You may have heard the term "Search Engine Optimization" or "SEO".  Most often when we mention this to clients the question arises; "what exactly does that mean?"

Search engine optimization is the process of making your web site friendly to the search engines so that potential visitors and clients will be able to find your web site when they are looking for your type of business, service, organization or information.  "Build it and they will come" just isn't true!  Sure you may have some success through other means of advertising, such as listing your website in traditional ads in newspapers or through radio and tv ads, but this is just a drop in the bucket.  The beauty of web site marketing (advertising) is the 24/7 availability of your company to be found on the Internet.

If seach engine optimization is done properly, it is a one time process, as long as your hosting server is accessed on a regular basis.  We make sure all of our sites have once monthly access so that the search engine spiders know the site is still "alive".  If a site has no activity for months on end, well... how are those little critters to know that web site is still an active, functioning business, and not just another fly-by-nite company that no longer exists? 

Don't be pulled in by the once-a-month offers for submission, it's a waste of money. Search Engine Optimization is a very specific area of expertise which requires time and knowledge and includes manual submission to the search engines and relative directories.  Valley TechNologies offers SEO specialists who are experts at optimizing web sites for search engine friendliness and will optimize for the most successful results. This means that what may appear to be an obvious search string may not be the best way for clients to find you simply because there is too much competition for "widget makers". Your site may be found more frequently for "wooden widget makers in Wisconsin". We work to find results. You will be asked to participate in the process as well, helping us to determine the best way to categorize searches. This may mean you will need to adjust some text on your pages and may require adding a new landing page or perhaps a site map. These are means to help achieve the desired results.

No one can guarantee the top placement on the primary search engines.  The way individuals key in their search is as different as a person's tastes and is very subjective.  Howerver, we can assure you that your site will achieve high rankings in the major search engines and will tweak the site to improve rankings as needed.

The cost of the optimization process depends on what you need to accomplish with your web site.  If you are looking for modest local results as opposed to the company being found overseas makes a considerable difference in the amount of optimization required.  Some companies choose to optimize more than one page of their site, thereby increasing the chances of being found for more key word phrases. Pricing starts around $1300 for a modest, localized optimization, to several thousand dollars for international optimization.  It seems daunting, but when compared to traditional means of advertising such as yellow pages, newspapers and radio, you will find it is incredibly low cost for the ROI (return of investment) and most often far less than other traditional advertising.