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Search engine optimization has always been a crucial tool for success in digital marketing. But it has become more relevant now with the pandemic causing an all-time high in Internet usage around the world.

So whether you’re just starting out a business or you’ve already established yourself online, this is the best time to get on the SEO bandwagon if you haven’t yet.

But what exactly is the average price of SEO in Florida?

Budgeting for SEO: How much does it cost?

This is the first question that a lot of entrepreneurs ask and it’s because the complexities of SEO are perceived to be expensive. While it’s not the cheapest marketing strategy out there, the cost of SEO is actually quite reasonable and it depends on how much work your website needs to rank higher in search engine results.

The cost of a full SEO campaign can be broken down into the time spent by experts doing specific tasks that contribute to your SEO efforts. Preliminary research, for instance, usually takes about 10 hoursand could cost on average of $1,250.

In this task, an SEO expert will conduct a full audit of your website and determine the things that you need to work on to improve the performance of your website in organic search results.

Keyword research then comes next where 4 hours spent by an SEO expert could cost you $500. Other tasks include technical analysis for $1,500, on-site SEO for $2,500 and off-site SEO for $1,000.

SEO campaigns: How are prices determined?

Before an SEO agency can give you quotations for your SEO campaign,you will need to provide some details about your business first.

Some of the most important factors for determining SEO prices include the current status of your website in search engine results, your average revenue per sale, your lead conversion rates, your marketing budget allocation and of course, your goals for your campaign.

This is why SEO rates in Florida can vary greatly because it will dependon what your business requires to rank higher in search engines. If you’ve already started a campaign, you might also need to make somechanges to adapt to search engine guidelines and correct mistakes that your previous agency may have committed.

The good news is: SEO agencies can offer you an exact quote for your SEO needs as long as you provide the right information to them. Most agencies also have different packages to fit your requirements, but adjustments may be made later on depending on the results of your campaign.

The bottomline

SEO is an essential tool for building your success online. No matter how beautiful your website is, if it doesn’t get any visitors, all your efforts will only prove to be worthless.

But SEO doesn’t always have to be expensive because with the right agency, you can get excellent SEO strategies without breaking your budget. Just make sure to ask for quotations, but don’t settle for the cheapest option if it means you have to sacrifice the quality of your campaign.

SEO can be a complex subject for the simple entrepreneur. In fact, even experts who have years of experience in this field still continue tolearn the ropes of optimizing websites every day.

After all, SEO is constantly evolving and it continues to be an importantpart of any successful digital marketing campaign. But why does SEO matter now more than ever?

• Evergreen content will always stay.

  Since the year started, everyone has been talking about COVID-19 and it is also dominating search terms today. But while the pandemic will have long-term effects on consumer and search behavior, evergreen content will continue to be relevant and it will keep getting traffic to your site no matter what the time, climate or pandemic is.

  When COVID-19 is all but part of history, your evergreen content will still stay.

• People are multi-screening.

  It is said that 90% of all Internet users “multi-screen” or move between different devices to accomplish a task. This is especiallytrue these days when people are forced to work from home and utilize both their laptops and mobile phones to get more work done.

  So if you’re going to stay relevant, your SEO strategy should include mobile-friendly optimization. In fact, Google already rolled out a mobile-friendly algorithm update last year, so you have to stay on track by optimizing your website to be more adaptable to multi-screening users.

• COVID-19 is the trend.

  It seems like forever, but COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc aroundthe world. And whether you like it or not, you need to make adjustments to your SEO strategy to keep your brand relevant to the trend. This can include writing content that relates your business to the pandemic. Just make sure that you tackle solutions more than COVID-19 itself so your content can stay relevant even after the trend has subsided.

• Consistency is key to SEO success.

  Although we’ve all been sidetracked by the effects of the pandemic to businesses, SEO strategies should continue to roll because it’s all about building trust from search engines.

  If you are to enjoy long-term gains, you need to be consistent with your SEO efforts. Continue putting out good content, be mindful of your keywords, improve your website and embrace new strategies that will make your SEO campaign better.

  It doesn’t matter if there’s a pandemic or not, you have to keep working on your SEO strategies if you don’t want to go back to square one.

Finally, SEO is especially important now more than ever if you’re tryingto rank on local search results. Since a lot of businesses have closed down and people are limited to establishments near them, you need totake advantage of this by optimizing your website for local SEO.

You need to rank for “open now” and “near me” searches, which are some of the top keywords for local SEO today because of the pandemic.

More people are also keen on supporting local and small businesses in the effort to help boost an ailing economy because of COVID-19.

