The Big, Bad List of Pre-SEO Questions You Need to Answer, Part VII

Articles

In the first six parts of this series we asked questions related to in-sourcing your search marketing efforts. Specific areas addressed were for those considering doing SEO themselves, subbing out SEO to another person, and hiring an in-house SEO with and without SEO experience. In Part V we addressed issues of outsourcing your SEO campaign completely, asking questions regarding related to hiring an SEO consultant vs. hiring an full-fledged SEO firm.

In this installment we move into the realm of pricing and asking questions related to costs versus return on investment. When outsourcing your SEO to a firm or consultant it becomes a bit more difficult to control costs than it does when you hire-in house. But that’s not to suggest that cost cannot be controlled and you cannot get a return on investment. It’s all a matter of knowing how to manage the campaign, expectations and the budget that goes along with it.

Question 48: How much should search marketing cost? While this is every bit a legitimate question, it is also like asking “How much should a car cost?” The answer varies a great deal and there are many factors involved in coming to any conclusions. A few things that will be a factor in pricing is the quality of the firm or contractor you’re hiring, their years of (combined) experience, difficulty in the project, expected results, and of course the actual services that will be performed.

Question 49: What should be included in my campaign? Ultimately it comes down to whatever you agree to. Any firm analyzing your account should have a general idea of what will be needed over the course of the next several months. However in many cases the initial assessment will only represent a piece of the overall campaign needs. While a good site audit can pinpoint the most obvious needs, many won’t be able to be uncovered until the SEO is actually in the site and working through problems. New issues present themselves as other issues are fixed, new determinations are made based on site performance, and there is generally an ongoing analysis to help uncover other areas of weakness that can be patched. Often times these “unexpected” issues are considered the norm and for the most part will be covered by the optimization contract. There are instances, however, when issues arise that go above and beyond the scope of the contract.

Question 50: What should not be included in my campaign? SEO campaigns are not all created equal. What works (or is necessary) for on site won’t always work (or be necessary) for another. While there are some universals that must be included in most SEO campaigns, there are many elements that will need to be determined based on the type of site, its history, and particular areas of need. When assessing a contract for services feel free to ask questions about the intended strategy as well as necessity of any given area of focus.

Question 51: What will my payment plan? There are a lot of different payment plan options and you’ll simply have to find the firm that provides what you want with the payment plan you are happy with. Some variations are to pay based on performance, pay based on actual hours invested, or to pay based on a flat monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual fee. Any of these payment structures may or may not include an up-front set-up fee with a commitment period of a certain length of time.

Question 52: Will I get the return on my investment? This is the ultimate goal of every marketing campaign, whether it be online or off-line. The sad truth is, not every marketing campaign is successful every time. With SEO the return on investment often doesn’t come for several months, and sometimes as long as a year or more. Competition largely plays a role in this as the more competitive the industry the more SEOs tend to charge. And with greater competition the time frame to “success” is often much longer as well. You should never enter into an SEO agreement without an expectation of success in terms of getting your return on investment, but neither should you have unreasonable expectations in how soon that return will be realized.

Question 53: How soon should I expect to see results? Quickness of results varies by site, industry and investment. If the SEO is working with a brand new site then results will often take longer than an established site that can benefit greatly from just a few tweaks. The amount of your investment can also play a big role in how quickly you can see results. If you’re investment is minimal and you’re up against sites investing five to ten times as much as you in their online marketing campaigns, then you’ve got a long (if not impossible) road ahead of you. Even if you match your competitor’s investment coming from behind is very difficult. Knowing the competitive landscape around you, the work being done both for you and your competitors, and how much investment is being made can help provide you with a decent predictor of how much time it will be until your SEO campaign becomes a success.

Question 54: What kind of results should I expect? This is somethign that should be discussed with your SEO before signing your contract. While its near impossible to make predictions on what will happen, you can get an overall sense of what you can expect and when. Most importantly, however, is knowing what kind of results you should look for. Are you looking at rankings, traffic, sales or ROI? If you expect “success” in rankings then you may tend to ignore the increase in sales because rankings are not where you think they should be. The area of expected results should be discussed ahead of time so the SEO knows exactly what you’re looking for.

Costs and return on investment are two of the most critical aspects before engaging in any SEO campaign. But when it comes down to it, cost should not really be a factor. If the SEO campaign proves to be successful in giving you your return on initial investment and a healthy profit beyond that, cost becomes irrelevant. If you knew every dollar you spent would reap $2 in profit, then your profit would be limited to how much you were willing to invest. Unfortunately, the math never breaks down that easy and we often don’t have the initial $1 to spend indefinitely until we can start getting our $2 in returns. Discussing the costs and expectations with your SEO firm will help you plan for the future both financially and in terms of how to handle the business that will be coming your way.

