SEO Costs and Results Guarantees

Fergal C

What should I expect to pay for a 3 month professional SEO campaign? Services required would include improving search engine listings, link building and directory submissions.

Is it practical to make a proportion of the fee dependent on results - eg page one listings for certain terms on major search engines?

What criteria should I use to select a professional SEO who will not use any SPAM techniques on my site?

vector

How long is a piece of string?

Do you want an affilate scheme where you pay linkers that generate sales etc?
rhetorical question

e999 seems to be the max from a quick search

mneylon

I'd recommend 2bscene
They've been working with us for the last couple of years and a lot of our clients have had very good results as well.

Figment

I have also heard good things about 2bscene. No idea on price though sorry.

rsynnott

A lot of these people are hideously over-priced. Have a look at http://webmasterworld.com (forum); you may not need an SEO at all.

mneylon

rsynnott wrote:

A lot of these people are hideously over-priced. Have a look at http://webmasterworld.com (forum); you may not need an SEO at all.

Time = money for most people, so the amount of time involved in researching SEO would probably cost you more than paying someone who knew what they were doing.

rsynnott

blacknight wrote:

Time = money for most people, so the amount of time involved in researching SEO would probably cost you more than paying someone who knew what they were doing.

Yep, just pointing out it isn't always the be-all and end-all.

mneylon

rsynnott wrote:

Yep, just pointing out it isn't always the be-all and end-all.

What isn't?

tom-thebox

I was amazed when I saw the sort of service/product in action some of the better known SEO companys are offering in Ireland. (wont name any names) But it was terrible, almost scam like.

I would say check out http://2bscene.net/ too they have done good work for others.

FreeHost

There is some good advice in the posts above for example;

I wanted to get the domain name ketec.ie to the top of MSN, Yahoo and Google using the keyword string ; website hosting Ireland
Also, at least page 2 or 3 on other keyword strings.
I achieved my aim, however, in retrospect the amount of time and effort I spent doing it, I would have much preferred to pay someone else to do it for me, as Michelle said, Time=Money and he’s quite right.

On the other hand, time spent in research on SEO, as rsynnott pointed out is never wasted. The sites you have in your sig. (if there the one’s you want optimised) are well indexed and have a decent PR, so some of the backbreaking work is done.

You could probably do a combination of both, get a company to kick start your campaign while you’re learning the finer points of SEO. A thing to remember is that SEO is an ongoing and occasionally changing endeavour.

rsynnott

The other important point is that if you do go for a dodgy (or even just incompetent, or unlucky) one, they can potentially end up getting you excluded from Google. SEO, beyond the very basics of making sure spiders can navigate your page and such, is usually just this side of search engine spamming, and Google shifts the goalposts all the time (Google itself disapproves of SEO). Their spammer detection is automatic, with no appeal. So don't go for someone without a good track record. And yep, the one blacknight's recommending looks decent.

seo-ireland

I agree wholeheartedly that if you have the time and motivation that it is great to learn the ins and outs of SEO. However as has been pointed out earlier in this thread it is a continually changing environment and what works today may not work tomorrow. It then pays to hire someone who keeps up to date with the current trends. Also a botched SEO job is months of time invested down the drain (especially when it comes to keyword research).

I also agree with the points made about some of the SEO 'packages' being offered on the Irish market at the moment. It makes me fuming mad when I come across something like this. The SEO field has a bad enough reputation as it is without more damage being done to it.

Also one more very important point to be made about the relationship between the client and the SEO. An SEO campaign of course involves work on the side of the SEO but equally as important is the committment of the client to the campaign. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to be approached by someone wanting their website at the #1 spot in all search engines for competitive terms and expects you to wave your magic SEO wand and make it happen overnight. It doesn't work like that and it normally takes months to see progress.

The ideal client is one who recognizes the following:
- It is not an overnight process
- You must give the SEO total freedom with the content of your site
- No guarantees of top ranking results can be made, only guarantees of best practices
- It benefits both parties to operate on an incentive based payment schema. The SEO will be better motivated to increase ranking and you will see more traffic to your site i.e. more sales/business for you. A win-win situation.
- If you are aiming for very competitive keywords expect to pay a lot for this
- If you respect the SEOs work and effort you will build a relationship that will benefit you in buckets

People that do not understand or accept these points sometimes end up going for a deal that offers them the 'quick fix' that they crave. The thing is when they realise that they are not getting results or have been conned then they come crawling to the respectable SEOs and money and time has been wasted. In worst case scenarios previous SEO attempts have irreparably damaged the search engine standings of the site e.g. banning.

Sorry for the rant. It feels good to get it out

vector

Frank a concise post, with a nice soundbite, it reads like a quote from a marketing textbook "No guarantees of top ranking results can be made, only guarantees of best practices"

you should put that on your sute, put it in http://www.kilkelly-seo-services.com/images/kilkelly-seo-logo.gif

Fergal C

Thanks everyone for your excellent responses and suggestions. I will be considering both options in the near future.

jmcc

babyboy808 wrote:

Try <site run by spammy types>. Excellent Online Servies

Could you please stop pimping this site.

Regards...jmcc