I certainly do.

After leaving the corporate world in 1997 and starting my first business I didn’t have my usual endless disposal of resources that I enjoyed with a large company. I quickly learned that if I wanted something done I had to do-it-myself.

I can tell you that it was pretty tough in the beginning but once I knew (educated myself) what to do it became second nature to me. I took classes and constantly keep up-to-date with what is going on.

With the immense growth of Internet and the experts sharing their knowledge, online advertising has become much more do-able for small business.

With that said I found a great post by David Mihm highlighting some great low-cost steps for doing your own SEO.

He lends some great advice on learning the basics of search marketing, finding out what your customers are searching, setting up a web presences, submitting it to local search engines and tracking and analyze your results.

My #1 piece of advice I give to my friends and fellow business owners is to learn what you can. Even if you don’t want to do your own search engine optimization it’s worth your time to educate yourself about search marketing and whats involved so that when you are talking to a SEO firm you have a good idea of the process of search marketing before you begin the conversation.

Post from: Denver SEO - Local Search Expert

Do-It-Yourself Advice for SEO

I can’t say as I blame anyone for wanting to do the work themselves. I myself like to have full control over every aspect of my business including my online exposure. I believe if your smart enough to run a business then you defiantly have the smarts to promote your website. After all, no one person  knows your business better than you do.

When it comes to SEO there is a plethora of bad information out there about search engine optimization. To help steer you in the right direction there are really only 3 SEO training courses that I would recommend  and are worth your time. They don’t speak in ‘ SEO science talk ‘ but rather straight forward information.

The first training is free and comes from Dan Thies. I was introduced to Dan when I was a member of StomperNet. He has been a leader in the industry for over ten years and the proof of his expertise is in the results of his work.

SEO Fast Start

This 100 page book  is free. This is not just another book about SEO – it’s a framework for learning SEO. In fact, it’s a framework for understanding SEO, for managing SEO projects, for developing better methods, for teaching, for communicating with clients, and more. One important goal is to teach beginners a simple process that consistently delivers results.

SEO Book

Arron Wall’s SEO Book is one of the better guides I have found for getting serious web visibility. The site contains over 100 training modules, covering topics like: keyword research, link building, site architecture, website monetization, pay per click ads, tracking results, and more.

StomperNet

Choice cut – If you’re real serious about taking your business to the next level then StomperNet is my choice pick. You will know SEO inside and out, because when it comes to teaching SEO for business owners, no one does it better than StomperNet. This is not for the faint of heart. When I was a member the monthly membership was $800. If you do one thing, I would subscribe to their mailing list. The information they put out for free is 100x better than the information that most people charge for.

Post from: Denver SEO - Local Search Expert

DIY SEO