100 Questions Your SEO Should Ask You

Here Come The 100 Questions!

What was the original thought process or goals behind the construction of your online business? [increase corporate revenue / profit, branding, increase product or service awareness, trendy thing to do at the time, etc.]

Does your business cater to consumers or businesses, or both?

Is your business a privately held, publicly traded, single-person, or family run operation?

If your organization is private, how is it currently financed?

What is the level of customer hand-holding or customization that your business typically requires in order to land a sale that is initiated on the internet?

Can you walk us through your typical sales cycle?

Can you walk us through your ideal sales cycle?

Do you understand that search engine optimization is not a boiler plate or standardized service offering?

How do you accept payment from your clients?

Is there an existing tracking system currently installed and functioning on your website which enables you to view basic visitor information and metrics?

Is this tracking system in real time?

What are the specific capabilities of this tracking system?

Will we have access to this tracking system?

Does the tracking system identify significant conversions or actions such as orders, form submissions, or e-mails?

Are you opposed to us modifying, eliminating, or replacing your tracking system if we deem it necessary?

Are we free to adjust, add, or delete your primary list of keywords based on the conclusions of our research?

Are we authorized to make basic design, structural, or content changes to your website?

Do we have direct FTP access to your website or are we using an interface?

If your site is utilizing flash animation, do we have access to the .fla files?

Are you aware of any “black hat” work that has been implemented on your site or currently being used for marketing purposes such as link farming, hidden text, hidden images, keyword stuffing, misleading re-directs, etc.?

If using an interface, are we allowed to view the functionality before we begin working on your website?

What language is your site primarily coded in? [php, cold fusion, JavaScript, flash, asp, plain html, etc.]

Do you have any designers who make ongoing or periodic changes to your website?

Do you utilize custom 404 “not found” or 301 “permanent redirect” pages throughout your website?

Are there any additional domain names that you are aware of with duplicate or vastly similar content to your original site?

When was your domain name purchased, and how long has your existing site been viewable to the World Wide Web?

What is the nature of your web server environment?

Are you accessing database information anywhere within your website structure?

Do you fully understand how we will be rolling out our optimization campaign?

Do you understand the time-line expectations for your optimization campaign?

Do you have the contact information and availability times of each member of your optimization team?

Do you understand that we do not directly control natural search engine rankings?

Do you understand that guaranteeing a number one ranking in Google violates Google’s own guidelines?

Are you aware of both the pros and cons of PPC advertising and natural search engine optimization?

Who manages your PPC campaign?

Which PPC program is currently reaping the most benefit for your business?

How did you choose your PPC campaign keywords?

Do you understand that your organic search engine rankings can either improve or decline based on algorithm changes?

Do you understand that different search engines have different rules for ranking websites?

Do you understand that more searches are currently being performed in Google than any other search engine?

Do you understand the approximate amount of man-hours that will be going into your optimization campaign?

Do you understand that optimization takes place both within your site and throughout the internet?

Do you understand that our research, development, and testing phase may be something that occurs over the course of days, weeks, even months?

Do you understand that search engine ranking improvements may not be immediate depending on the nature of the optimization work?

Do you trust that we will work in an ethical manner with the primary goal of improving the utility of your online business?

Do you have confidence in the individual who is managing your account?

Do you know your account manager’s strengths and weaknesses as an optimizer, programmer, developer, coder, or marketer?

Are you skeptical about the optimization process in general?

Are you open to novel marketing ideas that may improve your business?

How responsive would your organization be to implementing these fresh marketing strategies?

What other forms of marketing, both online, and offline, do you currently employ?

What is your preferred method of payment to us and do you clearly understand our billing and contractual terms and procedures?

Who are your most successful online competitors?

Why do you feel that these competitors are currently performing better than you are?

What currently differentiates your website from your highest achieving competitors?

Do you feel your website accurately reflects your true business offerings?

Have you had a previous working relationship with another SEO?

If so, what dissatisfied you about the service you received from them?

What are your short term marketing goals?

How do these short term goals differ from your longer term objectives?

If your sales increased by 20%, doubled, or even tripled, do you have the existing infrastructure to handle this new demand?

If your level of sales does not improve from SEO, do you have a contingency plan in place?

Is your business seasonal?

Does your business have local, national, or international elements?

What proportion of your overall business activity is currently driven through the internet?

Do you have a brick and mortar / retail complement to your online efforts?

What has been the trend in your online business for the past year, two years, five years?

What has been the overall trend in your industry as a whole?

What is your average profit per order?

What are your online revenue goals for the next six months to a year?

What percentage of your customers are repeat buyers?

Is there a specific industry that you would want to tailor your marketing approach to?

What is your monthly PPC budget?

Do you plan on introducing new products or services within the duration of our working relationship?

Is there an existing product or service that you would like to place a special emphasis on?

How do you feel search engine optimization fits within the framework of your overall marketing efforts?

How comfortable are you with understanding the technical requirements and terminology involved when working with an SEO firm or consultant?

Who will be our main point of contact in your organization during the duration of our working relationship?

What is our main point of contact’s specific role in your organization? [marketing director, webmaster, CEO, etc.]

If our main contact is reporting to a supervisor within your organization, does this person fully understand the optimization intricacies as we have outlined them?

What is the scope of your resources that will be available to our firm during our working relationship?

Will we be able to train your in-house staff to perform certain optimization duties including linking, content writing, blogging, press-release submission, etc.?

Do we need our work approved before actively uploading our deliverables?

Can we create a testing environment on your server to help minimize the probability of any errors?

Does our point of contact work in house or off site?

How involved would you like your web designer to be in this process?

What is the technical skill set of our point of contact?

How often would you prefer to be updated during our optimization campaign?

Do you prefer e-mail, phone, or face to face contact for your updates?

