position: relative;

I got a very interesting post on one of my mailing lists this morning; because it’s a private list I’ll paraphrase.

The thread began about SEO predictions for 2008 ala Bruce Clay a few days ago and another member added some thoughts that I appreciate, particularly since my clients are mostly microbusinesses with not a lot to spend on what I think is an essential component for their business.

Paraphrasing: “The current economic atmosphere will drive smaller businesses to seek out less expensive, more basic SEO services from those with a reputation for honesty and good results.”

Good for me! I offer the basics. I’m a web designer/developer but I’m also very experienced in SEO. I include basic SEO services with every site I build (included in my pricing), because it’s simply part of the total business website package. SEO is a necessity and not a frill anymore, even for microbusinesses.

I don’t run $100,000 campaigns, I just work hard to get my small clients noticed and I get generally get very good results. I’m open with my process and I involve my clients as much as they want to be involved, with the eventual goal of turning over the SEO work to an in-house person – if they want it that way.

It’s part of my ‘educate the client’ theory of partnering, where in my view a client that understands even the basics of how to leverage their website as a business tool is going to do better, feel more in control, and be far happier with the whole package than those who don’t invest the time to learn.