You can easily get confused by all the search engine optimization companies and SEO experts that offer SEO services. It's hard to know who to trust or what should be included in a SEO proposal. I will endeavor to clarify some of these points for you in this article, so that you can make the best choice when looking for SEO services. I don't profess to be a search engine optimization expert but have attained top rankings for my own site plus some of my web site design clients.

What a SEO proposal should include:

SEO objectives
Site Analysis
Keyword Research
Competitive Analysis
SEO Copywriting
Creation of Meta Information
Site Map Creation
Link Popularity Building
Web Site Load Time and HTML Validation
Downloading and Uploading of Web Pages
Browser Search Engine and Directory Submissions
Compatibility and Resolution Checking

THE PROCESS

The process will differ for new sites versus established sites. If a new site has been built with SEO in mind, many errors can be avoided. An established web site may already contain SEO or design errors that need to be repaired so it can attract visitors and make sales.

SEO objectives

Increase your search engine presence, rankings, number of visitors and ultimately the sale of your products.

Site Analysis

An overall analysis is first done on your site, to assess what is needed to best optimize it for the search engines. Based on this analysis the proposal is adjusted to include the necessary work to be done. This may include: design, layout, navigation, colors, background, fonts, images, broken links, meta tags, web copy, html validation, browser and resolution compatibility, loading times, search engine rankings, site statistics and creating error pages.

All of the factors listed above have some influence in attracting search engine spiders and visitors to your site.

These factors are already taken into consideration (which makes it much easier) if I design your site from scratch.

An established site already indexed by the search engines will need to be thoroughly analyzed for errors before optimization can begin.

Keyword Research

One of the basic steps in search engine optimization is keyword research. Here competitive keywords relating to the site and unique to your domain are found. Keyword research is done to maximize the impact of search engine optimization. When your site ranks well, more relevant customers come to the site leading to an increase in conversions and hence income for the site. The accurate identification and careful selection of these important keywords and key phrases can literally make or break any web site or online business.

Competitive Analysis

This is for better search engine ranking performance. I study the sites of all your competitors who have high search engine rankings and find out the keywords for which they are ranked. I analyze your current meta tags and recreate them based on the keywords I have researched. I also analyze your recent web site stats (if you give me access). I can then see how many visitors you are getting, where they are coming from and what keywords they are using.

SEO Copywriting

SEO copywriting is rewriting the text on your site in such a way that it becomes search engine friendly while remaining appealing to the surfer. Keywords relevant to your site are optimized so that your site ranks high when search engines crawl your site. I direct targeted traffic to your site, ensure they are provided with the specific information and hence increase sales for you. My copywriting services include modifying your site headings, HTML text, layout, design and even images where needed. Some pages may only require a small amount of editing or none at all, whereas others may need a more extensive rewrite.

Part 2 of " Increase Web Site Sales with a SEO Proposal " will discuss:

Creation of Meta Information
Site Map Creation
Link Popularity Building
Web Site Load Time and HTML Validation
Downloading and Uploading of Web Pages
Browser Search Engine and Directory Submissions
Compatibility and Resolution Checking

Resources
Increase Web Site Sales with a SEO Proposal - Part 1 & 2
http://www.isitebuild.com/seo-services

Why You Need a SEO Maintenance Plan
http://www.isitebuild.com/seo-maintenance-services

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) owner and author of http://www.iSiteBuild.com

To choose a Search Engine Optimization Plan or SEO Maintenance Plan that fits your web site, visit: http://www.isitebuild.com/sitepromotion