Why should I hire a 3rd party search engine optimization consultant or marketer?

The question above is heard frequently by most search engine optimization consultants. Most site owners believe their developer or someone within their organization can submit and optimize the site. 

Often search engine submission is included in development or hosting packages. Many developers say that they will build a site that will obtain and maintain top positions.

Let's take a closer look at what the above scenarios really provide. 

Submission:

Developer or Someone Within the Organization

Site submission has increasingly become an important part of search engine optimization. Do you really want someone who only knows how to surf to Yahoo!, push a submit button listing your site on a directory?

Improper submission is often a contributing factor to not getting listed or the caption being edited by the reviewer for Yahoo! or other directories. 

This applies equally to the paid submission services Yahoo! and LookSmart provide. A paid submission only provides a fast track to a reviewer visiting the site. If the listing is in the wrong category ( reviewers discretion ) or the site is not deemed worthy you are rejected just like any other site. They do not provide a reason why it was rejected, there are no money back guarantees either!

An even worse scenario is the site may be accepted but the submission was edited (changed) by the reviewer. Often this is poorly optimized or worse doesn't provide the true nature of the site. It is a long drawn out process and often it is  impossible to get a directory listing changed.

Development or Hosting Packages

Many hosting packages include some sort of search engine submission tool or service. Why pay a search engine marketer to do it? Easy! Most of the hosting packages only provide remote submission technology. This happens to be at the top of our search engines optimization services to be avoided list! Need I say more?

Search Engine Optimization:

Search engine optimization for directories such as Yahoo!, DMOZ and MSN through LookSmart is done using the information provided during submission. 

These directories provide a large portion of the overall traffic being sent to sites from search engines. Once submitted it is nearly impossible to get the information changed. In other words, you better do it right the first time!

Developers

"Hmmm, than I'll get the website developer to submit and optimize the site". Heay! you may be on the right track! Do they have a staff member who:

• spends part of each day researching how to get higher search engine positions.
• understands the difference between marketing copy and search engine friendly copy
• understands search engine friendly design
• understands each search engines algorithms 

Not very often, developers often sub contract this and add a little something to the bill for them! 

They also are more concerned with the aesthetic design of the site. Once designed, it is often your problem to get it positioned at the top of search engines.

Search engine optimization can be boring research, much of which is not provided on a web site. If it's on a web site it's old news, everyone knows it, this information provides no real advantages. 

Search engine optimization is properly done either on a search engine by analyzing results from different queries or done using position monitoring tools, either way hours are still spent poring over the results in an effort to understand the search engine's algorithm.

3rd Party Solutions

So far I have only scratched the surface of what a search engine optimization consultant brings to the table that the others may not. If you have read the search engine optimization required skills article than you know what skills and knowledge are really needed to do a good job of submission and search engine optimization.

Consider what you may pay a search engine marketer to correctly submit and optimize your site. Look at what you should expect from a search engine optimization consultant, compare that to what you may be paying a developer or someone else in your organization to do it. Are you really saving money? Or just getting less service by not using a 3rd party search engine optimization consultant.

In conclusion, consider this, 80% of all traffic is generated by search engines, many bookmarked pages, word of mouth referrals or reciprocal links were initially found on a search engine! When you need legal advice I'm sure you go to a lawyer, not a law clerk, is this really any different?

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