessible tool from Overture: http://
inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/.
Although not perfect, this tool will show the number of
previous months searches conducted through Overture
and its affiliate search engines for specific keywords. Use
the following table to estimate your keyword competitiveness.
Keyword
Competitiveness
Overture monthly
visitor values
Weak Less than 1000
Moderate 1000 to 20,000
High Greater than 20,000
The list on the next page is an outline of different SEO
strategies and their respective levels of effort, performance and
services. It is useful in defining the type of service you may
need to achieve your desired goals.


Additional Reading Material:
Search Engine Basics
Keywords - The cornerstone of every SEO campaign
Elements of a Successful SEO Campaign
Understanding SEO Campaign Strategies (pdf)


Find out more about each of the
Elements of a Successful Search
Engine Optimization (SEO)
Campaign, click any area of the
image to the right.
Professional SEO strategies out perform others for all keyword
categories.
SEO Relative Performance
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Weak
keywords
Moderately competitive
keywords
Highly competitive
keywords
Keyword Competitiveness
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Prof essional SEO
Level 1 SEO
Level 2 SEO
10x
5x

3x

2x

1x
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SEO Service Comparison (continued)
SEO Service comparison pg 2 of 2 Revision B-11/02



SEO Strategies
Professional
SEO
Level 1 SEO Level 2 SEO
Submission
Services
Performance / Results

Client base includes Fortune 1000 companies
Level of Effort
10-20 hrs setup
2-3 hrs/mo.
6-8 hrs setup
1-2 hrs/mo.
2-4 hrs setup
<1 hrs/mo.
20 minutes
Estimated Number of companies in USA <20 200+ 500+ 1000+
Setup Service Fees (typical) $1500-3500 $1,000 $129 $79
Monthly Service Fees (typical) $230-450 $230-450 $99-149 $29

Strategic Analysis
Optimal keyword(s)
Optimal link structure (inbound)
Implementation of optimization strategy
Page Optimization
Doorway pages (enhanced copies of existing site pages)
MetaTag enhancement
Visible content enhancement (keyword density and proximity)
Add website content pages (strongly linked to rest of site)
Cloaked page creation - optional for dynamic websites
Update cloaking food files & test scripts
Create and host promotional sites (for large corporate websites)
Page Submission
Manual submission to major search engines (where necessary)
Automatic submission to 300,000 search engines
Link Optimization
Free / web ring or non-relevant links


Links from pre-existing relationships (Link Farm)
High quality relevant links from industry related website
Results reporting (kind)
Ranking reports (rankings for each keyword for each engine)
Original ranking (rankings prior to starting an SEO campaign)
Link report (Links obtained from other websites)
Maintenance archive (tracks page optimization changes)
Results reporting (accessibility)
Web access (daily)
Web access (monthly)
Email reports (monthly)
Hard Copy CRM reports (monthly)
Analyze & Revise
Analysis and revision of page optimization
Adaptation to search engine algorithm changes
Link Optimization maintenance
Maintains 3 month archive of all website changes
Ancillary Services
Domain registration
Corporate hosting plan
Web based e-mail plan
Corporate traffic reporting
Website maintenance plan
Website design services
Search Engine Optimization consultation services
Programming services
these tactics have gotten some websites banned