Good Advice About SEO and Selling

Finding my sweet spot in the big blue sea of online opportunity is probably one of the most difficult things I've ever attempted, next to raising a special needs child, that is.

What you probably don't know is that I've been online tinkering, learning, and observing since the early 1990's.  Talk about a blast from the past, I earned my first online affiliate check from selling Cory Rudl's manual on internet marketing way back when he first compiled it. (Cory passed away some years ago, and I don't know who owns his website now.)   Yeah, I've been around that long. 

So, bearing that in mind, I wanted to share today a post that I saw in a Facebook group this morning.  I was so impressed with not only the content, but the fact that this person shares with me a disgust of marketers who prey upon those who are vulnerable.  Offered up as advice to help creators of hand made items who are learning how to sell their items online, this just resonated with me on so many levels I asked if I could share it here, and was given permission.

Thank You So Much, Kateland!

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SEO Service Rant

• Kateland Kelly is the owner and operator of The Write Assistant LLC 
  
• You can find her on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/TheWriteAssistantLLC
  
• You can find her services on Etsy, here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheWriteAssistant
  

I want to put something out there for everyone. 

First of all, this is a fantastic group, and I am really excited to be a part of it. For those of you who do not know me, I am a professional writer and a big advocate for teaching others how to write well with SEO in mind.  I've recently had an experience with a client that had a very bad experience with a different SEO service and this got me thinking. 

If you are considering hiring a writing service that offers search engine optimization assistance I would like to implore you to follow these general guidelines: 

1. Try to do it on your own first! 

There are tons of free resources available to you on the web.  This forum is a great example.  Go to Etsy Help.  Read everything you can.  Ask questions from established experts who do offer complimentary advice (we exist!).  Tweak your listings and if you truly struggle to the point where it is taking up too much of your time, then consider a service.  Do NOT go to a service first; you can do this! 

2.  Ask for references! 

Do not just blindly jump on an ad and pay someone to write your SEO for you.  It is so easy to throw a website together and say, "I am an expert!"  Question the service!  Ask for references that are independent. 

3. Talk to former clients. 

Are they happy?  Many of us who are also shop owners hesitate to put up public feedback if they have had a negative experience.  Instead, talk to a former client privately for the full scoop. 

4. Look for red flags! 

Red flags include improperly structured sentences on THEIR websites.  If a person is trying to sell you a SEO or writing service and they cannot implement these techniques for themselves, they will not do you justice. 

5. Look for professionalism! 

Do they respond to you quickly?  Do they answer your questions without attaching strings to everything?  Are they well known in their communities?  Do they help build others up, or do they publicly bash their clients?

I know this may seem counterintuitive coming from me, but I really hate to see people scammed and I really want to encourage everyone to be educated consumers of digital services.

This is a cross posted rant. Thank you for listening.

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I hope you found Kateland's advice to be as useful as I did.  I also hope you will take a moment to visit her on Facebook and on Etsy. 

Here are some of the books I'm thinking of for myself:

Which one do you think I should read first?