Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hey all,

I`m new to the site, but already I love it; its a great source of info from people with real world experience.

My family has owned a promotional marketing company for 20 years and I decided at the ripe age of 20 that it was time to step out and stretch my legs, so I created my own company, JRZ Caps (JRZ being short for Jersey for you non-Notheastern-ers). So far it has mostly been the legwork; logo creation, website work, etc. But now I want to push internet marketing and was wondering if any of you could recommend a good Search Engine Optimization company.  We gave an SEO a shot with the other company and it was a disaster (zero hits from there services and $1000`s out the window)

I would greatly appreciate any incite you could give me. Also, without being that guy, if you are interested in apparel, custom headwear or promotional products for your company give me a shout. We have many industry reps that spread the word on our companies and receive commission on every order placed by their referals. If you want to talk further shoot me an e-mail at dave@jrzcaps.com


Thanks again in advanced all.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is an SEO?

 

From what I have gathered its short for Search Engine Optimization. I don`t know the full lengths through which they go, which is something I am looking for more information on, but the end results should be that your website appears as one of the top listings on google.com yahoo.com etc.

Before you waste another dollar on SEO ...

Most people hire out SEO people to run around the internet and bring traffic in. The problem, right now, is not your SEO. It`s your site, to start out with. Really it has no catch, no hook, no stickiness. You need less text and more hook to capture attention and bring people in.

That being said ... I still wouldn`t start with SEO. My opinions of most SEO people aside (ahem) ... you have said nothing of your goals.

So instead of just jumping into SEO or all the internet marketers that I`m sure are going to contact you directly after you posted this (ahem) ... I would sit down and make a true marketing strategy. Who is your target market? Who are you going after? How are you going to find those people? Is search engine traffic the best use of your time/resources/energy? Is online marketing even effective for you?

You will be a lot better off than you are now if you avoid more snake oil salesmen and go with some classic marketing strategy.

I completely agree that your website needs to look good and function very well, or the best SEO in the world won`t help you. However, no one will buy your product or service if they can`t find you. That is why you must not skimp on any part of your website. The design, the functionality, the usability, and the marketing are all important aspects of being successful on the web.

There are good SEO / internet marketing people and there are not-so-good ones. The hard part is sifting through them to find what you need. And for the record, I have not contacted a single poster when they asked about web services, unless they specifically asked to be contacted.

But to summarize... Don`t depend on just one aspect of your website to bring you business. Everything matters, in varying degrees. I haven`t viewed your website, but if it`s not usable, or is functionally impaired, or has a very unattractive appearance, SEO probably isn`t going to give you the boost you are looking for.

Just my two cents.


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Christina ... what he needs is a real marketing person and usability people.
And I wasn`t talking about a quality web person like yourself.
But it`s so true! People have to watch out for the less-than-stellar ones out there!!

Thanks for that clarification. I agree - one definitely needs to be careful in selection of internet marketing or seo firms. I`ve certainly heard some stories about people paying out the wazoo, and getting practically nothing to show for it! 

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