Don’t be Bullied by your Internet Marketing Company

Author: April Hall

Internet Copywriter

Let’s face it. Nobody likes a bully. Who enjoys working with other professionals who make them feel as if they don’t know anything and would be better off to leave the ideas to the “big guys”? This is never more true than in the world of internet marketing, where it is easy for novices to feel like they will never learn all there is to learn about search engine marketing, point per click campaigns, search engine results pages and site “crawlers”. But, the fact of the matter is that bullies in internet marketing are no different than those who used to troll your elementary school playground; and they deserve the same treatment: calm confrontation and smooth self-confidence.

Before you swagger over to your internet marketing company and demand that they listen to your ideas, make sure you have taken at least some of the following advice:

1. Gather a working knowledge of how internet marketing works. You don’t have to be an expert in search engine optimization or a certified computer programmer, but you really should take the time to learn the basics about internet marketing if you have decided to make it a part of your overall marketing strategy. Learn what keywords are, how they are chosen, and how search engines work–you can then approach your internet marketing company with some degree of confidence.

1. Give your marketers a list of keywords you want the content to focus on. Yes, you can do this. Using the Google Adwords Tool, come up with your own list of important keywords. No one knows better than you which products and services your company provides best, and it is actually easier for the content writers if they know the direction you want the content to go.

1. Check your site regularly. Make yourself a frequent visitor to your own website, checking to make sure everything works properly and content is updated in a satisfactory manner. Of course, you don’t want to be constantly playing a game of “gotcha!” with your web company; but you do want to stay up to date with the work that has been done.

1. Remember-you hire them. Ultimately, you hired this web development company; so if they don’t seem to be listening to your ideas, or they make you feel uncomfortable for bringing things up, take your business elsewhere. You aren’t that wimpy second-grader anymore–you are a professional adult who deserves to be treated respectfully. So (symbolically) wipe the floor with a rude web development company and find one that consistently gives your business the service it deserves.

Of course, the best way to avoid having to deal with a bully–both on the playground and in the boardroom–is to choose your friends and acquaintances carefully. Don’t sign a contract with a company that shows any initial signs of being hard to work with. Go ahead and ask for references-and actually contact those references! Ask if they company values client input and ideas, and be sure to ask to see proof that the web development company is successful.

It may be hard to get out of a contract once you have signed one, so make sure you want to have a relationship with the company before you sign on that dotted line. I mean, really, how easy was it for that little kid to stop giving the mean ol’ bully his lunch money in all of those after school specials we watched when we were younger? The easiest way to stop a bully is to take yourself (and your business) and walk away.