Change is the only constant in SEO and it’s no secret that if you want to stay competitive in the market, you need to come up with a good local SEO plan. Local search has made a huge impact on SEO over the past few years.

In fact, reports show that as much as 46% of all Google searches are local, more than 50% of “near me” searches have resulted to a physical store visit and almost a third of all online consumers in the U.S. search for local businesses on a daily basis.

But how exactly do you build a successful local SEO plan?

• Register for a Google My Business (GMB) account.

  It is the first step to any successful local SEO strategy and you have to do it right to maximize results.

  Make sure that your address is accurate and complete, be specific about your service area, list all the possible categories that are related to your business and don’t forget to optimize your introduction. You should also verify your GMB listing through a PIN sent by Google to your physical address.

• Optimize your GMB listing.

  Of course, you shouldn’t stop at having a GMB profile; you also need to nurture it. Remember that the more information you provide about your business, the higher your chances of getting good ranking on local searches.

  Aside from filling in your NAP details accurately and exploring all your category options, you should also work on on-page optimization because it’s the strongest ranking factor for local searches. The trick here is to use the keyword in your business name because more often than not, that will give you good results.

• Invest in good photos for your listing.

  If you try to search for a restaurant, Google My Business and Google Maps will usually display photos on search results first. Soif you’re going to get that opportunity to entice a customer to dine at your restaurant or visit your physical store, you need to invest in good photographs and optimize your EXIF metadata.

  You should add some important metadata into your images including your physical address, geographic location tags, latitude and longitude details, service details, business category and target keywords.

• Work on your citations.

  Citations continue to play an important role in local SEO where it has two primary functions: validate your business information and offer additional targeted traffic.

  It’s essential to list your business in the biggest and most relevant directories in your city or region because it doesn’t only give you more exposure in your local market but it also helps validate the credibility of your business.

Of course, you need to strengthen your credibility further by creating astrong content strategy.

Remember that relevant content can produce thrice as many leads as paid advertisements, so you need to invest in content that will offer value to your customers. Create a mix of both educational and local SEO content to get more exposure in search results.

2020 may have been eventful for marketing in general, but the demand for good SEO strategies continue to grow, especially with more businesses shifting to the digital landscape today.

SEO has evolved consistently throughout the years and as you begin to prepare for 2021, here are some important tips to start following today so you can get ahead of the game:

Voice search will become more prominent.

A lot of people have adapted innovations like Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant because of the convenience of voice search. In fact, some reports predict that at least 55% of all householdswill own a smart speaker by 2022.

With that in mind, it’s very important to start optimizing your website for voice search mainly by being more mindful of your keywords.

When people search on Google, they usually tend to abbreviate search terms. But voice search is different because it’s like asking someone a complete question.

For instance, someone could type “fashion trends for 2021” on Google but say “what are the hottest fashion trends for 2021” through voice search.

User experience will take on a bigger role.

User experience is basic SEO. But in 2021, that term will take on a bigger role in search engine rankings. In fact, a Google Webmaster Central blog post last May hinted that Google search would now consider different UX signals as part of its ranking factor: “Core Web Vitals are a set of real-world, user-centered metrics that quantify key aspects of the user experience.

They measure dimensions of web usability such as load time interactivity, and the stability of content as it loads (so you don’t accidentally tap that button when it shifts under your finger—how annoying!).”

User experience is also believed to be strong determinant for optimizing SEO for an artificial intelligence algorithm called RankBrain.

AI will also be showing more prominence in SEO in 2021 and senior Google scientist Greg Corrado explains of the possible correlation between RankBrain and user experience: “The other signals, they’re allbased on discoveries and insights that people in information retrieval have had, but there’s no learning.”

What this means is that RankBrain will continue to improve that AI is definitely the next big trend to watch out for in SEO.

Mobile-friendliness will have more weight.

Google rolled out mobile-first indexing in 2019 to allow its spiders to index the mobile version of a website considering that this is its “primary” version and not the desktop version.

That is mainly because of the growing trend towards mobile search, which reports predict that at least 73% of all Internet users will go online using only mobile devices by 2025.

So if you’re going to improve your SEO strategy for next year, you need to consider different mobile usability features and evaluate your website’s mobile readiness through Google’s free mobile-friendly test.

Are you ready to take on 2021 with smarter SEO strategies? These are just some of the tips that you can start working on now as you wrap upanother year in digital marketing.

