This is a continuation of a post I made in November of 2009.

Okay, so you have a great looking website and you know that you need to promote it in order for it to do its job, which is bringing you in dollars. The problem is you have no idea how that should be done and you may be thinking about hiring an Internet marketing firm to help you with the task. Maybe you are looking to your boss, superior, or close friend that has labeled themselves as an Internet Expert, but how expert is the Internet expert you are considering for the job? Sure they seem to talk the talk….holding titles such Internet Marketing Expert, E-Business Manager, SEO Expert, E-Marketing Manager or even ‘Guru’ and that’s the easy part; but have they walked the walk?

There are many ways to call out the want to-be experts to see if they are simply full of fluff. Many so called experts may have web development back ground, maybe even a coding background…some may know web design while others may have copywriting experience so it sounds like they know what they are talking about.

Here are my top ten ways to see how “expert” they really are:

1. See what the SERPS Say: ‘Google’ the person’s name and see what pops up. If nothing pops up then you can be sure that they know nothing about Internet Marketing, SEO or the like. If they were anything or knew anything they would certainly appear in the SERPS. If they can’t do it for themselves how can they expect do it for you?
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2. Ask About Research: If your Internet expert or Boss says, ‘I don’t need to research the competition,’ then drop them like a hot potato.  PERIOD. How can they know what is and isn’t working if they can’t even tell you what your main competitors are doing?
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3.  Show me the Blog: Any Internet expert who is worth their salt will have a personal blog. Ask around, you will be surprised as to how many so called experts not only do not have their own blog, but have never even posted an original blog article on their topic of expertise.
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4. Look at the Basics: What are the strategies that want to-be expert is planning on employing? If they don’t believe in the little and basic things such as Meta tagging (often referred to as Meta insurance just in case), creating landing pages for your PPC campaign, keyword rich page title tags, or they somehow try to convince you that you don’t need ‘that much’ textual content on your website then you don’t need them. The most basic rule in Internet Marketing is content is king, see if they know that.
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5.  Stuck on Explorer: The 1982 movie Firefox starring Clint Eastwood was a great film, but if your Internet expert, boss or SEO agency doesn’t know that the term ‘Firefox’ (or calls it Foxfire) in relation to the online game represents a more powerful web portal than Internet Explorer, then they are stuck in the dark ages or just plain ignorant…and it is your website that will lack as a result.
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6.  Thinking outside (the) Google (box): So many Internet experts will only utilize what Google gives them as far as marketing tools go. While Google does offer some wonderful Internet marketing tools, there are much more robust tools available to the online world than what Google has to offer (this is a known fact) and if you are working with someone who fails to realize this then you, the client, or employer are missing out on some golden opportunities.
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7.  Close Minded: Building up organic traffic takes time because you have to get your content out there. EVERY TRUE EXPERT know this. It’s a big world on the Internet and if your Internet expert ignores feedback such as this then they are close minded and not going to do you a lot of good. They are selling you snake oil or trying to run their department or business like that old (and one of my favorite movies) movie Glengarry Glen Ross….organic traffic is not like selling or buying swamp land…if they think it can come quickly…..then they are ether ignorant, using black hat SEO or they are just plain idiots.
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8.  No Social Media Accounts: WHAT???? Alright, if your Internet expert has no social media accounts then run the other way; fast. EVERYONE has a social media account or two or three these days. And with the way that Google will be ‘real time’ ranking websites going forward these social media accounts will not be something that are nice to have, but rather something that are necessary to have. If your expert, boss or agency has NO social media profile then they are ignorant or they are an idiot. PERIOD.
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9.  Not Published: How many articles does your Internet marketing guru have published and or syndicated? If they are really good they should have quite a bit. If they have none then really, how good can they be?
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10.  Not Social: If he or she is not social how can they understand ‘social media?’ If your Internet marketing professional is not a social butterfly then red flags should be waving. Any expert at any level of anything should be at the Company Christmas Party, industry conferences and the like. If your expert is always missing on the scene then so too will your website be missing in the SERPS scene.

In life it is very easy to claim that you are something you are not. Many fly by night Internet experts will come and go this year and every year thereafter. But it is easy enough to figure out if these so called experts are really good and can do what they say they can do or if they are simply blowing you full of hot air. Take the time to investigate your Internet marketing expert as it just may save you time, money, and a good ranking in the SERPS.

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Note: keep an eye out for my lengthy 3 month in the making case study titled “The Corporate SEO”

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