4 replies to this topic

[scorpioilya81]

Here's the deal.

I am the co-owner of a 'mini-geeksquad' so to speak. I am responsible for the web marketing and technical side of the company (the day to day and accounting tasks are my partner's responsibility). I understand and appreciate white hat seo, and the knowledge and time it takes to do well, unfortunately I do not have time to do this.

For example I understand that,

-Noone can guarantee rankings
-Link farms are bad
-Keyword stuffing is bad
-Trying to trick the search engines is bad
-Good rankings take time.

That being said,

I am trying to offload SEO Tasks to someone who is going to spend a certain amount of time on them per month. I've been burned before by people who promise results, even after only taking 1/3rd deposit. My question is

What would you guys recommend, I start with. I have a budget of $500 a month to start, and raised to $2000-$4000 a month once multiple websites are up and bringing in profit.

I have some ideas in mind...

-Good link building - researching non-ffa directories, trading reciprocal links with high pr similiar but non-competing websites, free high pr directories that are relevant.
-Checking daily rankings for all the websites
-Checking traffic reports using google analytics, and setting up proper goals.
-Analyzing competitors' websites and traffic and seeing what works for them.
-Coming up with ideas and making slight on-page modifications to the website to slow grow the website and improve conversion ratio.

How much should I pay per hour, for an independent consultant, and how can I check their work. I know alot of people (including myself) , like to work on multiple projects at once , and bill the full hour for each one, but I want this person to really work the hours I pay him for.

Please give me ideas. I basically want to start small and develop a good relationship with someone, but I do require that person that prove themselves to me. I want a way to avoid quadruple subcontracting, project managers that take a cut, black-hat seo people...etc....

[SEO_Gal]

I would suggest that you ask to see examples of their work and check references. I've been an independent consultant for a year now (dba: CreativeMind Search Marketing) and I always provide references to new clients.

Also Google their name and see where they're listed. Are they in LinkedIn? Have they commented on SEO blogs or forums? Do they have their own SEO blog? In my experience, anyone worth their dollar amount is involved in the industry in some fashion and can be found online.

If you do hire someone on a monthly retainer, ask for monthly status reports. I always keep track of the projects I'm doing for my clients and provide a brief overview in their monthly reports so they know how their money is being spent.

As for the hourly rate... that will depend on the person's experience mostly. For $500/month, you may get anywhere from 2 hours to 6 hours of work. Totally depends on the skill level.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Patti Fousek
CreativeMind Search Marketing.

[donp]

Your best bet is to check the track records (read references) of your proposed new SEO. I ask potential clients to do this and furnish references, they rarely check. You figured out that it takes awhile for results to come in - but on an existing established site - it should not take that long. It also depends on how well your new SEO person can interface with those responsible for the website updates and content. He can lead 'em to water, but if they don't drink, you won't get much from SEO.

If Jill hasn't mentioned it, she will, but you would be a fool to think that high rankings are the cure for everything, it's all about providing your clients with what they want. Great copywriting with an eye to satifying the wants and needs of consumers is extremely important. Conversions rule!

[MikevanderHeijden]

Generally when interviewing a potential SEO analyst I like to give them real life situations and ask how they would fix it/recommend on such situations. Besides that I ask them for their 5 last clients and a reference for each, and sometimes I will give them a trial with a small test domain (paid of course).

[IBW Solutions]

Generally when interviewing a potential SEO analyst I like to give them real life situations and ask how they would fix it/recommend on such situations. Besides that I ask them for their 5 last clients and a reference for each, and sometimes I will give them a trial with a small test domain (paid of course).

They will most probably answer with a general answer in case you go away and fix the problem yourself.

Lately I've had potential clients ask how I can improve a certain keyword thats not perfoming well, I try and answer broadly without giving the game away.

We are here to make money, maybe some will ask but leave it up to you to improve and some may try it on and ask then shoot off and instigate the methods themselves

Iain