FAQs on SEO

For many businesses, SEO is a bit of a mystery. With so many conflicting views on how SEO works, what techniques provide the best results, and whether or not targeting search engines is worth the investment, iNET Web is here to put the record straight. Before investing your money in Pay Per Click or, worse yet, black-hat SEO, read our responses to these commonly asked questions.

1. Is SEO Really Worth Your Time and Money?

The answer to this question depends upon how skilled your SEO company is. While iNET Web demonstrates proven results for our clients, many firms fail miserably at generating new leads for their clients. Some are outright scams.

Overseas companies are notorious for mass email campaigns advertising “the best” SEO services on the web, usually at prices way too good to be true. In reality, what you get is content that demonstrates no keyword research, no understanding of proper SEO techniques, and a hodgepodge of broken English. These scam artists give SEO a bad name.

Read some of the reviews from iNET Web clients, though, and you’ll see we’re nothing like the SEO scammers. We’ve taken hundreds of Wisconsin businesses from startup to success, and we can do the same for your business.

So, yes, SEO is definitely worth the time and the money.

2. Is it Possible to do SEO Work Yourself?

You could, but there is a high probability you will not like the outcome. Many business owners, in an attempt to save money, try the DIY approach. This sounds like a great idea in theory, but Google’s algorithms are constantly changing. Unless SEO is your full-time job, it is impossible to keep up with their updates. In fact, any new SEO work you do may be outdated before you even post it!

Unlike a decade ago, SEO is no longer all about jamming as many keywords as possible into the content. Today, you have to determine what Google users are searching for. It’s a complex process, and unless you have a solid foundation in Google Analytics, long-tail keyword searches and other SEO tools, your chances of succeeding are slim.

Some other downsides of do-it-yourself SEO include:

You’ll spend dozens of hours learning about web development
Monthly software payments for SEO tools add up
The time it takes to do SEO correctly yourself can be overwhelming
Watching your competitors rake in revenue after hiring iNET

Why waste your time, money and sanity trying to do SEO on your own? With iNET Web, you can rest easy knowing your online marketing is done right.

3. What are Metadata, Image alt Tags, and Image Titles?

Because metadata, image alt tags, and image titles are all behind-the-scenes SEO work, there is often a great deal of confusion surrounding what they are and how they work. Here’s a quick overview:

Metadata: The page’s meta description, the meta title, and any other invisible information you send to Google in order to help searchers find your website.

Image alt tags: Also referred to as the alt text or alternate text, image alts help visually impaired users and those who have disabled images in their browser understand what the image on the page is. Because Google has stated it primarily focuses on alt text when trying to understand what an image is, alt text is also useful for SEO purposes.

Image titles: Ever notice a line of text appear when you hover over an image on a website? That’s an image title. It’s there to provide additional information about the image you’re viewing, much like a caption. A title gives you a quick description of what the image is and how it relates to the topic of the page. Image titles have decreasing SEO influence but are an important UX element.

4. How is SEO Different from Pay Per Click (PPC)?

SEO’s biggest competitor is Pay Per Click (PPC). PPC is typically pushed by digital marketing firms looking to make a quick buck. With PPC you pay search engines to place your businesses at the top of the page for certain search queries.

Your site is clearly branded as an advertisement, and you pay the search engine every time someone clicks on your site.The price of PPC depends on the competitiveness of the search term. Highly sought after search terms can cost your company a small fortune.

Cost Per Click for Personal Injury Lawyers

Every click costs over $100!

The main problem with PPC is that most search users view your webpage as an advertisement and immediately skip to the first legitimate search result. Also, competitors can pay “click farms” to rack up a fortune in charges on your monthly bill, and the SECOND you discontinue PPC services, your site simply disappears.

SEO, however, targets searchers who are much more likely to make a purchase, and your website won't vanish if you decide to discontinue services. The work done on your site is permanent, and it improves the quality of your entire website.

5. How Long Does it Take for SEO to Work?

SEO takes time to take implement and time to take effect. How long? In general, anywhere from 4 to 6 months. Thankfully, Google recognizes the quality of the content iNET produces, and we often see results much sooner than 6 months. We also make better use of your marketing budget than any other online marketing company, treating it as if it were our own budget.