Are you looking for new work or perhaps would like to start a business of your own?  The Internet industry has created a range of new roles and revenue generating opportunities.  One of which is Internet Marketing Services and a subset of that is search engine optimization, the act of increasing a website’s position within search engines.

The SEO industry is incredibly rewarding, particularly when clients see their website results outperform previous months or years records.  Your job is to increase qualified traffic to websites which in turn helps increase sales, leads and sign-ups.  No matter what the conversion requirement is, qualified traffic is required to achieve that.

When I meet small business owners, I am surprised still at the lack of knowledge of what is required to boost rankings within search engines.  They know it’s about keywords, but don’t understand that there are different aspects of SEO including technical optimization, content optimization and link building.

As an SEO professional, you can consult, teach or implement services in each of these disciplines, or simply focus on one.  The most challenging is link building and Online PR because it requires ongoing effort.

How do you learn about SEO?  Keyword Intent provides a free SEO video blog resource for DIY SEO.  You can also read books published and sold on Amazon, read other blogs such as Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal.  It is always good to have a mentor and surround yourself with SEO buddies so that you can bounce ideas off each other.

Attending search marketing conferences is also a good way to acquire knowledge and contacts.  A good one to attend is Search Engine Strategies.

In addition to knowing what customers value, you must collect information on customer satisfaction on an ongoing and regular basis. This tells you how successful you have been in building the relationship, dealing with any problems, creating value and keeping up with market changes.

To be meaningful, you should measure customers’ perceptions formally. This means you must have a process for asking, recording responses, and modifying the way your company goes about its business.

Some businesses make the mistake of waiting until the end of the year to ask their customers how satisfied they are. Don’t forget that your customers’ needs are constantly changing, and your competitors are not standing still. If you wait until the end of the year it could be too late.
However, a word of warning. Care should be taken when evaluating customer satisfaction surveys. Meeting your customers’ requirements may satisfy them, but satisfaction does not equate to customer loyalty. If a customer would be happier with another product, then they will switch.

Finding Out Directly From Customers…

So how do you find out what your customers value and whether they are satisfied? You must get the information directly from your current or potential customers – what they like, what they don’t like and the degree of importance your customers attach to the customer requirements listed above.

Discover how well you currently satisfy your customers’ requirements and how well your competition satisfies your customer requirements. No amount of discussing with professionals, friends or colleagues will ever replace the information from a real customer.

The main ways you can get this information are:

Ask Them
When you are dealing with existing or potential customers, strike up a conversation with them and informally ask them. Ring them and ask some questions over the phone. Or, if you can, watch what they do and how they use your products and services.

Questionnaire
You could distribute questionnaires that ask some key questions and encourage customers to fill them out.

Focus Groups
Gather a number of your customers together, sit them down and discuss a range of issues relevant to your business.

Research
Good information can often be obtained by reading newspapers and magazines, scanning the internet, contacting industry associations, or even commissioning specific reports from researchers.

Satisfied customers who keep buying your product or using your services are the lifeblood of your business. Some key questions to ask are:

Who are my customers?

• How do you know what customers value in your product or service now and in future?
• Are you sure your customers are satisfied?
• How do you help your customers and deal with their concerns and complaints?
• Are you doing enough to maintain your customer relationships?
• Do you know if you are gaining or losing market share?

Information is key to understanding what will attract customers to your business and the best information will come from your potential (or current) customers. Be prepared to invest some time, effort and money in identifying and reaching your potential customers.

Use your business planning process and research to help you identify what/who/where your target market is.

Your customers may be in a specific geographical location, part of a particular sector, interested in a particular activity (e.g. adventure tourists), active at a particular time (e.g. seasonal products or services), or have the ability to spend the amount you want to charge for an activity/service.

Reaching your customers can be achieved in a range of ways – like your website – and links to it from other relevant websites, word-of-mouth, and advertising (flyers, brochures, information pamphlets and direct mail, telephone canvassing, exhibitions, sponsoring local events, television/magazine/radio/newspaper advertisements, etc). You must choose your media carefully and direct your promotion at the area you can, or intend to, supply.

Once you have identified and reached your customers, you need to consider what practical steps you will take to keep these customers.