Don't just buy a website and expect it to work.

Many people expect that because they pay for a professional to build their website that they can pass a list of favourite keywords, or that the designer will produce a suitable list, and that the new website will automatically be top of Google and get them loads of traffic.

And this, for just a few hundred pounds. I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. My sales guy thought of a "brilliant idea" (if only he'd put it to me, first). He'd happened tp be given the contact details of a local 'SEO expert'. So he thought, if I can build the sites but not get them to the top of Google then why not pass the customers to the SEO expert for the next stage. He'll do anything for a commission!

So he spoke to the guy and started telling him his story. The guy stopped him in his tracks. The budget we build a site for wouldn't even buy a couple of weeks' worth of SEO optimisation from this guy.

And that's the problem. Some customers are expecting bargain basement sites, with every bell and whistle going. You don't walk into a Mercedes showroom with the cash for a Smart car and expect to drive out in their top of the range sports car for the same price.

I told him that I'm not saying I can't do the SEO - just not for the prices he secures. If you want a site for a few hundred quid then I'll give you a good looking site, but it won't be a site that I can spend hours on every week getting it and keeping it at the top of Google. But I can give you the tools to do it yourself. So what's needed? I'll look at that over the coming days.