What’s a fair price to pay to a SEM company for help with your internet marketing campaign?  Remember, SEO is quite different than PPC or SEM. So let’s talk a little about each.

 PPC marketers typcially charge anywhere from 15-20% of the total ad spend as a fee. This is the industry standard for a company that creates, develops, maintains, and analyzes your pay per click account.  Here are some expectations you should have for that fee.

1. Expect a call once per month with detailed reports pertinent to your business. Reports should include keyword and ad performance as well as CTR percentages and impressions to name a few. The gifted marketer will help you develop trends based on your SEM campaign as well as website analytics.
2. Expect your SEM company to continue to make changes in order to enhance ad performance. Split testing several ads is a must.

SEO pricing tends to be all over the map. SEO is a different game alltogether since it’s not a precision science. There are various techniques that search marketers use to optimize your website. Some of these techniques can take 3-6 months before any fruit can be seen. You may have significant expenses invested before a return is seen. This is a tricky way to go especially in a world where we expect instant results. Here are a few rules before you walk down the winding road of SEO.

1. Always ask for references. CALL THEM! Ask questions about the company such as: Did it help you? How long before you saw results? Would you use this company again in the future? May I ask the price they quoted you?
2. Ask the company if they guarantee results. If they do, be careful. SEO is not a precise science. In my opinion, it’s impossible to guarantee a result. If they have been successful with other websites, then they would be a much safer bet.
3. How long has the company been in business? What kind of education does the marketer have that you will be working with. Will there be any type of coaching or consulting? If so, how often.

Expect to pay anywhere between $50 and $150 per hour depending on the size, overhead, and success of the agency.  In SEO, you definitely get what you pay for, but you should also ask lots of good questions before paying a premium price.

 Remember that pay per click (PPC) advertising is the only one that can produce instant results. If you have any questions about search engine marketing, please visit us online at www.TheSearchFactory.net.

OK, so you’re a confirmed “do-it-yourself-er”. Some of us are just that way, and that’s OK. As long as you get good training upfront you’ll be fine. Make sure you hire a consultant to know that you’re doing the job right and then get after it. I will warn you, small business owners are the good at the art of distraction. Are you tweaking your PPC campaign but losing business because of it? Know your gifts, and focus on those. If you have time to manage your PPC campaign yourself, then great. But if you’re hiding behind your computer when you should be meeting with customers then hire someone to help. If you’re going to hire, then hire us! Enough preaching and shameless self promotion.

This is going to be a series of reviews on various SEO tools that you can use to enhance your business. Some of these tools are what we use at The Search Factory. As always, if you have any questions regarding what you see here, please feel free to send us an e-mail at http://www.thesearchfactory.net/contactus.htm.

 Tool #1: Keyword Spy

This is one of the best tools in the world. Want to know what keywords your competitors are bidding on? What position they are in? It’s simple with Keyword Spy. You simply type in the web address of your competitor and Keyword Spy spits out the keywords and allows you to download them to a spreadsheet. You can then upload your new keywords into your Yahoo!, Google, or MSN campaign. All this and it’s as simple to use as writing your name.

Think about it, you could spend hours of research coming up with your own keywords for your PPC campaign. And if you’re like me, you’ll wake up in the middle of the night thinking of new ones, having to write them down, and add them in the morning. Or for those neurotics out there, you’ll have to go to your computer and add them immediately-go to sleep for crying out loud!

Keyword Spy takes the guesswork out and allows you to have an upper hand in the fight for online supremacy. Like most online programs, there’s a free trial available online, give it a spin and see if you like it. As always, in order to get the full featured version, you’ll have to purchase.  Simply visit Keyword Spy and see what it can do for you.

This is the question I am asked the most in a given week. The answer is not easy to pin down, but it truly comes down to your needs at the moment.

SEO, or the process of optimizing your website, can take many months for the keywords you choose to eventually show up in the search engines. Companies will charge a monthly fee based on the number of keywords you want. Identifying a reputable SEO company is difficult. You will want to interview several, making sure that they use what we call “White Hat” techniques that the search engines approve.  Some search engines will ban your site if your website uses techniques that are not above board in terms of ethical SEO. Keep in mind, once your site is optimized, it’s difficult to change the text associated with your search results placement. PPC (pay per click) advertising is somewhat opposite from SEO. You can be placed on the search engines very quickly and get a product or site up and running generally within hours. Your ads on PPC can be changed in an instant. This is particularly helpful if you want to publish sale items, special incentives, etc. (EX: A homebuilder offering a special weekend incentive like ($10,000 off existing inventory this weekend only). The flexibility that pay per click offers any profit generating business is well worth the investment. According to a recent survey, 40% of all sales conversions result from pay per click advertising. Ideally, you need a little of both. My company prefers to hand craft and perfect campaigns on the PPC level due to the ability to test and retest every detail regarding our clients’ advertising. Once you have a well crafted and effective PPC campaign, then a mix of PPC and SEO techniques can supply you with a balanced attack.  Know that my statements here will be met with controversy depending on which side of the SEO/PPC fence you’re on.  Have questions? Please call us at 877-567-3272 or visit us online at www.TheSearchFactory.net.  We’ll be happy to help you sort out what is best for your company. Sign up for our free newsletter and to be notified of upcoming search engine training.

Posted by: Terry Burger, CEO & Founder, The Search Factory 

Every week or so I spend 2-3 hours per week checking out our competitors in order to continue to deliver solid value to our clients.   I will never name these companies, but as a business owner, I want to be aware of my competition. Most importantly, I want to make sure we are exceeding our own clients’ expectations.

Today I’m on a call that began with a search of “real estate leads” on Google. Website was impressive and so I filled out a test drive form. A prompt response (on a Saturday) was impressive and then the salesperson began  to lead me through a very weak slide show presentation. At the end of a 48 minute call he asked me for $14,900 to get started! Keep in mind, I think the company was selling leads, but the salesperson did a whole lot of talking and not very much listening to my needs.

I asked if I could speak to one of their clients regarding their ability to deliver what they promised. They said no, and so I wished them a good day and sent them packing.

First of all, they promised me 55 leads. Now I’m not sure what their definition of leads is, but to promise me 55 leads with an investment of fifteen grand is preposterous. That works out to be $271 per lead, if they were able to deliver that many.  And if you are in sales, you know that there are a certain number of leads that you need to make a sale, pay your bills, and make a profit so this thing we call business can feed our families. 

If you close 10% of the leads they sent, it would cost you $2,721 to find a customer. Conclusion: RIP OFF ALERT! Be wary of marketing firms that say they will deliver “x” number of leads per month. There is no guarantee that this is true.  Ask for a money back guarantee, and if they won’t give you one, wish them a nice day.

My passion is to see businesses succeed in the online marketplace and make a profit. Our search marketing systems are here for you. Please give us a call at 1-877-567-3272 or visit us online at www.TheSearchFactory.net; it would be a pleasure to serve you.