Search Engine Optimization - Bargain, Reasonable or Rip off?

[DPS Computing]

What is everyones opinion on the prices for Search Engine Optimization services. I have seen some as low as £50 but then some prices going up into the thousands?

So the question is - for the price that Search Engine Optimization costs is it a bargain, reasonable or a rip off?

Personally the prices seem quite high when going into the thousands - yes you might get a great position in the search engine rankings but if your like me, will probably end up financially insolvent by paying that amount of money!!

Also has anyone got any really cheap / free tricks regarding Search Engine Optimization that can help boost your ranking and drive more traffic to your website hosting?

Don't forget to vote in the poll, I am really interested to see the results!

[Eidolon]

Some SEOs I've seen are complete jokes, though admitably out of boredom I tend to view the ones I get from the fax machine. Using div instead of tables for layout is always a good start. Meta keywords which are relevent to the content on the page is another good thing. Quality backlinks are also good.

[DPS Computing]

Thanks for the tips Eidolon! - I use div tags already, so I am pleased they help. And meta keywords I use as well on my website hosting. What do you mean by "quality backlinks"?

Obviously I don't expect you to say which SEOs you think are rubbish but which would you recommend then? (both for cheapness and quality)

[Ben]

I think it is a waste of time and money. Any one doesn't need top dog experience to get traffic from Search Engine Optimization. For instance, directory submissions - anyone can do this, all they need is to find some directories and submit (especially on higher PageRank ones - this increases search engine listing). However I have got to say that directory submission services on various forums are going for a real bargain - around $5 for 100 submissions. I really do not know how they can do 100 submissions in 24 hours, unless they have team of people. So I think paying for SEO services is a rip-off.

[DPS Computing]

Thats an interesting incite Ben, it is good to hear different peoples views on this. So do you think directory submission and paying a small fee for this would be more valuable that Search Engine Optimization?

How much does directory submission really help a site?

[Ben]

Originally Posted by DPS Computing

Thats an interesting incite Ben, it is good to hear different peoples views on this. So do you think directory submission and paying a small fee for this would be more valuable that Search Engine Optimization?

How much does directory submission really help a site?

You know, that is a good question. I have never paid for directory submissions thus I do not know if this kind of Search Engine Optimization service does really help gain search engine listhing, etc. I will find 100 directories and submit my website hosting to it (though, when I have bought my domain name plus developed my website hosting) and will see anything that has improved (visitors, PageRank, SE listing, etc.)

[Ryan]

I would say Directory submissions are a small part of Search Engine Optimization which are useful to boost link popularity of a website hosting as they are an easy way of getting one way links. Daily submissions to various directories by using random page titles and keywords help a lot.

[eukrobert]

Originally Posted by Ryan

I would say Directory submissions are a small part of Search Engine Optimization which are useful to boost link popularity of a website hosting as they are an easy way of getting one way links. Daily submissions to various directories by using random page titles and keywords help a lot.

Be very careful with this though as you might fin yourself being categorized as a spammer and you dont want that lol

[borninblood]

My personal opinion is that Search Engine Optimization should be part of a good design of a website hosting, and therefore shouldn't be needed as an after service.

If the web designer isn't developing the page with search engines in the back of his mind, he isn't doing his job properly.

[DPS Computing]

Originally Posted by eukrobert

Be very careful with this though as you might fin yourself being categorized as a spammer and you dont want that lol

lol, I know you have to be so careful these days. The directory listings have so many rules on submission now you really have to watch yourself.

Originally Posted by borninblood

My personal opinion is that Search Engine Optimization should be part of a good design of a website hosting, and therefore shouldn't be needed as an after service.

If the web designer isn't developing the page with search engines in the back of his mind, he isn't doing his job properly.

I understand that, but like everything, an expert in that field can help improve your Search Engine Optimization. I'm not saying my website hosting includes no Search Engine Optimization and no planning regarding search engines, however I am not a master at it either and there could be thinks that need tweaking to make them better or the odd things here and there that I have forgotton .

