Most Commonly Asked Questions

What exactly is 'SEO'?

Essentially, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process by which sites are made search engine-friendly. Web marketing seeks to make a site appealing and efficient for visitors. SEO does the same for search engines. This usually involves assessing and improving site architecture, code, keyword selection, text content, and URL structure. SEO is often seen as a part of overall Web marketing.

What is 'Pay-Per-Click'?

Pay-per-click (PPC) is an advertising structure that allows site-owners to bid on ad placement and are charged the bid price each time the advertising link is clicked. This is opposed to page-view or impression pricing which charges based on how many times the ad is viewed. Commonly, PPC is analgous to Google Adwords. The Google Adwords service currently dominates the PPC marketplace.

Does Treehouse guarantee rankings?

No SEO/SEM company can guarantee rankings. If they do, then they are being untruthful. Ethical SEO seeks to maximize the potential of a site in the organic rankings. Google is a third party and is not affiliated with any SEO company. Because of this, there is no way to guarantee rankings. Only Google can guarantee a #1 ranking and they only offer that through Adwords (PPC).

What is better: SEO or PPC?

They are most effective when used in conjunction. They each have their positives and negatives. With a good PPC campaign, a site can rank on whatever keyword it wants...guaranteed. The negative is the flucuation in PPC bid price can be very expensive and it is shown that only about 20% of users click on the PPC links (as opposed to organic results). Organic listings bring in far more traffic, but are not guaranteed rankings. Used in conjunction, a good PPC and SEO campaign can fully utilize Google's user base.

What is it I hear about penalties and bans?

The search engines protect the integrity of their organic results. Unethical SEOs that seek to manipulate or exploit the search engine algorithms can bring faster rankings, but risk the site being banned or penalized by the search engines. Treehouse does not utilize any unethical SEO techniques. It is very important that prospective SEO clients research ethical methodologies to ensure that they service they use won't harm their site.