FAQ

Finding and hiring an internet marketing consultant or SEO firm for your online marketing is not easy. A professional search optimizer is a combination of copywriter, web designer, product designer, developer, marketer, advertiser, analyst and entrepreneur. It can be hard to find someone with these qualifications, and if you’re running a business, you may not have the time to do it yourself.

How do you determine if they are selling legitimate internet marketing services?

To select the best organization, you should first look to yourself. If you feel uneasy about anything they tell you, if they don’t call you back, or if all you get is a sales pitch, it may not be a good match.

It’s important to know that some firms use questionable tactics to sell their services. Theses firms are “black hat” operations that use unethical means to “get you on the first page”. Using unethical services can get your domain permanently banned ! So be careful.

To avoid that, here are a few things to ask a potential internet marketing consultant or agency.

1. What Google ranking can you guarantee?
If the answer is anything but “none,” look elsewhere. Since nobody owns the search engines, except search companies, it’s impossible to guarantee anything. A superior search firm may add that while ranking is important, a steady increase in traffic that turns into sales are more important.

2. Do you need to make changes to my website?
Changes are often necessary if your website lacks basic optimization capabilities or structure. If you have a lot of graphics, flash and complex navigation with pull-down menus and hierarchical trees that spiders can’t follow, you have a serious problem. Conduct your own keyword research using the free tools at Overture or Google and think about content you might create for your website today using popular, searched keywords.

3. What is your approach to getting website links?
Link strategies ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backlink) are key to long-term success using SEO and . PageRank, a site referral system developed by Google, was created to measure importance via link totals (links connected to you) and link reputation (what the links say about you and your keywords). It’s difficult to determine the number of links required, but the firm should provide competitive link research, analysis and progress. Read more about our approach to Phoenix SEO here.

4. What kind of reporting will I receive?
A professional SEO firm will have a process in place for client management and progress monitoring. Depending on the type of project, more work may happen in the earlier months, but it’s still very import for you to understand the overall strategy. You should receive ranking and analytics reporting at monthly or quarterly depending upon the program. You will also have access to our activity dashboard. But the most important thing is that you understand the strategy that is being applied and adjusted (adjusted as the rules often change).SEO takes time and is a never-ending task.

5. What does your pricing include?
The marketing consultant should provide a clear description of deliverables and pricing up front. Many make this an evasive exercise, but it should be clearly explained and not “sold.” Some consutlants only provide SEO services; others provide PPC, web analytics, multi-variate testing, e-mail marketing, social media optimization (blogs, videos and podcasts), linking and more. Someone that provides more complete search marketing services could help you save money by serving as a one-stop shop.

6. Why is your own PageRank low?
Sometimes SEO websites display a lower PageRank, but appear very well put together with a sound design and relevant, useful information. It could be a new site or a recent domain shift. The consultant is usually busy building client sites rather than optimizing his or her own content. This might actually be a positive sign because you want them working on your website ranking and not theirs.

7. What are your qualifications?

Time in business doesn’t necessarily mean better SEO (it changes constantly) ; you’ll have to decide for yourself. But learning about the staff and their qualifications and experience can help. Some firms specialize in certain market segments, which could benefit you.

8. Can you provide references and successful rankings?
Testimonials from clients are a great way to find out about your new internet marketing partner but keep in mind, some data may be proprietary. Much like when selecting any other service provider like a Lawyer or Doctor, word of mouth is powerful.

9. How much will the traffic results cost and when will I see results?
Price alone can’t determine quality work. You may see packages for $400 to $600 per month and some that are several thousands of dollars. But you often get what you pay for. Traffic can be generated rather quickly depending on your market and keyword choices, market saturation and competition. Pay-per-click (PPC) is often used in combination with SEO to evaluate highly converting keywords and can help augment your traffic goals.

10. What happens the day I stop using you for SEO?? Where will I then stand and why??
-Will you stay on the first page forever? Not without ongoing help (a.k.a. expense).
-Will you stay for a year or more? Probably.. but there is no guarantee.
You can think of this almost like purchasing advertising on a billboard near a freeway. If you stop paying for the billboard sometimes that advertisement will remain even after the payment has ended. That is, until the billboard owner can find another buyer. And on Google there a limited number of billboards (10 to 18). When you appear on the front page of Google, that means someone else loses their spot. That business will probably notice. The primary difference between Google and the freeway billboard is that every driver wants what you have because they are specifically searching for…”Phoenix Auto Repair” and similar terms. No where else do you have that kind of targeted opportunity. Businesses want to be on the first page for that reason.