SEO consultants are a bit like political lobbyists.
Let me explain.
In a democratic society where the will of the people rules via their elected representatives in government, there really should be NO place for experts in the political process to be paid by special interest groups to get certain policies pushed through the parliament.
The same can be said for SEO consultants. Search engines like Google™, Yahoo™ and Bing™ have a self set mandate to deliver the most relevant results relating to the billion or so searches performed online each and every day. So why do we “need” SEO experts to show us how we can entice these search engines to display one result ahead of another? The answer……. MONEY.
Almost half of online searches using a search engine involve a user searching for a product or service they wish to purchase. In almost all cases there are multiple suppliers providing those products and services so it stands to reason that the supplier who displays higher in the search results will get more customers. Regardless if you are searching for a business which does Women’s T-Shirts, or does Glass Washer Service in Melbourne or Granny Flats Sydney, statistics tell us that as long as the search engine results are relevant you will probably call the business(s) which display higher first.
Search Engine Optimisation consultants are paid to help your business display higher than your competitors on the major search engines. Just like political lobbyists who know who to approach and what to say, SEO consultants (good ones that is) know what you need on your website to make it more search engine friendly than your competitors website.
There is of course a much easier way of appearing on the first page of the major search engines. Sponsored links can have you on page one within hours BUT there is a cost. Pay Per Click advertising (AKA AdWords) allows you to bid an amount of money you are prepared to pay every time someone clicks on your advertisement.
Many businesses rely on Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising to generate their online traffic but one must be careful to maintain an acceptable ROI (return on investment). Again, most SEO consultants can help you with this type of online exposure.