I'm sure everybody has received an email from a company promising to get their website placed first on all the major search engines. Maybe some of you have even tried these services or may be thinking about it right now.

NetSource would like to say BE CAREFUL! Did you know that it is possible that some search engine optimization companies could actually do things to get your website banned from search engines? Plus, many search engine optimization companies will only get you listed for the short term and under keywords that are not really doing you any good.

Continue reading below to find out how NetSource helps clients achieve top placements in search engines the old fashion way - "we earn it".

The Collins Law Firm (CollinsLaw.com) is a successful Law Firm dealing with Environmental Contamination Law, Personal Injury Law, Business Fraud, and Contract Law. They are located in Naperville, Illinois. The Collins Law Firm came to NetSource because they wanted to expand their successful firm by using the web to generate new leads. At the same time, they wanted to make sure that the marketing we did for them wasn't going to hurt their professional image by using techniques like spam or bad banner advertising. So NetSource created a plan to get CollinsLaw.com placed higher in search engines by using content and design elements instead of quick fix techniques.

The first thing NetSource did was to interview the customer to find out exactly what types of leads or clients they were looking to attract. We asked The Collins Law Firm to give us the keywords or terms they thought people were using to find their services on-line. Next, Netsource used special tools to figure out exactly what the general population was searching for on the search engines. By having both pieces of information we could figure out if the terms that Collins Law Firm gave us were actually terms that people were searching for. Plus, we could determine all the variations of keywords that might attract the correct types of leads to Collins Law Firm. Now we knew how large the market was and what it would take to move up the ladder in the

Step two involved creating a marketing plan based on the information we gathered from step one. A plan like this might include making changes to existing web page content, adding new pages, using pay-per-click systems, and many other web marketing techniques. The plan was to target topics or keywords that were the easiest to secure first and then target the more difficult keywords later in the campaign. By following this approach a website will gain popularity for specific topics or keywords early in the campaign. This popularity will make it easier to get listed under more difficult keywords later. The process takes time because after each change a review is needed to determine how effective the changes were. Then, based off of the findings, future changes can be implemented until the desired results are reached.

Today, The Collins Law Firm is getting calls from new clients that have found their services on-line. Their website should be effective long-term with only a small amount of maintenance cost in the future. This process is effective because it truly forces a client to create a website that is content rich in the area(s) they are trying to target.

The importance of web marketing cannot be overlooked. Without the proper web marketing your website may not be worth the hosting costs you are paying for it. With the proper marketing you can generate sales and leads that make you wonder why you didn't start earlier. We can tell you that experience and hard work are the most important factors to look for when choosing a web marketing company. Make sure you interview the web marketing company you are working with and even see how they are doing ranking their own site. A lot can be learned from a web marketing company who can't even get top listings for themself.

Craig Neidel has worked for NetSource Communications Inc. for 6 years and has experience in web development, e-commerce solutions and web marketing. NetSource Communications creates custom e-commerce solutions and web applications. http://www.ntsource.com.