20 Things you need to know before Optimizing a Website to quote in a Better Way

There are some important steps you need to take in advance of optimizing the site that can help you quote accurately for the SEO project. Following are the points:

  • What technology was used to build the site i.e. Flash, PHP, frames, Cold Fusion, JavaScript, Flat HTML etc.?
  • What is the file extension of the pages i.e. .htm, .php, .cfm etc.?
  • Does the site contain database driven content? If so, will the URLs contain query strings or does the site use parameter workarounds to remove the query strings?
  • Are there at least 250 words of text on the home page and other pages to be optimized?
  • How does the navigation work? Does it use text links or graphical links or JavaScript drop-down menus?
  • Approximately how many pages does the site contain and how many of these will be optimized?
  • Does the site have a site map or will it require one?
  • Does the site have an XML sitemap submitted to Google Sitemaps?
  • What is the current link popularity of the site?
  • What is the approximate Google PageRank of the site?
  • Do you have the ability to edit the source code directly or you need to hand-over the optimized code to programmers for integration?
  • Do you have permission to alter the visible content of the site?
  • What are the products/services that the site promotes?
  • Are the Images already optimized for the targeted keywords?
  • What are the site's geographical target markets; Are they global, Country specific, State specific or Town specific?
  • What are the site's demographic target markets; young urban females, working mothers, single parents etc.?
  • What are the earch keywords or phrases you need to target?
  • Who are the major competitors online? What are their URLs? What keywords are they targeting?
  • Do you have access to site traffic logs or statistics to track visitor activity during the campaign?
  • What are your expectations for the optimization project? Are they realistic?
Answers to the above mentioned questions will determine the complexity of optimization required. This initial analysis will help you to scope the time and costs involved in advance. Getting accurate answers to these questions BEFORE quoting is absolutely crucial. Otherwise you can find yourself in the middle of a project that you have severely under-quoted for.