Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your website

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This is also the place to discuss plans for future conversion tracking, if you have

any. (But if you don’t, don’t worry! You’ll get a whole week for conversion tracking in

Part III).

A Note on Reasonable Expectations

Have you ever heard something like this from your auto mechanic:“Well, we can try to replace

some parts, but we can’t be exactly sure that it’ll stop the rattling sound, and oh, by the way, it’ll

cost ya a bundle”?

SEO can be pretty similar.There are so many factors involved in SEO—some within your control

(for example, page text and site structure) and some far, far outside of your control (for example,

search engine ranking algorithms or partnerships)—that it is very hard to predict outcomes.But

we know that in real life you need to have at least some inkling of what you can expect from your

efforts.Mechanics offer estimates; SEO pros offer reasonable expectations.Here are some factors

that can point to success for your SEO campaign: easy fixes, such as basic optimization factors that

are missing from your current site; well-balanced keywords with low competition, high relevance,

and high popularity; a poor current status; an enthusiastic team; a good budget for PPC; and com-

petitors stuck in the Stone Age. How these factors combine and balance will affect your expecta-

tions. Let’s look at some possible combinations and what you might conclude:

Poor Current Status/High Current Optimization/No Easy Fixes

This a difficult combination.

Your current optimization level is already high, which means you don’t have a lot of space for

improvement.You should set your expectations low,perhaps focusing on fixing red flags and your

least-competitive keywords.

Fair Current Status/Poor Optimization/An Enthusiastic Team

You have room to grow and a

team that can make it happen.It’s reasonable to expect to bump up your Fair status.But will it go

to Good,Very Good, or Excellent? That depends on the other factors:competitiveness,budget, easy

fixes, and so on.

High Competition/An Unenthusiastic Team/A Healthy PPC Budget

With two major factors

working against you, you can’t expect that your organic SEO campaign will show strong results.The

PPC budget just might be able to pick up the slack.

We hope we’ve made it clear that there is a lot you can’t predict in SEO.We’ve done our best to

give you a general idea of what you might expect, but you should be very careful not to make

any promises you can’t keep. Remember, reputable SEOs

never

guarantee any particular rank on

search engines.

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