SEO Is Not An Option, It’s A Requirement!

This is part of our ongoing education series. Our effort to educate those less familiar with Search Engine Optimization and Marketing.

Jill Whalen of High Rankings recently had a post on her forum about whether SEO is a skill or a prerequisite for any web designer or developer. This question raised a lot of comments and conversation. The main theme is, who is the responsible party? The Client to know about SEO to ask for it? Or, the Agency to educate the client about SEO?

Read Jill’s full article here. Below I have pulled several quotes from the article & forum post.

Quotes from the article & forum.

“It goes without saying that the average small-business owner in 2007 knows that they need a website. But do they know that they need SEO, or do they just assume that once they have a website it will naturally be found in Google for search queries for which it’s relevant? … A site that is invisible in Google may as well not exist, and yet, design agencies of all sizes do not educate their clients about this.”
–Jill Whalen

“I explained that web design and SEO are two different disciplines and sometimes a student of one discipline does not understand or know about all the implications for the other, nor should they be expected to. It transpired that he did not know that SEO and web design were different things, and he had assumed that the web designer should know and take into account these issues.”
–rolf (High Rankings fourm)

” … in a perfect world the designer should probably raise the spector of the search engines when negotiating with a business client, if for no other reason than to make sure both parties are on the same page. Starting out on the same page and knowing expectations certainly has a positive effect on eliminating possible misunderstandings and disappointments down the road”
–Rand (High Rankings Forum)

“What is unfair is to put yourself out as an expert and then fail to exercise that expertise on behalf of your client. At the very least, I believe you are legally required to perform the task contracted for in a manner consistent with the normal and expected standards of your profession.”
–mcanerin (High Rankings Forum)

Bookmark This Article. Click a link below.