Do you feel that it is a priority to increase your organic search engine rankings within the major search engines?

Are the aggregate traffic levels to your site important to you?

Are you satisfied or underwhelmed with the current quality of visitor entering to your website?

Would you like to decrease your Pay Per Click costs in Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, or Ad Center?

Would you like to decrease your reliance on or even eliminate PPC as your existing revenue stream?

Do you track the differences in conversion rates between your PPC advertising campaign and your organic listings and do you understand the difference between A/B testing vs. Multivariate testing?

Are you satisfied with the rate at which your website is converting raw traffic and visitors into actions that you deem are important?

Are you satisfied with the ease of use of your website?

Are you satisfied with the output of the website calls to action?

Is it a priority for you to improve the branding / corporate identity of your business through the major search engine channels?

Which quantitative metrics will you be viewing as the most important factors in defining your SEO campaign success? [search engine rankings, profit, visibility, brand awareness, revenue changes, leads, phone contacts, etc.]

I came across this document written by Brian Victor Ortiz, Brian is the CEO of SEOMatrix

In order to enhance the web site's targeted traffic, Fresh Traffic is prepared to submit your site to the top search engines and provide a full report to you detailing submission success. The entire breakdown of this Search Engine Optimisation is as follows:

SEO Strategy

Prior to submission to search engines, your website must be reviewed for content and structure. Fresh Traffic Web Solutions will then provide an assessment and recommendations for content and structure adjustment prior to submission.

Target Audience Review

This includes consulting with Fresh Traffic Web Solutions to understand the target audience of the site and company. As you know your business better than anyone, it is up to you to clearly communicate this information before keyword research can begin.

Keyword & Competitor Research

Fresh Traffic Web Solutions would provide extensive research on keywords and key phrases related to search engines. Also at this time, research would be conducted on current search practices performed by search engine users as well as the keywords and phrases used by main competitor sites.

Proposed Site Content and Structure for Adjustment

After the Target Audience Review and Keyword & Competitor Research have been completed, adjustments must be implemented before Fresh Traffic Web Solutions can proceed to submit the site to Search Engines. A report would be submitted to you recommending such adjustments to your site including recommendations for incorporating researched key phrases into the main text copy and manipulation of web site code to maximize Search Engine ranking. As current web site adjustments are outside the scope of this proposal, you would be responsible for arranging for these adjustments or otherwise authorizing Fresh Traffic Web Solutions to proceed to make the recommended site adjustments based on an independent proposal to be submitted to you under separate cover. Phone Consultation

Organic Search Engine Results

A search engine's organic results sometimes called the natural results are produced using mathematical principles which score the importance and relevance of each website for a particular search term, awarding the high ranking positions to the websites which achieve the highest aggregate scores. Unlike search engines sponsored listings (PPC), it is not possible to directly buy a high position in a SE organic results.

Research into SE user behaviour has shown that the majority of searchers do not look beyond the first two pages of SE results.   If searchers cannot find what they are looking for in the first 20-30 results, they modify their search criteria rather than looking deeper into the results. A web site with the top search engine ranking for a popular search term will typically generate between 100 and 1000 times the traffic volume of a website ranking on the third page of the SE results. The aim of search engine optimization is therefore to win a place, and ultimately the coveted number 1 spot, on the first page of the SE results pages (SERPs) for a range of targeted, high traffic search terms.

Fresh Traffic creates and implements innovative online and offline communications solutions. We provide our clients with creative communication solutions including Google consultancy, online brand development, advertising, PPC pay per click advertising, online marketing, web development and multimedia applications which are aligned to the client's business and marketing strategies.

The Fresh Group is a full service company offering comprehensive web development and custom programming solutions to almost any business need, including website design, software and database development and installation, e-commerce applications, shopping cart integration, and flash animation. From conception and design, to implementation and maintenance, we can help your organization achieve desired goals.

Our team of industry-leading experts with SEO Consultants brings years of experience in programming and design and provides the highest quality technological services to meet expectations and budgets for both personal and business agendas. We invest our talent, vast experience and creative ability, and employ the latest industry tools to each project we take on. We often get called the Google Consultant, The Google Doctor,  Internet Strategists & Google Expert, off course we are very good at what we do and it this very flattering. We would rather people know us for Solid Search Engine Optimisation Advice & SEO Consulting services with white hat tactics, Here at Fresh we always use 100% ethical SEO procedures.

Ecommerce is one of the few industries that is flourishing despite economic downturns. It continues to grow at an astounding pace. Because of this, internet competition is increasing, and web design standards are high- internet users, your potential clients, demand a pleasing experience when they navigate a website and only sites of the highest quality have an opportunity to attract and appeal to an audience. A successful website (whether the purpose is to sell, inform, promote, or entertain) must be functional and entertaining, easy to navigate and engaging, with graphics that are eye-catching and memorable.

A web solution that is well orchestrated and designed to serve the customer, can promote the desired user actions to increase revenue, and be far more effective than traditional marketing ventures. On the other hand, an inferior or inadequate website design will result in frustrated users who will have a negative experience and be left with a poor overall impression, eventually leading to site abandonment and lost sales. Our expertise and experience combined with the passion and enthusiasm we have for our work result in compelling, functional websites designed to and gain and retain users and maximize your investment.

Fresh Traffic is sincerely dedicated to the success of our clients. We are committed to superior customer service, collaboration, and communication throughout every step of the process. Our professionalism and serious dedication make for work that is timely, efficient, and reliable, from commencement to finish.

search engine optimization - seo - organic seo - natural seo - seo services - seo company -  seo consultants -  seo experts  internet marketing - search engine marketing - pay per click - genuine seo - organic search - natural search results - seo copy writing - seo analysis - link building - seo sem contract - search marketing - seo tools - google seo - seo results