A business website attracts customers and assures you are legitimate. An eCommerce site also caters to the changing demand for shopping and selling. It is not only a convenient option for people on the go or shoppers who prefer contactless tractions but a great way to drive business success.

Here are the 3 website design tips for your online store for a more flexible option for both your business and your buyers.

Save money with a merchant account

Setting up a merchant account will greatly benefit your sales volume due to the ability to provide fast and secure payment methods for your customers. A business with an online presence can accept international payments.

Regardless of your business size, setting up a merchant account is an opportunity to expand your client base. Besides, it allows your customers to transact stable, secure, and speedy payments from their mobile devices.

Most of all, having several payment options improve customer experience and satisfaction which can lead to repeat sales.

Hire web developers, do not do it yourself

Although there are numerous free website builders, a professionally done website makes a difference with it comes to efficiency and design. Professional web developers are equipped with the necessary skills and resources for reliable and responsive web design.

Hiring professional web developers will save you time and money. Instead of focusing on building your DIY website, you can spend more time on brainstorming for the best strategies for your business.

Also, a professional web developer will ensure the business website is less prone to technical issues or crashing. Moreover, professional web developers will personalize the design of your website that fits your products, services, and business goals. Plus, professionals will incorporate all reliable tools and plugins to ensure faster loading time.

A time-consuming loading business website will frustrate costumers which can lead to lost sales or lost revenue.

Since change is inevitable, a professional web developer can efficiently applywebsite enhancements, changes, and maintenance. This comes handy when you are running promotions and offers that need to be showcased on your homepage.

There may be free DIY websites, but a professional web developer will deliverthe best results: security, reliability, professional design, speed, enhancements, and back-up.

Importance of images

Beautifully shot images showcasing the products or services with engaging descriptions will attract website visitors and customers. Clear images showing how the product works or how it can resolve one’s problems or issues can greatly impact the interests of the visitors and customers.

A professional web developer knows how to manipulate these images to connect with customers.

Having well-shot, clear, and color-rich images allow customers to have at least accurate information about the product since they can only see it virtually. A clear shot of something you want to sell can go a long way.

The takeaway

Although an online business takes time and money, these are not enough reasons to settle for free DIY website builders. Take advantage of these website design tips for online stores for your business to grow and start generating profits.

Search Engine Optimization is a process that needs time and expertise. So if you want your business to establish online presence and growth, SEO is an option worth considering.

Whether you are to build a new website or the existing website needs changes, professional help is needed so that the project will go as smoothly as possible.

But which one can handle your website SEO tasks better? – SEO specialist or an SEO agency?

Let us discuss the benefits and the drawbacks of hiring the services of an SEO agency versus an SEO specialist. Learning the pros and cons will help you decide which will be the best fit for your business needs.

Benefits of hiring an SEO specialist:

• A specialist will have more time working on your website SEO needs. You will have someone who can focus his time and expertise on your website compared to an SEO agency that has many other clients. An SEO specialist will have more time understanding about your business which leads to executing the perfect SEO strategies for growth and traffic.
• Hiring an SEO specialist is committed to your business website 8 hours a day, 40 days a week; hence the possibility of mistakes is very unlikely to happen. And when changes happen, an in-house SEO specialist or Manager can quickly adapt to these changes since he or she is now familiar with your business goals.
• Having an SEO Manager means you can have face-to-face interaction and discussions on strategies on how to make SEO attain your long-term business goals.

Drawbacks of hiring an SEO specialist:

• Typically, hiring the services of an SEO Manager is costly compared to an SEO agency.
• An SEO specialist may not have all the skill sets that you are looking for. Compared to an SEO agency who has a team of content creators, copywriters, backlink specialists, web designers, and web developers who can showcase their skills and talents for improved rankings, traffic, and visibility.

Benefits of hiring an SEO agency:

• The cost of an SEO agency budget friendly considering the team of experts that will aid in the success of your website SEO. Hiring an SEO agency to do the job means paying for a fixed monthly fee for a wider range of expertise and skill sets.
• You can terminate the services of an SEO agency if they fail to deliver that was promised. You can stop the services once goals and expectations are not met.
• An SEO agency has better knowledge related to the latest trends, technical issues, algorithms, and strategies.

Cons of hiring an SEO agency:

• Your agency may not be able to get back to you in a timely miner as they have other clients to cater to. You cannot expect full attention and VIP treatment.
• Your relationship with an SEO agency will be limited to phone calls or emails which is more difficult when it comes to discussions, implementation of changes, and resolutions to issues.

Now that you have the necessary pointers, you can pick the best outfit whichcan meet your website’s requirements better.

