Ok so you have a web site but it isn’t showing up anywhere on the first 5 or 6 pages. You know that there are plenty of potential customers searching for your products and services – heck many of your competitors are on first or second page on Google. You’ve also been getting these unsolicited “cheap SEO service” emails and you’ve been tempted more than once to see just what they might offer. But you’re just not sure…
Well welcome to the club. You’re like lots of small business owners who don’t completely understand SEO and search engine placement. Maybe you’ve also heard how SEO is spammy, you’re small nobody will find you anyway or SEO for a small business is just too expensive.
In fact the internet is completely changing the game of advertising for small businesses and whether you are a local shop or a small eCommerce site, you can not only get in on the action but also compete at a very high level. You should be using your size to your advantage – small is the new big. You are able to move quickly and with fewer decision making layers these are strengths.
As a small business owner this is what you need to know about affordable SEO.
DIY SEO or SEO Consultant
There are two primary SEO paths — pay somebody else or DIY. Either way doesn’t have to break the bank. Make sure that you have this in place:
1. Site architecture is correct and the search engine robots can easily crawl (index) your site
2. Claim your local business listing
3. Be sure that you are set up in the appropriate directories (most of these are free)
4. Don’t skimp on exhaustive keyword research for your specific businesses and locally targeted terms
5. Know how your competitors are driving traffic
Most small businesses will find that this isn’t as tough as they think and implementing this marketing strategy is actually very cost effective. You should also be aware of the potential pitfalls. With the DIY SEO approach it will take a longer to achieve success as you will have to do an awful lot of research to get all of the moving parts in place. If you go the route of hiring an SEO consultant you have to be sure that they are the right fit with your organization and can do what they claim they can do – this can be very costly if you choose incorrectly.
The third approach is a hybrid of DIY and SEO consultant – consult with a high level SEO and have them give you the step-by-step of what needs to be done – but you do the work. No matter which of these approaches you take with a bit of careful planning you don’t have to blow your budget to achieve long term success.
What is the True Cost of SEO?
If you go the route of the SEO Consultant there are a few things to be aware of. Where are they located and where are you located? It typically costs more for a SEO firm that is located in a larger city. Conversely if you are in a major metropolitan area you are going to have more competition to climb over and it will be harder to move the needle to get the desired results.
Be very wary of the spammers. You see these guys everywhere:
• Guaranteed first page placements within seven days
• Don’t pay until you get listed on the first page
• They’ll build you a website for only $199 and you only pay $39 or $49 a month (for life)
You have to read the fine print with these types of companies. Many times they will get you on the first page… but it isn’t from organic search it is often that they turn on Pay-Per-Click Marketing and pay for your ad to show up (but hey they said they’d get you on the first page). Or they get you on the first page – for a term that nobody searches for.
Websites that charge you these ridiculously small fees typically offer no level of customer service and they are not focused on maximizing your target demographic. And $199 is really more of an hourly fee for a top notch small business SEO consultation.
So sure you can try to go cheap on this but you will get what you pay for. And worse, you will be throwing that $199 (+ the recurring monthly fee) out the window with nothing to really show for it.
It’s the ROI Stupid
Remember the phrase “It’s the Economy Stupid!”? Well affordable small business SEO is really the same thing. It isn’t how much you spend its how much you get out of it.
We have regularly seen our clients and our own businesses get a 5x, 7x, 10x and often more than 20x return on investment from a comprehensive SEO campaign. A good consultant will spend a significant amount of time with their new client to get a full understanding of their client’s business and to explain what to expect from a solid strategic approach to SEO and internet marketing.
The holy grail of SEO is conversions. Are customers doing what you need them to do when they come to your web site?
• Are they calling for more info
• Are they filling out the contact us form
• Are they signing up for your email newsletter
• Are they completing the checkout
There is absolutely no reason you shouldn’t be able to get at least a 5x to 10x return on your investment. One of our toughest clients, who was spending more than $20,000 a year on various yellow page listings was found of telling us that he would gladly spend twice that much on any marketing program if the ROI was there.
What Type of SEO Do You Need?
SEOs tend to fall into one of these categories and so does their approach and knowledge.
The spammers – known for their low cost offers of $149 and $199 web sites and “low monthly fees” of $39 – $59. These guys must get as many “customers” as possible as that is the only way that they can sustain their business model. Their nickels add up – for them.
The tactical SEO – they know about search engine optimization and certainly understand the basics – proper site structure (backend code), title tags, meta descriptions, keywords and link building. Just by implementing the steps that this group provides your site will certainly get a boost. And for many business owners this will be enough to get some additional rankings.
The strategic SEO – to these experts search engine optimization is just one of many tools in their arsenal. They are really more like strategic marketing partners. They work with fewer clients but for longer engagements. This allows them to get to really know the business and to be able to offer suggestions for more business opportunities. This works best for sites that are underdeveloped.
This group focuses on long term value to the business not just a quick increase in traffic. With this approach we’ve seen clients develop a laser like focus on their highest value customers (those with the greatest life time value), product expansions and even whole new divisions. These are the clients that experience ROI returns of over 20x.
So as a small business owner you have to decide what are your primary goals? Once you’ve determined this then you will know what type of SEO service you can afford.
photo courtesy of AMagill, used under this Creative Commons license