Should You Hire a Web Designer or an SEO Company?

With the alarming number of people entering the Internet Marketing world it can be difficult to know who to partner with to build a website for your company. I've noticed over the last few years that the old saying,"you get what you pay for," doesn't really work on the Internet anymore. The challenging thing is that it is hard to tell until you've spent the money if it was worth it or not. The reality is, it doesn't matter how much you spend in online marketing - it's how much you get back!Take price off the table and determine what you are trying to get out of your website. Are you selling goods or services? Is it a resource of information for your current clients or are you trying to attract new ones? Are you looking for a web designer or an SEO company?

Web Designers
Pros: Good web designers have a skill set that is hard to teach. They channel some part of their brain that can create a visually stunning website that represents your brand and help you stand out. They're artists in every sense of the word and understand lines, colors and expression better than anyone. They usually have an easier time interpreting client demands and bringing concepts to life.
Cons: Traditionally web designers are NOT coders or SEO experts. Although the websites will be visually stunning, they may lack certain conversion features or not be search engine friendly at all. Often they work with someone else to "optimize" the website and its included in a one time charge. Since things change so often with search engine algorithms SEO can never be a set it and forget it thing. If you try the one and done approach the results are what they are - not too good. So when you go this route, factor in hiring a local SEO company to actually get the most out of your investment.

SEO Companies
Pros: Good SEO companies don't over promise results or set your expectations through the roof. They have a realistic understanding of how the Internet works and how search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing interpret websites and rankings. They don't implement black hat techniques that will generate quick results at the price of ending up in Google's sandbox and they maintain good reporting to help you validate your investment. Often they will want to write your content or have the ability to edit your content to make sure you are utilizing your target keywords effectively.
Cons: SEO companies can be more concerned with performance than design. Certain layouts or elements they know have a higher impact on conversion may take precedent over the most beautiful version of your website. SEO companies can also be more expensive over the long run because it does cost money to compete - especially if you are in a competitive market.

How Do You Choose?
If you are not concerned with visitors, traffic or conversion for your website definitely consider going with a web designer. If you choose the right one for your project you will be really happy with the results and the cost will be much lower in the long run.
If you are only looking to be found in the search engines for something like your company name or law firm name then you should be able to do some light reading on optimization and work with your designer to incorporate proper title tags for your site. If that doesn't do the trick you can always work with an SEO company on a short term basis to set things straight.
For anything else I really would recommend working with a good SEO company. Especially if you are looking to get clients from the internet. People search for the same thing 100 different ways today and you need to make sure you have a seat at every table to give yourself the best opportunity to succeed. A SEO company will structure your site correctly and build you a strategy that has your long term success in mind.
If you are looking for more information in my blog post http://goo.gl/cfiz5 I offer 5 Important Website Design Tips that would be helpful in determining who you should consider partnering with in more detail.
Chris is a known SEO Professional in Michigan who primarily consults attorneys and Law Firms on Web Design and SEO.
website: http://www.mindsharemg.com/
Twitter: @mindsharemg

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