In the next installment in this series we’ll talk about how much control you’ll have to give up over your site and how much involvement you’ll have throughout the process.

See Questions 1-11
See Questions 12-17
See Questions 18-24
See Questions 25-32
See Questions 33-40
See Questions 41-47
See Questions 55-61

Stoney deGeyter is the President of Pole Position Marketing, a leading search engine optimization and marketing firm helping businesses grow since 1998. Stoney is a frequent speaker at website marketing conferences and has published hundreds of helpful SEO, SEM and small business articles.

If you’d like Stoney deGeyter to speak at your conference, seminar, workshop or provide in-house training to your team, contact him via his site or by phone at 866-685-3374.

Stoney pioneered the concept of Destination Search Engine Marketing which is the driving philosophy of how Pole Position Marketing helps clients expand their online presence and grow their businesses. Stoney is Associate Editor at Search Engine Guide and has written several SEO and SEM e-books including E-Marketing Performance; The Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist, Period!; Keyword Research and Selection, Destination Search Engine Marketing, and more.

Stoney has five wonderful children and spends his free time reviewing restaurants and other things to do in Canton, Ohio.

The most important question that a company should ask themselves in wondering if they should use a SEO firm is does my customers search for what I sell in the search engines. Often the answer is yes as search engines are becoming more popular for consumers to find local businesses. The next question is does the SEO firm know what would be best for my company and are they upfront and honest or do they sound like they are to good to be true in telling you what they could do for.

I agree with the first comment. Things that are two good to be true typically are. Especially when purchasing goods or services online.

This series is really great. You really know your stuff. I feel like I know a lot more than I did before reading this. Thanks!

Anyone who promises the earth in the seo world is probably to good to be true.Some interesting questions here which give food for thought.

Its nice article, SEO is complicated proses and takes times, but we have do that in order successful in internet business

I’ve been working on addressing #54 with more of my savvy clients, including with each monthly report a general summation of where we’re at, where we’re headed, and what sort of time frame they can expect to get there. I’ve explained to them that these are just educated guesses, but even being in the ballpark helps set expectations and keeps the relationship running smoothly.

This is a fantastic series … I know i have benefited from reading is so far, great addition!

Cost and return of investment are rooted in belief, and as such, you cannot be sure what will actually happen. You may try to guard yourself from unexpected cost, through contract or using “the best”, but when it comes down to it, you just never can be sure – that’s why we are talking faith based economics in this case and almost any other.

At the same time, you cannot be sure your ROI will be as foreseen, and for the same reasons.

So what we are left with is hope. We hope that our investment will turn out right, and that the return of that investment will be bigger than the investment itself. That is the goal of all money investments.

Many people in this world will try to persuade you that they can make your hopes/dreams come true, if only you follow their path. Well, of course they can’t – we all have to find our own path, although we can be inspired by the path of others.

So that is why this list of questions is so good – it provides a row of signposts to a path, but it doesn’t tell us which path to take. We have to decide where to go by ourselves. Tough as it may be, it will also be the most rewarding.

The best way to promote your web-site well and for a little price is to go here: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal and find the phrases with no more than 500.000 competitors(by search result) and no less than 1500 visitors(Approx Avg Search Volume) per month, it’s easy but effective!

Read by small business people, our newsletter delivers a digest of articles from the top search engine marketing experts. You will learn about:

Our newsletter is the perfect way to stay up to date with all of the latest trends, events and techniques in using search engines to grow your business and make more sales. Subscribe here. Your email address will NOT be given to third parties.

FreeFind Site Search Engine – FreeFind adds a “search this site” feature to your website, making your site easier to use. FreeFind also gives you reports showing what your visitors are searching for, enabling you to improve your site. FreeFind’s advanced site search engine and automatic site map technology can be added to your website for free.

Buy UPC Codes
Get your products listed online!

Search marketing information for small business owners.

Fetching the best small business news.

A friendly place to share small business ideas and knowledge.

Small business support through education, resources and community

The directory of the best small business sites and tools.

Copyright © 1998 – 2018 Search Engine Guide All Rights Reserved. Privacy

Research & References of The Big, Bad List of Pre-SEO Questions You Need to Answer, Part VII|A&C Accounting And Tax Services
Source

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us