Website & SEO Basics You Need To Know

It’s important that you know how to get a good deal on website design and SEO services before you agree to buy anything. This video and blog were made to help you learn what questions to ask and what common pitfalls to avoid.

I am sharing this article about “Website & SEO Basics You Need To Know” due to a large number of people that come to me after they already got taken for a ride. The goal here is not to sell you any website design or SEO services, but to give you an idea of what to ask and also what not to say.

Our advertising and SEO services are best suited for people with a basic understanding of internet marketing and an existing website. We can suggest a few different SEO and website design companies should you need a specialist for your e-commerce or business website.

Most people that need someone to build a website or provide SEO services have a limited amount of knowledge about how the internet actually works. That is OK too. You’re making a website to increase your business or to better share your story and passions with the world. You do not need to know everything there is to know about running a successful website. There are plenty of people that can help you, but it is also very important to know the basics. It’s important to at least know Website & SEO basics so you know that you’re getting what you pay for.

Having a basic understanding of how things are supposed to work will save you a lot of time, money, and headaches. There is no doubt about that. Reading books like Social Selling and BREAKTHROUGH can also really help you acquire digital marketing knowledge the easy way. Doing some homework before you dive into building or marketing a website is way better than learning as you go.

I want to make it clear before you dive far too deep into this article that I do not consider myself an SEO or digital marketing expert by any means. This website is built with WordPress and I did it all myself, which means I use a lot of plugins and other things real experts make for people like me. I’ve spent over one hundred thousand dollars of my own money over the years having websites built for me. I’ve also spent way more than that on other people’s websites over the years.

It took a long time and a lot of frustration before I even began to figure things out for myself. Many thousands of dollars and hours later leave me feeling like I’m off to a good enough start to share some of the things that I’ve learned along the way. I encourage you to comment or contact me directly with any questions, opinions, or observations you feel may help make this article better and more informative for others.

Some SEO people and companies to follow

I also tell small business owners and people that want to work-from-home as a blogger to join MOZ.

Sam is my favorite source of information and MOZ offers a lot of information and different perspectives from a wide range of SEOs. I’m not a current user of their MOZ pro or local services, but they do offer some value especially to people just getting started in digital marketing. I do read a lot of their articles and follow a lot of the people in the MOZ community on social media, so it’s a good spot to start.

I also suggest that you follow Brian Dean with Backlinko and Neil Patel. There are a ton of great places to go and people to follow that give you all the info you could ever need. These are four of my favorite sources for up-to-date SEO and digital marketing information.

SPN affiliate marketing partners

The Service Professionals Network relies on Google Adsense, Amazon sales, Affiliate commissions, and sponsors to provide this free social network and information portal.

SPN does recommend for Kinsta and SEMRUSH due to the satisfaction level we enjoy using their services.

Kinsta from our experience provides the best website hosting service online. They have really gone above and beyond multiple times to keep this site running blazing fast especially when you consider the amount of code and data it pushes. Their affiliate marketing program really is just a bonus for us. We would use Kinsta even without an opportunity to earn a commission.

SEMRUSH makes finding your SEO data easier than ever so we can not suggest this service enough for anyone looking to improve their digital marketing ROI. You can research any website or keyword really with SEMRUSH. They all have tools that show you how to create killer content.

SEO and website design basics

In the video above, I go over the following tips you need to know before you buy a website or sign up for SEO services:

Use GTmetrix to test how fast websites load completely. Take a look at a website designer’s portfolio and test websites that they built to see how fast they are. Having a fast and user-friendly website has a lot to do with your ROI. It’s hard to get a good ROI on your website or digital marketing budget if you have a slow website. Make sure anyone you hire to build your website understands how to make a fast website.
Check the traffic of the website designer’s website and the websites in their portfolio before you hire them to work for you. Use Ahrefs, SEMRUSH, or Neil Patel’s SEO analyzer to verify things before you commit to any website designer or SEO company.
Get it in writing. Do not spend a lot of money on website design or SEO without getting all the details in the fine print. If you are making a sizeable investment then it becomes even more important to do your due diligence.
Get 2-3 proposals for website design or SEO. Don’t waste people’s time, but realize you’re paying for a service that is vital to the success of your business. It’s OK and reasonable to ask questions and do some fact-checking. Be very cautious about working with website designers or SEO companies that are really pushy or not respectful of your need to trust, but verify. Don’t let anyone bully you into making snap decisions.
Join SPN if you want to get more info and help at no cost. SPN is all about building win-win relationships so join the team and feel free to ask questions and engage with the experts that care.

In conclusion, I hope that this information helps and you get a good deal with a great ROI on your website design and SEO needs. Thanks again and have a great day!

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Responses

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katja-gersak March 27, 2019

Mike, that’s a fantastic and very helpful article!!????????

For people like me who are trying to learn SEO basics, this information from the first hand experience is very helpful.

Thank you for everything you do & keep going!!????

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Mike O'Connor September 20, 2019

Thanks, @katja-gersak

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