Almost everyone is on the Internet to search for information, for friendship and dating, news, entertainment, education, marketing, and so much more. Businesses are also taking advantage of wireless technology to improve and establish their online presence.

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is an integral part of today’s marketing industry. Making your business more visible to online users who are using keywords or phrases related to your business; services or products via Google search is important to digital marketers.

Improving your search engine rank can be done through blogging, changing the title tags and meta tags, and sharing your blog through Facebook.

Start a Blog

Blogging can help boost your search engine ranking by focusing on 1-2 tail keywords to generate the right type of traffic. An example of a long-tail keyword is “how to write a blog”. Online users who search for this type of keywords are most likely to read your blog post to look for answers to their questions.

Incorporate your long-tail keyword in your header and body, URL, title tag, and meta-description. You can also add images relevant to our blog post to further explain and support your content.

When you an image alt text to your blog post, be sure to describe the image,keep it within 125 characters description, and use your keywords.

Change your title tags and meta tags

Include your keywords in your headline or title. The title serves as the searchengine’s determining factor if your content is relevant to the searched keywords. Position your keywords in the first 60 characters of your title tag. This is still applicable even if you have a lengthy blog title; it is always a good idea to have your keywords positioned in the beginning. But keep your title simple and relevant.

On the other hand, a meta tag is a description of your web content. It is 160 characters including spaces that are used to let users know what the page is about. Entice the readers; keep the description engaging as possible to generate click-through rates.

Post your blogs on Facebook

There are a lot of venues and ways for your blog content to earn views for better promotion, but posting it on Facebook is one of the most effective ways to do it.

Facebook is the most used social media platform with billions of users worldwide. Plus, with Facebook’s audience targeting, you will be able to reach the right audience at the right.

First, simply copy the link to your article and paste it on your Facebook sharing wall. Ask your friends or your Facebook circle to like and share your post for credibility. Second, create an interesting headline to catch users’ attention. Third, use well-designed images. Fourth, you can set-up a budget for a Facebook boost to promote your content.

The takeaway

There are countless ways to promote online visibility, but writing consistentlyand providing fresh content regularly will generate organic traffic to your website.

A strong online presence is one every business needs in today’s market. An impressive website serves as the face of your business where customers can get information about your products and services.

A professionally built business website can also be a venue for your customers’ interaction. Website traffic is potential sales; hence, setting up a business website can give you great leverage for growth.

Whether you are building an entirely new website or your existing site needs a revamp, a professional web designer can give you great results online.

Here are some of the benefits of hiring a professional web designer.

High Quality Website. A professional web b designer will create a website that is customized according to your business needs. Your websitewill be designed according to your business goals. Plugins, headers, images, and codes will make your website attractive and functional, unlikethe free website builders where some features are restricted.

Online Presence and Strategy.

Professional web designers understand how SEO works so your website will be designed according to Search Engine Optimization principles. Professional designers will make the site SEO-friendly for better online visibility. More visibility or appearing higher in online search engines means more potential to draw in traffic that can translate into sales.

The Use of New Technology.

Hiring the services of a professional web designer ensures your website is updated with the use of the latest technology such as design, SEO functionalities, coding, and more. Internettechnology and search engine algorithms change from time to time and a professional web designer will take care of the maintenance and updates so that your website is compatible with the latest trends.

Convenient and Time Saving. A professional web designer can incorporate business features into the website for convenience. Appointments, contract forms, online quotations, chatbot, follow up messages or emails are important functionalities that web designers can add to your website design for increased revenue.

Reliability. A professional web designer will see to it that your website is free from errors and possible crashing. Anytime technical issues are encountered, you do not have to pay for emergency services to fix the problem.

Compatibility.

Your website will be designed to be compatible with computers, tablets, and smartphones. It is important that your website can be accessed from all types of devices to get all the necessary traffic that you need.

Visual Satisfaction.

Online visitors have a short attention span, so a boring website or with texts only attracts no one. A professional web designer will make sure your website design is attractive, impressive, and user-friendly.

Faster Website.

A professionally designed website will use integral features for faster speed. A faster website means visitors can easily navigate products, services, or other relevant information that they need for potential sales.

Hiring a professional web designer may sound costly, but it offers more successful results that outweigh the upfront cost.

Moreover, a professionally built website gives visitors the impression that you are legit, which earns more trust and improves overall customer experience.

Having a presence on the web is no longer optional for businesses. The gradual shift to online shopping has made it necessary for even brick-and-mortar businesses to learn to compete in the digital marketplace.