[Eidolon]

I agree, designing/creating a website hosting with Search Engine Optimization in mind is always a good idea.

A couple more bits...
- Valid HTML/XHTML coding on web pages. For HTML validating there is http://validator.w3.org and for CSS there is http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator.
- If using javascript the use of [noscript] tags is useful for providing an alternative for non-JS users. JavaScript should not be a requirement in order to navigate the website hosting. It's worth remembering search engines browse with it off as do screen readers.
- Whilst it's ok to use Flash for elements of a web page it shouldn't be used for the entire website hosting. Again bare in mind those who may not have enabled Flash, search engines. I'm not sure about screen readers as newer versions of Flash provide better accessibility I gather.
- Sitemaps can be useful, though I'm not too sure how beneficial they are.

In regards to 'quality back links' I'm thinking about links which have relevant words to your website hosting and aren't just in an index of website hostings. eUKHost probably counts as a quality back link as it has a high page ranking I think, or atleast does well in Google searches.

In my opinion the sevices that 'submit to hundreds of search engines' are a waste of time and money, and can do more harm than good. Google, Yahoo, and Live Search (formerly MSN Search) are all free to submit and are the only ones I've personally bothered submitting to. Google has a 'sandbox' I gather which automatically gives new website hostings a lower page ranking, thus backlinks can help bypass this and get it higher.

[avatari]

I've often been told that the best way to get high indexing is to optimise your website hosting for humans. By that I mean good, original content that's easy to navigate. Bear in mind that the holy grail for search engines is to display the most relevant information for what people search for and the above advice stands to reason. As SEs get more advanced, this is likely to become even more true.

Of course there's a place for Search Engine Optimization, but too many webmasters design their website hosting for what the textbook Search Engine Optimization says rather than for humans. They forget that the SE algorithms are constantly evolving precisely to stay in front of (especially black hat) SEO. In the long run, I think ignoring good, interesting and original copy in favour of the 'SEO du jour' is a mistake.

[Ben]

On top of that regardless if SE's do not use meta tags anymore actually Google uses them still for title and description on search results and for more precise visitors I recommend meta tags. Good luck.

[Notspot]

I'm not claiming to be an Search Engine Optimization guru or anything - I'm quite a newbie really, but I have been reading as much as I can and I seem to be getting results. I think 'some' directory listings can help. I know this because I've been checking out my major competitors for the keywords I'm aiming for using

backlinkwatch com

It takes a while to process but you're left with a list of all the places your competitors have links and the anchor text they have used and the Page Ranking of that page. I then trawl through those website hostings cherry picking the best ones and making sure I get a link on them too. Quite time consuming but effective. It's surprising how many of my competitors have few links on 'relevant' website hostings and have just made sure they've got Search Engine Optimization friendly links on directories.

I'm sure to many of you this may sound quite basic but it's quite a good tip for someone just starting out. It's great for bolstering your results for your chosen keywords (in addition to having relevant content, meta tags, etc).

[eUKhost.com]

Paid Search Engine Optimization service is a Rip Off most of the times. You can never trust a SEO company as no one besides google can assure you top rankings.

Just consider this fact that if the Search Engine Optimization companies were so good with SEO then they could have started their own website hostings for Pharmacy, Porn, Casino, online product selling or hosting and they would have earned much more than you.

everything that we have at http://blog.eukhost.com/category/seo-tutorials/ is something written by our sales team and you will never find such helpful material anywhere else. Let me make it clear that no one else will come to improve your rankings.

YOU HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF !!!

[DPS Computing]

That is very true Mark - I agree with it - its just with everything else I have to do on my website hosting (update content, change appearence etc) I find it hard to find the time!!

Maybe I need to get some reporters to update my content for me while I concentrate on the Search Engine Optimization!