When people need a website designed, what percentage of those people do you think approve the first and only estimate they seek out? I’d say pretty close to zero. Same goes for buying a new car or a new home – don’t assume the first thing you see is the best you can get, because 99% of the time, it isn’t. The same goes for SEO and web marketing work.
One peril of investing in SEO is a customer’s ignorance of what comprises a well-rounded SEO package. We often see SEO or web marketing as an ‘add-on’ option to a web design or offline marketing packages, and because these packages are advertised with the magical words “listed number 1 in Google”, people jump. But what they don’t realize is that just like many other things in life in that they are full of empty promises.
So, how do you weed out quality SEO from empty cash-grabs? You do your research. First, do some poking around to see who seems to be offering SEO that is catered to you and not presented as a cookie-cutter template. Here’s a big warning – if you see the words “SEO for X amount of keywords for X amount of money” you best steer clear. This is a templated SEO package that is a cash grab – they promise you the world and they give you nothing. Ask yourself this – how would these “companies” even know how many keywords you’d like to optimize your site for before even speaking with you or knowing your website?
The best thing to do would be to speak with some SEO representatives to see what kind of package they can put together for you. This should be completely customized for your needs and not the needs of the masses. Make sure they understand your business and your market so you’re both on the same wavelength, and when this is done, feel free to ask for an estimate, and don’t assume you’ll get one on the spot. Most high-quality SEO companies will have to take some time to do keyword research into your desired search phrases so they know exactly how much time it’ll take per month to execute an SEO campaign to ensure you’re getting traffic for those search phrases. Again, most high-quality SEO companies will give you a free estimate.
The last thing I want to mention is that a personal touch and a custom SEO package, even if it seems to be more expensive than a templated package advertised on a website, will do you exponentially more good than a cookie-cutter package. You have my guarantee that a cookie-cutter package will do you little if no good, and you’ll be throwing your money away. For an extra hundred dollars or so, a custom SEO package will likely net you thousands more in return. So don’t be fooled.
If you’d like a free customized SEO estimate, please contact us.