The multitude of websites present today on the Internet made the competition for the top placement in the natural section of the search engines very fierce. So, we have to admit that it’s quite a big responsibility for Google, Yahoo, and MSN to accurately and fairly establish which 10 websites out of thousands and thousands deserve to be placed on the first page for a certain search query. Let’s imagine a simplified version of the mechanism behind the search engines: think of the Internet as a huge database that contains all websites in it. Each website is labeled as belonging to a certain industry and as responding to certain search queries or keywords, and then graded based on relevance, popularity, user friendliness, technical attributes, etc. When we perform a search query for a certain keyword, the search engines already know which thousands of websites, out of millions, are relevant and should be presented to the visitor. Then, they extract from their database those websites that were labeled as “relevant” for that search query and list them based on the grade they received for that specific keyword. This all happens in a matter of seconds. But how do the search engines establish which websites deserve the top positioning? Each search engine has its own algorithm or mathematical formula for evaluating and grading a website. The closer a website is to meeting the algorithm’s terms, the higher the rankings.
The algorithm behind the “grading” is not made public, but all major search engines provide website design and optimization guidelines for improving conversations and rankings that can put us on the right direction. Of course, the intelligent interpretation of these guidelines and the correct implementation of the solutions found is what makes the difference between two SEO companies. Search Engine Optimization is a relatively new industry that has been rapidly embraced by many self proclaimed “SEO experts”, who’ve seen in it one of those rare opportunities to get rich fast. They started to charge huge up front amounts promising the world, but in the end delivering nothing, creating a huge wave of disappointment among business owners. The reason why so many people adventured themselves in the Search Engine Optimization jungle is because everything looks simple from the outside. Truth is that succeeding in this industry, like in any other industry, takes commitment, continuous training, permanent knowledge acquisition, and mastering all means of online communication. Actually it goes beyond that: it requires a deep understanding of the psychology of the online behavior and search patterns, careful analysis of website statistics and analytics, correct implementation of corrective actions, and creative approach of optimization strategies.
The inability of many SEO companies to deliver the promised results, which had caused huge financial loses and disappointment among business owners, created a new trend in the search optimization arena: Performance Based Search Engine Optimization or the “Pay for Results, not for Promises” approach. According to this new, revolutionary approach of the SEO, a business owner who hires the services of an SEO company to achieve top rankings in Google, Yahoo, and MSN will pay only after the promised results are delivered, and NOT before. We witness a shift in power and control between the service provider and the beneficiary of the service. Performance Based Search Engine Optimization empowers those who use the services of an SEO company, and help them be in control of their finances. This new approach of SEO has already started to filter the participants in this industry, by eliminating those companies that do not employ ethical business practices and do not posses the knowledge and expertise to deliver what they promise, and by promoting the real masters of SEO. Performance Based Search Engine Optimization works like a natural selection process, where the weak ones will be automatically self-destructed and eliminated. Nobody can survive in business if revenues do not come in; if results are not delivered, the SEO company will not only be unable to record any income in its books, but will incur huge loses buy investing money in trying to implement an optimization strategy that does not work.
The benefits of the Performance Based SEO are very tangible when it comes to ROI. SEO used to be a huge investment for businesses, but used to bring back in the investors’ pockets very low returns, if any at all. SEO was in many cases a rather huge expenditure than a business investment. The difference between expense and investment stays in the ROI. A business expense can have an indirect influence on the ROI, but it is hardly measurable; this is why, in a financial sense, a business expense is considered a necessary controlled loss (think of office supplies). An investment is supposed to produce an easily measurable profit. In most cases, old SEO tactics used to have a very measurable positive impact on the ROI, but instead of doing so for the business in need of SEO, they were acting solely in the benefit of the SEO Companies. Performance Based Search Engine Optimization on the other hand, where payments are made only after the top results are achieved, became a basically no-risk investment. No results, no payment. It’s as simple as that!
The Internet is a moving target, and trying to control all variables that account for a certain ranking scenario is not a the subject of a hobby. There is no such thing as “Part Time SEO.” The Internet is a market that is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. These should be the business hours of those in charge with exposing and promoting your business on the Internet. Unless an SEO Company can ensure you 24/7 top online presence in the search engines you want for the keywords you want, you should not even consider pursuing such an adventure. It is a huge responsibility to promise top 10 rankings in Google, Yahoo, and MSN, and an SEO company that offers Performance Based Search Engine Optimization with a “Results First-Payment After” approach, should give you the confidence that that they will deliver.