You can’t overemphasize the importance of top organic listings for ecommerce sites. Usually, retailers and wholesalers focus on paid search campaigns because it’s the low-hanging fruit. However, research shows that combining natural and paid search listings can give your paid search campaigns a lift in the click-throughs and conversions.

The iCrossing Search Synergy – Natural and Paid Search Symbiosis study documents this phenomenon, showing the following increases with combined PPC and SEO campaigns.

Clicks +91.80%
Actions +45.00%
Orders +44.92%
Page Views +43.63%
Visitors +40.69%
Time on Site +38.91%

Uncertainties of SEO

Some companies are ambivalent about SEO because of the perceived uncertainties of achieving top rankings. There are no uncertainties if you have the right SEO provider; it’s simply a matter of time for the search spiders to index and rank your site. Sometimes there is a problem in implementing the recommended changes. However, working with a provider you trust takes all the mystery out of achieving top rankings.

Gaining Top Rankings

A good SEO provider can improve your web site structure, content and inbound links to attain top rankings on the major SERPs. SEO professionals know the variables that affect search listings, which can vary by search engine. They will also explain these concepts to you and guide your technical people through the site change process.
Yes, you will be making changes to your site – changes that will improve your site’s performance in the SERPs, as well as your ability to convert visitors.

SEO Takes Time

SEO is a long-term rather than short-term process. In contrast, PPC happens instantly. These are two very different but important processes that work in tandem to make your site profitable. You don’t want to short change one or the other.

Once you implement the on-site and off-site changes recommended by a reputable SEO provider, you must wait for the search spiders to find and rank your new content. This can take weeks or months, depending on spider crawl schedules. Search spiders crawl the web on a regular basis, monthly or bi-monthly, with different spiders on different schedules.

Another reason for delays in improved rankings is the fact that SEO takes trial and error so it can take several different strategies to get the final result. Once achieved, your listings are long lasting if properly maintained. SEO is not a one-time process, it takes continual monitoring because the web is dynamic rather than static — new and re-optimized sites change the environment daily. 

SEO Services

It is critical to identify your strategic keywords, which are used throughout your web pages. Below are some examples of the critical tasks performed by professional SEO providers.

Keyword Research. This is the backbone of a successful SEO campaign. A good provider will help you select the keywords to achieve high rankings. Keyword selection should be based on your site goals and the popularity, relevance, and competition of our key terms.

Site Structure. This important review evaluates your site from a technical viewpoint. Good providers will correct potential problems with dynamic sites, Flash, heavy graphics and frames.

SEO Copywriting. This involves editing of your content for inclusion of relevant key terms. Search engines recommend a new page for every topic, optimizing each page for one to three key terms.

Title Tag. Title tags should start with a targeted key term and contain 5 to 7 words (50 to 80 characters). The term(s) in the title tag must also show on the page. The title tag is critical because it becomes the link describing your site in the SERPs. Make it powerful and descriptive because users see it when deciding to click.

Description Tag. The description meta tag should start with your most important key term(s). Use marketing copy with a call to action. You are allowed 150 words (250 characters). The description tag is important because it usually follows the title tag in the SERPs.

Linking Strategy. It is important to get inbound links from authoritative sites. A reputable SEO provider knows how to get quality links.

Paid Search and Paid Inclusion. A good SEO provider will utilize paid search and paid inclusion as necessary.

Web Analytics. A good SEO provider will provide reports on site visitors and other metrics on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis.

Advantages of Outsourcing SEO

While industry research shows that most firms perform SEO in-house, research also shows that outsourcing achieves better performance.

You can get better results by outsourcing to professionals because these experts focus on SEO full-time, providing a wide range of methodologies and pricing structures that can fit most budgets. SEO is complex and requires expertise for maximum results.

As mentioned before, SEO requires trial and error because of changing dynamics in search engine algorithms and the web environment. Outsourcing prevents the errors that can get you blacklisted.

Outsourcing versus in-house is cost-effective because SEO firms operate on economies of scale. However, the same expenditures by individual sites can be more costly.

Reputable SEO firms can provide up-to-date technical advice for site changes to improve rankings. However, in-house efforts are usually behind the curve because instructional material obsolesces quickly.

The above information should help you decide whether to do SEO in-house or outsource. If you decide to keep it in-house, be sure to contract for on-site training to ensure your team uses the latest SEO techniques.