Since many business owners have questions before hiring a SEO professional, I thought I would try and answer some of the more popular questions I get asked. Feel free to use my Contact form to send me your questions if it’s not answered here.
How Much Does SEO cost?
High quality - high performance SEO doesn’t cost a dime. Really. A high quality SEO campaign will make you money with high rankings, free naturally occurring organic traffic and high conversion rates. Poor quality SEO will cost you more than the fee you paid to your SEO company.
But you probably want to know what my fees are for Search Engine Optimization don’t you? I’d like to tell you how much it would be for your site, but since every Client has different needs, I have to quote each project individually. My SEO services include such critical task as:
- Keyword Research to determine your primary and secondary keywords
- Researching your competition to see which Keywords they’re ranking for
- Evaluating your website and making any necessary changes
- Initiating a Link Building campaign to increase your rank and popularity among Search Engines
- Investigating your specific local market to identify areas where your website should be positioned to take advantage of local Internet searchers
- Plus many other factors that will affect how your website ranks in the major Search Engines and local Internet sites.
You had the lowest full service bid of any SEO Firm we contacted, why so cheap?
First off, I don’t consider my work “cheap”. It may be less expensive as some SEO’s, but certainly not “cheap”.
The main reason my fee’s are lower is because I work out of my home. I don’t have to spend money on an Office and all the other expenses that comes with having a big Office staff, designers and technicians. I also don’t have to pay huge salaries to Company Officials.
I’ve never felt the need to have my Clients pay a “monthy maintenance fee” or any other type of fee. Pay once and be done with it. I’m not going to gouge you month after month like some SEO Companies.
By doing the work myself, I can keep a tighter control on quality. I can also react quicker should I see an opportunity for your website to take advantage any changing situations with your market. I don’t have to wait for an employee meeting or brainstorming session.
The few times I may outsourse work (such as technical writing, etc), I only use the highest quality professionals that have a proven background. These are the same professionals I’ve used for years on my own websites.
Do You Submit My Website To Thousands of Directories Like Some Other SEO Companies?
No. Directory submissions is sooo 1990’s! At one time it worked very well (back in the 90’s). Nowadays the major search engines consider the act of continually submitting your website to Direcotries as Spam and they can, and do, penalize your website for such outdated and unethical behaviour.
Sadly, many so called “SEO Companies” still use this practice. Many will tell you that it’s necessary and charge you a monthly fee. This tactic is nothing more than a scam.
There are directories where your website needs to be included. However, using automated software to auto submit your url to hundreds or thousands of directories is a no-no with today’s Search Engines! I’ll let you know which directories you site needs located in.
Do You Submit My Website to hundreds (or thousands) of Search Engines?
No. Just like with the directory submissions, submiting your website to Search Engines over and over again is considered Spam and you can ruin your chances of ever ranking for anything if they penalize you.
There are only 3 major Search Engines that matter. These three, Google - Yahoo - MSN, garner over 80% of the Internet Searches each day. Out of these three, Google is by and far the most popular. Some statistics put their share of search volume at 70% to 90%. So you see, this is why we concentrate on getting your website on the first page of Google. It’s simply where the large majority of Internet users end up.
Beware of these uneducated, unethical SEO “Experts” that claim to submit your site to hundreds of Search Engines. This is a sure sign that they either do not have a clue about what they’re doing or they’re intentionally frauding their customers.
Having said that, to get indexed in Google, Yahoo or MSN requires no submission if your SEO expert knows what he/she is doing. In fact, it’s been my experience that it takes much longer to get your website indexed when YOU DO submit it to the Search Engines. You go to the end of the line.
If done correctly, the Search Engines will find your site naturally. This is the best way. You stand a much better chance for high organic rankings this way than by submitting your site to them over and over.
Can You Guarantee To Get My Website Ranked #1 in Google, Yahoo or MSN?
No. And none else can either. Even Google has come out and said no one can guarantee you a #1 ranking. The Search Engines are continually changing their algorithms so that unethical Webmasters can not game their system.
Beware of companies that guarantee you a #1 ranking. Some will get you a #1 ranking in an obscure Search Engine no one every heard of, or a more common scam is to “buy” the keyword for your company name and pass it off to unsuspecting business owners as a naturally organic listing.
This is most often done with Google adwords. Let’s say your company is named Bob’s Big Blue Widget Company. You simply go to Google and buy the term “Bob’s Big Blue Widget Company”. Since no one else is likely bidding on that term, these unethical SEO’s can get this name for about 5 cents per click. They then go to Google, type in the search term “Bob’s Big Blue Widget Company” and your name shows up as #1 in the sponsored section at the top of the page. Voila! #1 ranking.
The problem is, rarely, if ever, does someone type in the search term “Bob’s Big Blue Widget Company!”
It’s also possible that there is no competition for your company’s name so when typing in Bob’s Big Blue Widget Company, your name comes up first in the organic results. Again, who would type that into the search field?
But Can’t I Just Join A Link Farm or Link Exchange Program And Get Ranked?
Not really. All Search Engines frown on this type of link building. In fact, this is another method some SEO’s use to build links to your site. All the search engines watch for this pattern and if you’re caught doing it, you site could be penalized or de-listed from the search engine index. Once your site is banned, it can be nearly impossible to ever get it indexed again. You’d be better to scrap it and start over with a new domain name.
Why Can’t I Have My Web Designer or Webmaster Perform SEO?
You could, but it’s been my experience these people know little, if anything, about what true Search Engine Optimization really is. As I said above, most think it’s just about submitting your site to thousands of directories and search engines and joining a link exchange.
I can’t tell you how many times I have to spend extra time undoing stupid, harmful actions of a Web Design firm or Webmaster on my Clients website.
How Long Will It Take To Rank My Site?
It depends. If you’re looking to dominate your local market area with low to moderate competition for your primary keywords, then you’ll start to see your site move up in the rankings within 30 to 60 days. If you’re trying to target highly competitive search terms, expect 12 to 18 months for a new site.
Obviously this is only if your site is search engine optimized.