Getting top ranking on Google for your keywords requires a lot of content SEO as well as a good marketing strategy and exposure. It takes a lot of analytical skills, excellent copy editing as well as a balance of inbound/outbound links to achieve that dreamed top ranking. It does not happen overnight either. Meta tags have long lost their glitter and now the "meat" of the site is what matters the most.
If you were lured into a web design contract with promises of top rankings and increased sales out of the box, you have been duped. Web design professionals that instigate the "instant results" belief and make those promises to get business are providing a disservice to the profession. There are many small business owners who do not understand the web and who will believe such statements. They will get burned before they learn that the site they paid for is not getting them any leads or they will have unreal expectations. Both are bad in the long run.
Just to clarify my point, there are many Web designers/developers who are also SEO specialists. Those are professionals who have two specialties and combine the two when creating/developing a site. The mention above is solely referring to those who are NOT SEO specialists but offer those services as part of the package.
It's simply good (ethical) practice to make sure clients know what services you are providing and what they are getting once your job is done. If they require SEO and copy editing there are many companies/professionals who specialize in that. Having a nice website with poor content is comparable to having an empty mansion. Lovely setting, groomed gardens and beautiful façade but without any furnishings that would make living there possible.
My specialty is Joomla! custom templates. I use standards compliant code and validate the output of the templates before they are ready for delivery. I do not offer content SEO as part of my services. If a client requires SEO services I recommend/refer him/her to SEO specialists I use regularly.
I urge prospective clients to do their research and make sure they understand the basic workings of the medium before jumping into e-marketing. That should save them money and headaches in the future.
