Working with Search Engine Optimization is a
very complex and daunting task. There are constant changes going
on as the Search Engines try to keep ahead of the tricksters and
scammers who want their pages at the top of the listings and
will use any means to achieve it.
If you only want to work online, you are going
to find the going very rough indeed. However; if you integrate
what you learn about SEO online to your offline marketing, you
will find the road a little more friendly. What I mean by this
is that with the SEO skills you have learned online, you can now
go about finding local businesses or non-profit organizations in
your area who have websites that need to be tweaked a little.
If you are not
willing to deal directly with people, then this is not for you.
BUT don't think that working online you will not have to have
contact with people, as working on the internet is no different
than working offline....they are both people oriented. If
you don't want to work for your business, then you had better
play the lottery because no one is going to GIVE you any
information on how they REALLY make money online until that
source is dried up and they are no longer making money from it,
then they will SELL you the information on how they did it and
when you try, you won't have anywhere near the success that they
had with it when it was a new program.
Now here is what I do to solicit business
offline in my local area:
Run a report on their site with free
online tools that will give you the information you need to
present to them about problems with their site. Then just
send them a letter or hand deliver your report pointing out the
things you have found about their site that need to be changed
to give them a better rating. Enclose your business card or
brochure with your letter so if they misplace your letter they
will still have something to remember you by.
To run the report:
Just go to any site that offers to let you analyze your site,
but type in the URL for the business that you are going to
solicit. You will get back enough information on their Meta
Tags, content, etc that will give you the content for your
report. Another plus with this tactic is that these sites
usually keep up to date with the search engine changes that take
place. (That is if you use a highly ranked site)
One thing you need to know: If you are dealing
with a financial institution: a bank, etc. They usually have
their own in-house website department and will not let an
outside entity have access to their website. What I do with
situations like this is to offer training of their personnel
about optimizing their site. This works well as you don't have
to actually do the optimization yourself. You can then offer
suggestions and comments about the work they have done on their
own as a consultant and charge them accordingly
| A Sample Letter:
SEO HouseCalls
P O Box 2
Cloverdale, In 46120
PH: 765-795-4062
Date
Name of business
Address
Attention: IT Department
To whom it may concern:
My name is Toni Shrader and I
own SEO HouseCalls in Cloverdale, In. I specialize in the
optimization of websites such as yours to give you higher search
engine ranking and improve your conversion rates and earnings.
In checking your website:
http://www.theirsite.com on
DATE, I found the following errors in your optimization:
-
Meta Tags are out of
sequence
-
Page is NOT Link Maps
sub-directory linked
-
Page is NOT page maps
enabled
-
Page is NOT Dynamic Site
Mapping enabled
-
CSS commands are skipped
-
Page does NOT pass W3C
testing as HTML 4.0 transitional
-
Flesch level = 29, optimal
level is 40-60
I am sure you would like these
errors corrected to improve your page rank.
My company offers two ways to
achieve this:
A service to teach your IT Department Search Engine Optimization.
This course is designed to give your IT Department the training it
needs to optimize your website for better page rank. I have enclosed
my brochure for you to consider this service.
Search Engine Optimization by my company. Optimization of your pages
for page rank and continuous monitoring of your site. The algorithms
of the Search Engines change on a consistent basis and only if a
company is on top of these changes can sites remain with a high page
rank for the long-term.
If either of these services interest you, I will be happy to meet
and discuss terms with you. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Toni Shrader
|
|
You will find all this information when you run your report and
by the way, MOST sites have these things as well as many others
wrong with them. I have found that when presented with these
findings, most business owners are very impressed and want to
deal with you. If you live in a large city your potential
earnings are tremendous, I live in a teeny tiny town with less
than 2000 people, so I solicit from other small towns in my area
as well as locally. As I was in business here for 8 years, I am
a well known business person which I suppose works in my favor.
Your only expense besides your time will be the
postage for the letters you send out, your business cards and
brochures. (I make my own business cards and brochures as I need
them, so I only have postage expense and ink and paper). I send
out 2-5 letters per week. Your success rate will be about
1-2%. So, just as with any other business you only get out of it
what you are willing to put into it.
Another way to make money with your SEO training
is to approach computer stores and offer your services as a
consultant with them. I do this with a computer store here in
town as the owner can optimize web pages, but hates the work. So
there is something else to think about. I'm sure you can come up
with even more ideas on your own.
Toni Shrader