More importantly, the limitations imposed by governments all over the world during this pandemic, means that customers literally have no choice but to make purchases off the internet.

The specific benefits of having a website differ from business to business. Forsome, it will result in additional marketing opportunities. Others will rank higher on search engines because of the traffic driven to their sites.

The rest of these businesses will be better off by just having their informationaccessible online. Even simple things like an address with directions and a map to your business can make a world of difference.

Here’s a deeper look at why a website makes a good business investment.

Good for marketing

Your business website will serve as the base of operations for all online marketing. It will help build your brand along; promote the services you offer and the products you have available.

A lot of SMEs think that a social media presence, like on Facebook or LinkedIn, is enough. While this does provide some access to the online world,it can come across as small-time and even unprofessional whenever a potential customer is searching for you on Google.

It’s good to utilize all the possible marketing avenues available to your budget, but a business website should be the foundation to build those on.

Sales and revenue driver

According to statistics, there were nearly 2 billion people who bought something online in 2019. Not surprising, considering how it takes significantly less work to make a purchase off the internet.

The convenience customers get by being on their sofa, on their smartphone, in their pajamas, and not having to spend time and effort getting ready and walking to find a shop is really enticing.

Getting sales is the lifeblood of a company, so in order to do that you need tobe where the customers go shopping. Chances are a lot of your customers are already online. So, make it easy for customers to find you by having a business website.

If they find your site, they are more likely to make a purchase, which could translate to a massive sales boost. People enjoy the comfort of their own homes to shop online. Either directly online or after seeing your site and the extra information that comes with, they can then decide to make a purchase from you.

Always accessible

Your online presence never sleeps so having a website allows your business to be accessible even when working hours are over. It allows you to cater to customers without any additional work or effort from yourself or your team.

Prime-time shopping hours for ecommerce are 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm, so you’ll want to have a place online where people can go to buy baby diapers, gardening supplies, or makeup products after dinner and before going to bed.

Nothing says you’re a modern company than having a professionally-made business website. It is what connects you more to your existing customers and helps new business come in. Because of your own professional site, yourcustomers are able to reach out to you conveniently.

Add that to all the great benefits a website brings to your business on a functional level and a sales level. It should be one of the first things a business of any size do, and its mission is critical if you want to move forward, or just want to make sure you don’t end up moving backward.

Improving your business website and online presence are major elements to consider when running a business. The world of digital marketing is fast changing and your business strategies need to keep up with the trend.

Since digital marketing is gaining more importance, you need to take steps to develop marketing techniques that will realize your business goals.

Investing in digital marketing will help your business grow; sales boost and online traffic. In today’s world where almost everyone is on the Internet, businesses are always on the race to be on the top of search engine results. The higher rank you get on search engines, the more potential sales you attract.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most effective approaches used in digital and online marketing for sales and higher return of investment. However, choosing the right SEO team needs careful deliberation. Should you hire an agency SEO or freelancer SEO? Which is thebest for your business?

Advantages and Benefits of Agency SEO

• Most SEO agencies have worked with multiple clients of different niche and have gone through different issues, so agencies are equipped with the skills and knowledge.
• With a team of people of different levels of expertise and skills, SEO related issues can be identified and fixed immediately.
• Most SEO agencies are a team of SEO and web experts such as link builders, content creators, designers, customer support, marketing, and project managers, so hiring an agency is like getting your own SEOteam.
• SEO agencies know the current SEO trends and strategies. With great teamwork and strategies, SEO agencies can provide a specific approach for your business.

Advantages and Benefits of Freelancer SEO

• Hiring a freelancer SEO is cheaper and is suitable for businesses who have not taken any SEO work on their business website.
• A freelancer is way cheaper compared to agency SEO.
• A freelancer SEO with proven skills and SEO experience can build techniques that fit to your business needs and goals.
• Freelancers have flexible work hours; they can dedicate more time to your business and get the job done faster.
• Working with a freelancer allows you flexibility when it comes to applying your own methods and techniques. A freelancer can employ both your strategies or make some adjustments to increase your Internet presence.

Agency SEO and freelancer SEO are both beneficial for your business. However, choosing the best fit for your business depends on several factors:

1. Budget

2. The complexity of the project

3. Importance of SEO to your business

Which is better?

The answer to that question depends really on your business goals. Taking your business to the next level requires the help of SEO experts that will employ the right approach.

You can choose an experienced freelancer SEO or a team of professionals from agency SEO. But, before anything else, do your research well. Above all,take time to consider the budget, duration of work, and if SEO is crucial to your business success.