5 replies to this topic

[Ravenwood]

I am new in the SEO business, that is in working for myself. I have done work for others and have seen various business models and ways people package or charge clients. Some charge a flat fee while others by the hour.

I have a new client whom I met with yesterday, who is the marketing director for their company, is new, is redesigning an existing website, and has asked me to look at it through the design phase so that it can be optimized. I suggested a baseline ranking report so that goals can be set up, that I could look at the new site for usability and then later on for optimization. What would any of you suggest with a situation like this - charge by the hour for services as a consultant or package up what you think the client will need now and into the future for one flat fee? I don't know how their site even ranks at this point in time, so setting up goals would have to come after some type of analysis it seems. The client doesn't have any particular goals, so I'm guessing its up to me to assist them.

Any thoughts on fees as well for a newbie?

Thank you for any input.

Pamela

[Sean Hakes]

Good day Pamela!

It all depends on the size of the project and competition of the keywords. If its an easy keyword that the client wants to achieve maximum results I generally charge a flat fee. If its more competitive keywords I tend to charge by the hour. Very competitive keywords can run on average for me 2k - 3k / page.

Good luck!

Sean H.

[Jill]

Couple of things...

Rankings shouldn't be your baseline. You'll want to check traffic and conversions, but specifically search engine traffic.

As for charging, yes, I would go with charging an hourly consulting rate while they're doing the redesign. Then later if there are additional deliverables that you can offer, you can charge for those separately. But redesigns stretch on for months and months, so it could be awhile!

[Ravenwood]

Thank you for the input.

I believe traffic is the only thing this company is monitoring and of course their only conversions would be the sale of a product. (They don't offer a newsletter, etc)

I guess when I think of baseline rankings I'm really saying a baseline report - how are you ranking in various search engines, what is your bounce rate, how long are people staying on the site, how many pages deep are they going, etc. From there, design a handful of options for potential improvements? Does this seem right/

I just purchased a book called Search Engine Optimization by Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin - I'm hoping it will help show strategies to best take in making assesments for somebody who doesn't know what they want for sure.

Pamela Ravenwood

Couple of things...

Rankings shouldn't be your baseline. You'll want to check traffic and conversions, but specifically search engine traffic.

As for charging, yes, I would go with charging an hourly consulting rate while they're doing the redesign. Then later if there are additional deliverables that you can offer, you can charge for those separately. But redesigns stretch on for months and months, so it could be awhile!

[Ash Nallawalla]

I guess when I think of baseline rankings I'm really saying a baseline report - how are you ranking in various search engines, what is your bounce rate, how long are people staying on the site, how many pages deep are they going, etc. From there, design a handful of options for potential improvements? Does this seem right/

It sounds like more than pure SEO - I'd be careful about going into bounce rates unless you have some say in what is on the landing pages.

Since you are going in while the site is being redesigned, you'd want to look at:

• Architecture of the site and internal links
• Crawlability of the new design
• Coding
• Content creation methodology
• On-page SEO tactics

An hourly charge is the best option, otherwise the client may send you daily updates and expect you to read everything for a fixed price.

[downliner]

You mentioned that this is a new client so I'm assuming you have signed a contract with him? Unlikely, due to the fact that you're here and enquiring about how much to charge the client

I just want you to be careful. Don't suggest where the improvements should be made until you have a contract signed and a fee stating exactly what you are being paid for. It's difficult when you are working freelance for the first time as you obviously still have bills to pay, and you will be eager to show your client just how talented you are.

If a client asks to hear about your suggestions for improvement before you have a contract signed I would be very careful, not to mention vague. Certainly don't put anything in writing for him. He could take all of your research directly to another local SEO stating exactly what needs to be done (he knows now that you've told him). If he punts your research around he could land a cheaper quote elsewhere.

I'm sure you're clever enough not to do this anyway but doesn't hurt to make sure I'm always reading online about freelancers being mucked around by a client like this.