Questions about SEO

[sportsforum]

If i were to employ the services of a good SEO company, what would I expect to pay? IN AUD dollars.

I have been told that to get results in SEO you need between 2,000 and 4,000 pages of info on your site? How is this so, if I have a current site which has maximum 50 pages and is ranking No.1 in Yahoo? Is it just 'SPIN' to make money for the SEO company?

Some companies want a hefty monthly fee to keep the SEO optimized.

How about this: What should I expect to have to pay for the following services:

•Keywords Research
•Competitive Analysis and Industry Benchmarking
•30 Keywords Selection
•30 hours of initial SEO
•Website Audit & Report
•Submission to all major search engines including Google, Yahoo, Ninemsn, Sensis & Altavista
•Pay-Per-Click PPC Management of Google Adwords and Yahoo Search Marketing
•Monthly SEO Ranking Report
•Search engine news update
•6 hours SEO performance maintenance/consultation service per month

 

[priyakochin]

First up all, you don't want 2k to 5k pages for getting ranked.Just single page can work better.

For paying for SEO, it depends.Some companies need more payment while other need less.

30 keywords is big.I will recommend you to start with five or seven keywords.
I own a SEO firm, from India.You can PM me for a good offer.

 

[bluearrow]

I think the best way is first give them a small assignment maybe about 1-2 keywords and see how it goes. If you are satisfied with the result you can do more.

 

[l-l-l.com]

well it is not a bright idea to go for all the keywords at once.

Instead going for 4 to 5 would be more than engough at once. As this would let you know whether the firm you choose can optimize your site for other keywords too.

I think not more than 1k to 2k for 5 keywords

 

[whitebark]

95% of "seo companies" are a rip-off. You can do as good and usually better by doing some reading on the subject and doing it yourself.

Everyone calls themselves an 'seo expert' etc. Sure there may be two or three reputable ones out there, but again, you can replicate the same by yourself. It's a completely unregulated industry - so what constitutes an expert anyways?

Also be aware that some of the 'experts' will greyhat or blackhat your seo work. It might show improvements over the short term, but there is always the chance it will really come back to bite you later. Just another reason to do it yourself - especially if your website is a money-maker.

Google/MSN/Yahoo all have webmaster tools and documentation you can follow. Follow it to the letter and you'll see good results without any problems later.

 

[shockie]

before you finalize with an seo company let me know and i'll inspect their website to see whether they really know their stuff.

 

[priyakochin]

95% of "seo companies" are a rip-off. You can do as good and usually better by doing some reading on the subject and doing it yourself.

Everyone calls themselves an 'seo expert' etc. Sure there may be two or three reputable ones out there, but again, you can replicate the same by yourself. It's a completely unregulated industry - so what constitutes an expert anyways?

Also be aware that some of the 'experts' will greyhat or blackhat your seo work. It might show improvements over the short term, but there is always the chance it will really come back to bite you later. Just another reason to do it yourself - especially if your website is a money-maker.

Google/MSN/Yahoo all have webmaster tools and documentation you can follow. Follow it to the letter and you'll see good results without any problems later.

You can't say most of them are bad.The problem is that their are many around the web that they know SEO and they will make you at the top of google and all!

:hehe:

 

[l-l-l.com]

I will only advice one thing.

The people who say they can rank your website higher just check their ranking where they rank in their niche.

You would come to know whether they can do it or not.

 

[Gayan]

Better to learn and do yourself. It's an on-going thing. Consists of repeating tasks. You are never done with it.

 

[SEO Consultant]

You do not need to have lots of pages to rank well in the search engines. Ask your SEO consultancy company for their rank performance in the search engines. If they are good in what they do, their results will prove.

 

[shockie]

code optimization is also important... so if you have so-called seo experts with websites that have blank table cells in their layout... then you know they probably won't be around for long... *coughs*

 

[enlytend]

Some of the best advice for choosing an SEO consultant is right here:

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35291

 

[Keral_Patel]

If you don't know anything about SEO then any company is good because they will do atleast something for your site.

If you know about SEO then you can just do the SEO yourself and get the links and other parts done by some links person.

But if you think you know SEO and if you still go for a SEO company there will be problems as there will be clash of ideas and expectations.

Moreover if you are going for 30 keywords and lets assume 10 or 15 out of them are premium keywords with lots of competition then you are atleast looking at 20K or something for the SEO. It won't be cheap. Yes 30 sites can target 30 keywords on their own but getting on top with 30 keywords with 1 site is complex enough and costly enough.

 

[Gayan]

If you don't know anything about SEO then any company is good because they will do atleast something for your site.

But if you think you know SEO and if you still go for a SEO company there will be problems as there will be clash of ideas and expectations.

If you don't know... sometimes it's an issue too. You hire a SEO company and they can't manage expectations. What happens is - the SEO company needs to train what is SEO, because there may be false perception about the "magic" results.

 

[Keral_Patel]

What happens is - the SEO company needs to train what is SEO, because there may be false perception about the "magic" results.

Yes this has always been an issue But one has to decide if he wants SEO services or SEO tution classes both are very different things.

 

[Gayan]

Yes this has always been an issue But one has to decide if he wants SEO services or SEO tution classes both are very different things.

Agree. If questions are too much, then better switch to training. Otherwise what you report on accomplishments? What are the measurable points?

 

[Premiere]

Before you call anyone, learn how to search. Just like you would when searching for domains - find 2-3 keywords which target your products specifically but which aren't yet advertised heavily. This will give you easier entry into the SEO field. Do it yourself or use SEO companies but take it slow at first. Everybody pays through the nose when they rush. Try to learn as much as you can in the process. I learned all my SEO work on my own and never paid anyone, but if you are in a rush then I would look around for someone reputable who can do it with 5 pages. I have never built anything with 2000.

 

[domaintrader85]

Remember - Small Is Beautiful.

Google now likes website with low number of pages. I have optimized a website with just 20 pages. It's ranking no.1 for 6 keywords.

"Content has lost it's importance."

The above statement may look like unlikely. But it is the real truth. We can rank for a website without any content. Just using other factors.

So dont go for big so called companies. look for freelancers they ill give you excellent service. Because a freelancer need not pay to any body. When it comes to a Company they will impose their cost on you. Where as a Freelancer will stick to you with good service and for longer period.

Hope My suggestion helps you. PM me If you are looking for a freelance SEO professional.

 

[Premiere]

"Content has lost it's importance."
The above statement may look like unlikely. But it is the real truth. We can rank for a website without any content. Just using other factors.

Yes, due to the way google ranks nowadays, if you had a choice between a 1 page domain with 1000 social bookmarks, or a 1000 page website with 1 social bookmark which would you choose? I realize this is an extreme way of looking at it but SEO is more about backlinks and such than content, though when facing both headon, you must understand how content works before you go head deep into bookmarks.

The way the ranking occurs right now is so overwhelmingly favorable to social bookmarks that it's oppressive for good content. Hence the evolution of Cuil. I don't know if it will go anywhere but I think it has merit in that you can't just rank something based on how many people added it to digg (but that's almost how it works currently).