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First, for the sake of clarity, and because I have heard many contrasting descriptions and definitions of SEO, allow me to explain what I mean when I refer to SEO and Search Engine Optimization. The simple definition provided by Wikipedia explains that "Search engine optimization (SEO) as a subset of search engine marketing seeks to improve the number and quality of visitors to a web site from "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results."

The line between "Search Engine Optimization" and what is defined as "web-marketing" is becoming increasingly blurred, when they are in fact two different beasts. The SEO approach deals solely with gaining higher search engine rankings, while web marketing encompasses the whole package. At Vision, SEO is part of the site's development plan, and most of the SEO is already done by the time the website is finished. The question is: why is web site design and SEO still being done as two separate phases of the project, many times by two entirely different companies.

Web Marketing and SEO programs are generally continuous monthly programs that are strategic and are based on a significant amount of market research, competitive analysis, and consumer profiling. These programs, done right, can easily exceed the cost of your site's development in less than 90 days. Unfortunately, there are many companies offering SEO programs for as little as $149 a month, and revved-up website owners about the latest SEO buzzwords often go into it with high expectations and end up sadly disappointed. Best words of wisdom when it comes to web marketing and search engine optimization: be prepared and willing to make an investment if you want to receive a high return. Look at it this way, the higher the risk you take with your spending, the greater your income potential will be.

The Solution: How-to Minimize Your Risk

Presently, the combination of Web Marketing and SEO is very necessary to stay competitive in any industry. Website owners are very weary though about taking the dive into SEO, and in an attempt to minimize the risk by paying a company that says they can do SEO for $50 per month, they end up throwing their money away anyway. Does this sound familiar$%: Even if you are a developer, you probably know someone that has done this, or have at least seen one of these fallacy-ridden websites on the web.

The key is to use a combination of the knowledge and information previously stated in this article, combined with what I'm about to tell you.

You can significantly minimize your risk depending on WHO you are taking the risk with. In other words, the question is: are you confident that the company that you are trusting to leverage your money will be able to get you the expected- or a higher than expected- return on investment$%: Most importantly, no matter what, always do your homework on the company that you're considering, and be very weary of independent contractors. A lot of unknowing consumers got burned when word first hit the streets of the instant millionaires that were emerging prior to the great dotcom bubble burst.

Often times, these instant millionaires did a lot of their own SEO and web marketing, at least initially. A friend of mine who is a former pro bodybuilder, built a company yielding 6 to 8 million dollars a year gross revenue selling nutritional supplements online and doing his own web marketing on his average little Dell laptop sitting in his living room. He had no employees, and was warehousing all of the products right at his house. Needless to say, eventually he was drowning in powders, pills, and protein drinks so much so that he had to sell the company if he wanted it to continue to grow without hiring staff and getting a warehouse. He just wanted to sit in the comfort of his home and play on the internet all day driving tons of traffic through his website and money into his pocket. So he sold the company and kept 20% of it so he could still have a stake as it grew. He is one of the few web marketers that truly deserve the title of "Self-made Specialist."

So is it worth it$%: Absolutely. We've had clients increase sales by the millions within 6 months after launching a highly lucrative marketing and SEO campaign. However, they were willing to make a significant investment because they could see the value. To invest in such a campaign requires one to truly see the value in the product and an understanding an acceptance of the fact that they will most likely be in the red for the first 3-4 months. Because this is generally not the case with the average consumer, few take part in web marketing done "the right way", the right way being that which turns nothing more than an idea into a multi-million dollar company in 12 months. You probably hear about this sort of thing all the time without even realizing it. There are many case studies and discussions of this recent phenomena all over the web, yet 99% of people state that they don't have the money and that "it could never happen to me," when they read about such stories. I'll refer you to the book "Multiple Streams of Income" by Robert Allen for a further understanding of the web-marketing trend and what it could mean for your business. His 10th stream of income is web marketing, discussed by his personal web marketing advisor in the book.

In many cases my suggestion to clients is to not worry about their web marketing strategy until your website is completed and published, but make sure that they've budgeted enough for it. With the popularity and potential of a good web marketing campaign, it seems as though the tail is often wagging the dog when new clients come to us. They're more interested in the marketing and what they're going to do after the fact, and they may not even have a product that people want to buy!

The important thing is that you have budgeted something for your web marketing campaign. The amount to budget depends on how aggressive you want to be and how many hours you want spent on it. It also depends on what you might be able to learn and do yourself. Most people budget a minimum of $3000 for the first couple of months and at least $500 to $1000 per month thereafter for as long as they're in business. It may seem like a lot at first, but the results are usually astonishing. It is important to note though, that anything else and you're probably just throwing your money away and any honest SEO expert that is not just trying to get your money will tell you that. In fact, most experts will probably say that the aforementioned amounts are on the low end.

With that in mind, another thing must be addressed when it comes to Internet marketing. Many legitimate web-marketing firms get a bad name because they are unable to effectively set expectations at the beginning of a project. We are honest with our clients and let them know that it is OK to have high expectations with what they can expect to generate in terms of income, however they will need to be prepared to make an investment and trust in our work, even if months go by without much results. Those that do so have been generally more than satisfied with our work, however this mistake people make is understanding that this must be a long-term commitment since there is a branding process involved not only with consumers, but also with search engines, affiliates, shopping portals, web directories, etc. They want to see that you're going to be around for the long haul and that you mean business.

As with any form of marketing, major exponential climbs in revenue are seen in spurts and do not begin to occur until after at least 6 months of continuous marketing and branding. Many think that once they start to see a slow and steady climb that the work has been done and discontinue their program rather than step it up. As a result, a small percentage truly capitalizes on the power of web-marketing. It takes a basic understanding of how all types of marketing and branding works in order to understand this, and few possess this knowledge, and fewer are able to effectively communicate this in such a way that it gets the client thinking in terms of the "big picture strategy", rather than how much they may be spending at the time.

On the flip side of things, the unfortunate thing is that there are a lot of unhappy website owners continuously losing money on empty guarantees made by amateur SEO technicians and web-marketers out there because unqualified companies are simply using the latest buzzwords to manipulate the uneducated. This ultimately gives the business a bad name. I have no doubt however, that the Internet marketing industry will continue to rapidly grow, and that in the end, the truly legitimate web marketers will emerge and leave the rest behind.

For more information on the fundamental principles of search engine optimization and initiating an effective web marketing campaign, read my article or visit Vision Media on the web at .

Dan Orlando

CEO, Vision Media Corporation