The obvious answer would be the reason you have a website to being with, which is to sell your product or service or communicate your message to a specific segment of the population and to a certain percentage of that market. Realistic website goals are goals which are attainable. Realistic website "ranking" goals are also goals which are attainable. Make sure you evaluate your expectations realistically. Do your research. Just how many people are there who could benefit from what you have to offer? Who are your competitors? How competitive is your particular product, service or message? How much of that market can you realistically expect to capture? Separate your wants from your needs. Logic prevails.

Your business plan should set the tone for your web development. You should already understand your product, your target market and any limitations to marketing online. Is your product one that can be sold globally or do you rely on foot traffic and over the counter sales? Do you provide a service or product sold locally and you need your website to be a point of reference for customers? Your website can be many things. It is your billboard, your radio, your magazine display advertising if you want it to be. It can be a convenient place to download forms, contracts, overviews, product specifications and more for your clients and sales staff. Most of all it should function as an asset, not a liability. It is an investment in your company just like training staff, or buying equipment.

Your goals may be to reach a new market, equip your sales staff, or provide a convenient way for your customers to review your products and services. Your ultimate goal is most likely to increase sales. To increase sales your message must reach more potential customers. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes into play. You must be found to gain traffic who can then be converted into customers. So what would your potential customers be searching for if they are looking for what you offer? And, how many competitors are out there targeting the same prospects? This is where a professional SEO firm can help you set realistic search engine optimization goals.

SEO that focuses on rankings for the most highly sought-after keywords in any given industry is most definitely not going to help you reach your "realistic" goals unless you have a budget that is unlimited. This doesn't mean that you have to settle for keywords that receive few searches. It just means that you have to broaden your horizons and see the big picture.

No SEO company in the world will be able to help you reach your goals unless you are ready to forget about what you think you want, and learn more about what you really need. It isn't about bragging rights to #1 spots for hot terms. It's about selling your product or your service efficiently, and gaining a return on that investment.

It's about bringing new customers in who become loyal, and bring repeat business.

After you determine what you need your site to do for your business by lining up some realistic goals, set out to accomplish those things by enlisting the help of a qualified website development company with SEO capabilities. Find a company who is willing to hear you, willing to talk over your goals with you and and make suggestions. And, ultimately one who will work on a plan for your company to accomplish what you NEED.

There are plenty of companies that will say they can do whatever you want them to do. They may promise an SEO package with your web design. You want to be #1  - obtaining high ranking in every major search engine for the term "car repair" out of 9,821,387,595 global search results? Not a problem . . . show me the money! Uninformed SEOs will happily take your money, do some work, and promptly get no results. Then they will tell you that this isn't an exact science, and they can't control the search engines, while your website sits on the 434th result page. You'll be disappointed when this happens. But, you have to remember, they were just telling you what you wanted to hear, not what you needed to hear.

What Grand Lake Advertising might tell you: In this scenario, it is important to note that "car repair" might be a term people would search for when trying to find your site. Most likely they would search for 'car repair in Cleveland' if they live in Cleveland, or 'auto repair, ohio', 'mechanic in Cleveland' or a number of other terms that are more realistic in bringing customers to your door. It is highly unlikely that someone in the UK would bring their car to your Cleveland shop for repair. So a term that is so general is really not desirable nor realistic. We don't try to get website traffic just for the sake of getting traffic. We get strive to gain visitors that can and will become actual customers. When planning your keyword terms, think about what your current customers might enter into a search engine to find your competitor. Then apply those terms to your own site, location, specialties, specifics, products, etc.

Find an SEO you can trust. One who will discuss realistic website goals as well as website ranking goals. Work with a company that is above board, telling you everything they intend to do on your website. After all, it belongs to you, so they should. But, you must remember to listen to their advice. You know your business, and they know SEO.