So you know how to sew, but do you give yourself stitches? Probably not, right? In many cases, there are some things you can do on your own depending on your knowledge base and skillset, but if you are serious about optimizing your site and continuously ranking well then using professional SEO services is your best option. Actively working with a professional and staying engaged in the efforts will mostly likely give you optimal results. Your time is usually much better utilized by managing your business and not your SEO. Here are a few things you want to keep in my when it comes to doing SEO right:

1. Make sure you are using an SEO consultant that uses “white hat” methods. Ask your SEO consultant specifics on techniques, current client results and transparency of services rendered. If you are penalized by a search engine for them using less than acceptable techniques, that can be difficult to come back from.

2. Staying up-to-date with industry standards is crucial. Google constantly updates it’s SEO algorithms so they should also be keeping up with those type of industry changes as well.

3. Stay focused on long-term success. Never compromise when it comes to doing things the right way, even if it is the hard way or the long way. You want to always keep Google’s ultimate goal in mind: to stay the number one search engine by serving up the best search engine results. So make sure your website is accurate, content rich, user friendly, up to date and mobile friendly and modernized. Having a truly “quality” website is your best SEO ally!