What Not To Do

Things You Should NOT Do!

There are lots of companies and individuals out there who will be glad to take your money. But if they don't know what they are doing, they will cause more harm than good. (They could even get you banned from the search engines)

• Hire your cousin's kid, unless he/she is really a search professional
• Don't fall for companies promising to " submit your site to thousands of search engines"
• Put the cart before the horse... Your site should be optimized before starting a submission campaign
• Don't link to just any site, or allow just any site to link to yours
• Don't let your art or editorial department dictate how your pages should be set up, if it is at the cost of your rankings and conversions

Sure, you want your web site to look good, and your visitors/customers have to like what they find. But you can still accomplish this within the guidelines of good search indexing and conversion techniques.
• Don't ignore your metrics, good metrics are vitally important in measuring your success.
• Don't hire a search professional, and then ignore their advice
• Don't stay with a particular search company if you don't feel you are getting what you want
• Don't engage in deceptive practices, or let anyone talk you into using them. The search engines are smart, and your potential customers are even smarter. It isn't worth it, and could get you banned from the major search engines altogether!
• Don't expect the search professional to read your mind. They should ask a lot of the right questions, but please, speak up if there are things you want or questions you have.
• Don't expect miracles. A well thought out and implemented Internet Marketing program takes time, and the cooperation of a lot of people.
[However, you should expect your search professional to provide you with a means of measuring success, and a reasonable time frame for each step]
• Don't expect the search professional to work in a vacuum. They will need the cooperation and help of you and your staff. This often involves Tech, Editorial, and Art
• Don't expect something for nothing. True search professionals invest a lot of time learning their trade and keeping up with the changes. They are here to help your business succeed [referrals are our best source], so expect you will need to pay them for their time and expertise.
• Don't think SEO/SEM is a one-time effort. True success requires an ongoing committment