SEO Masters Forum

Here is a choice of some of the questions I ask and why they’re important to the overall Search Engine Optimization process:

Web analytics are the secret to measuring the current level of Search Engine Optimization success (or lack thereof). They’re also the key to ascertaining whether any future SEO execution is helping bring more targeted traffic. Therefore, it’s vital for me to have accessibility to the info whatever the level of SEO service I’m supplying. If you use Google Analytics (GoAn), it is quite simple to incorporate new users to the account and generally it is good to supply report-only access (rather than admin). Along with GoAn, I also require access to the client’s Google Webmaster Tools (GWMT) account. Today, if you might have GoAn access, you’re able to generally add precisely the same website to your GWMT account too, helping to make the process easier.

2. What Is the reason for your site and who is the target audience?

This really is an apparently simple question, yet it often stumps many clients. Some of them will policeman out: “Well, the purpose of our site is to sell our merchandise.” And your market? “Umm … anyone with a credit card?” Not really helpful. If you don’t have a good handle on who the individuals are who are purchasing your products, how will your SEO adviser help you bring those individuals to your site? I encourage you to push for profound answers to the question, if you’re a SEO consultant.

3. Are there any other domain name or sites that you own or control, or that you used to use as opposed to the current domain? (Please list them.)

This information is important so I could evaluate any duplicate content problems. I need certainly to know whether that other site I discovered that is using almost exactly the same content as yours is owned by you, or if someone scraped yours. I additionally must understand if you’re using multiple domains as a Search Engine Optimization strategy (so I could smack you!). I added this one to my questionnaire when I kept locating doorway domains or other sites that my customers *forgot* to tell me about. Even those who actually do forget or who purposely do not tell me about their additional domains aren’t getting away with anything. I normally wind up finding them during my site audit process. So if you’re a customer, do us both a favor and come clean in the beginning. (And I was merely kidding about smacking you :)!)

My personal favorite reply would be to this is “nothing” because that means we are beginning with a clean slate and have nowhere to go but up! But most clients these days have done at least some basic Search Engine Optimization. It is helpful to hear it from you, while I can usually see any on-page optimization. Occasionally, the matters clients say they’ve done (e.g., created keyword-abundant Name tags) do not really seem to be done when I look for them. That tells me that your notion of SEO and mine may be quite different, and it’s good to know this up front. It’s also great to know what each of them has done to the website during their tenure and if you’ve already been through a string of SEOs.

5. Is there anything that you simply may have done that the search engines may not have enjoyed regarding previous optimization attempts on your website?

This 1 is sort of an addendum to the last one for people who may have *forgotten* to tell me any bad or spammy things they (or a preceding SEO) may have done. While they may have not mentioned anything spammy in the last question, this gives them the chance to to add whatever they were not quite sure was on the up -and- up. Very often, the client may believe something was terrible or caused troubles, when it’s really innocuous. As a SEO it’s helpful to understand right away where to focus my attempts.

6. List the websites of your three biggest adversaries. Why can you feel they compete with your site?

I enjoy this question more for the second part compared to the first. It’s always interesting to see why people believe another company or site is their competition. Very often, the only reason folks believe it is the other website shows up in the search results for the keyword phrase that the client desires to show up for! In addition, it may not, while that may make them your adversary. It may simply mean which you’re shooting for the wrong key word phrases. It Is also very helpful to look at competition websites to see whether they appear to have done much in the way of SEO or not and how they’re set up.

7. What do you feel is your most unique selling proposition (USP)? What Is different or better about your product or service?

Occasionally a customer will have a fantastic grasp of the and provide lots of invaluable info, but more frequently, the best they can come up with is that they are “more friendly” than their challengers . In today’s competitive market and search results (notably since Google’s Panda Update), it is essential in order to differentiate your services and goods in the rest.

8. After a potential customer visits your website, what specifically do you need them to do?

That is a wonderful means to understand what the various conversion points of your website are. As a SEO you need to understand that the site is properly leading people to finish those conversions, and what all of these points are so that one can make sure the customer’s web analytics are put in place to accurately record all the conversions.

9. Do you have social media accounts (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Google ) and if so, what are your user names?

This really is significant to see if and how they’re using social media. You must decide whether they should be, if they are not using it at all, as a SEO. If they’re using it, an instant report on their accounts will show you precisely how they’re using it. As an example, you’d want to look at whether they’re simply tweeting out links with their own content via an automated feed, or if they can be also interacting with their audience. This will allow you to formulate an appropriate social media marketing strategy about them down the line.

10. Is there anything else you may have that you believe will supply a more complete picture of your website?

It’s always advisable to have a final, open-ended question such as this in case the customer forgot to tell you anything within their preceding replies. You may learn an assortment of things which you wouldn’t have otherwise learned without inquiring this question.

Those are the most significant ones which should get you started. It additionally supplies the customer with the opportunity to think about their responses and get additional input from others within the firm, as needed.