Not feeling so Diva-ish today.  More in my thoughtful and geek mindset today.   Not sure I’ve ever encountered a geeky Diva before – but it works for me! 

So, onto what I am so pensive about today…

A lot of people ask us how hard it is to handle their own SEO and what they would actually spend their time on.

I’ve written a lot over the years about doing your own SEO and I have some pretty strong feelings about it.
SEO is not rocket science – you don’t need any kind of advanced degrees.

You need some knowledge about the code on your site – meaning if your site is HTML you need to be able to work with HTML code.  If your site is ASP you need to be able to work with ASP etc.  HTML knowledge is a must and anything beyond that just depends on your particular site.

So to me that’s the deal breaker – can’t do HTML, can’t do SEO.  (yes there are WYSIWYG editors and other tools out there, but none of them work as well as just getting into the code and doing what needs to be done and many of those programs create more problems than solutions).

Once you’ve established you can work with HTML, you need to get up to speed on what optimization is, how to do it and you need to find a source to stay current on changes in the industry.  You need to learn to troubleshoot and test things, you definitely need to learn to read web stats and you need to be able to write copy that is both compelling and uses your keywords well.

So you need patience, focus and attention to detail.  You need time.  You need just a little magical fairy dust and you definitely need a cocktail at the end of the day! 

My questions back to anyone that asks me if they should handle their own SEO are:

Do you have the time?  Will you follow through?

In my experience most people that want to handle their own SEO are looking to save money and would rather put in the time, but the question is do they ever get around to making the time and actually getting it done?

A large number of people I talk to end up coming back weeks or months or even years later and report they have made no progress and should have just hired me right away.

So the best advice I can give you is to be honest and do an assessment of your situation…

Do you have a bunch of hours right now to devote to getting up to speed and getting the site optimized?

Do you have 30 – 60 minutes per day after that to stay current, monitor and tweak?

If the answer is no, you are just fooling yourself by saying you are doing SEO and you either do need to hire someone, or you need to accept that your site just isn’t going to be optimized right now.

If the answer is yes – that is great.  Get started right now – before you get distracted by something else.
Want to understand the basics of what is involved in SEO?  Check out my free download: Optimization Step By Step.

Now, about those cocktails you’ll need to drink at the end of the day… 

Bonnie Burns, my Director of SEO came up with an idea for a great article years ago – Confessions Of An SEO Drama Queen.  It was a lot of fun and people really liked it.

So I was thinking what if we did something like that again and turned it into a series of articles?  Now I am not a drama queen (really I’m not) but I do fancy myself a Diva, so from here forward I’ll be sharing the Lessons from an SEO Dive and Diary of SEO Diva.  My goal is to provide insight into what it’s like to be in the Search Industry and share thoughts about changes, opinions about strategies and more.

I suspect that my partner in crime – Bonnie, the SEO Drama Queen may jump in with her own thoughts and stories.

The goal is to keep you informed and hopefully entertained.

So to get things rolling, like any good Diva, I need to start by talking about shoes.

Shoes are a thing of beauty – an accessory that make an outfit go from looking OK to looking fab.  I’m short, so getting jacked up in some high heels can definitely make a big difference.  But the high heels and the pointy toes aren’t always that comfortable.  It’s the age old hardship of women, sacrificing comfort for beauty.

Men, don’t let your eyes glaze over here – I may be talking shoes but I am going to get to some marketing lessons very soon.

So I have my beautiful shoes, I have my comfortable shoes and I have my beautiful AND comfortable shoes (the Holy Grail of shoes!).  Depending where I am going I decide do I need to look great and forget comfort, or can I get away with comfort (not all comfortable shoes are ugly – but my comfiest ones are no fashion statement for sure).

OK, so the dilemma here is: do I go for comfort or for the WOW factor?

When it comes to SEO for site owners, they have the same decision.

Do they want the comfort of not spending money, not taking chances and not risking anything or do they shoot for the dazzle and take a chance that they may get a little uncomfortable in the process.
In this analogy the dazzle or WOW factor is getting the site optimized for both marketing and SEO.

It may be a little uncomfortable – deciding to part with money is difficult (even when it’s a good decision, it’s still a hard decision), especially for small business owners.  But “no pain no gain” comes to mind here.  Without taking a chance and shaking things up – you will continue to be comfortable but you won’t get the WOW factor.

So c’mon – take a look in your closet and decide, do you want the Manolo Blahniks or the Keds?

Now take a look at your business – do you want the WOW factor (which translates to more exposure and increased business) or do you want the comfort and the known?

Jenn Horowitz

Director of Marketing and Self Proclaimed SEO Diva