Which SEO Proposal should you choose?

Which SEO proposal or which SEO company should you use?

” Which SEO Proposal or which SEO company should I use? ” – a question that faces many marketing managers, website managers, and pretty much anyone who is serious about a web presence and isn’t doing their own SEO work.

(Please Note: All advice, Reccomendations , and tips are of a general nature and may not apply to your circumstance. Please consider all advice and seek professional consultation where deemed necessary before acting on any advice given on this site. Pinnacle Services NSW will not be held liable for any loss of any kind as a result of actions take based on advice given here)

There are tons of these services available…literally thousands of businesses in Australia make a killing on these services. I haven’t had long term experience with any of them so I can’t really recommend them. The only advice I give, is if there is someone locally that you can meet with face to face, usually shows that you mean business and are prepared to deal with them openly.

SEO (search engine optimisation) is a great tool and It is a great idea to outsource it to a company that is good at it. There is a couple of caveats though. The first is –

Make them accountable – Many of these companies fleece unsuspecting customers by promising the world, and emailing monthly reports that are false or skewed to justify their fees. It is important to make sure you measure the actual ROI when implementing these services. Firstly by actually taking down a report of the increase in online enquiries (via phone, email or web form), this means often asking the customer and keeping (yet another) report. Then you need to measure the quality of the leads you get. Sometimes more that 98% of them can be customers looking for the wrong thing, or your site is showing up under the wrong keywords. Also make sure you tell them up front that they must implement Google analytics as an additional reporting tool. They often hand you reports generated out of their own system. For all you know these could be completely false. Using Google analytics and making them provide you with a login means you can compare the results they give you with the results that you are actually getting. Google

The second caveat (and also most important) is:

Avoid Social Media – Social Media Marketing (or SMM) is the new drug in SEO circles, most SEO consultants eat sleep breathe, Social media marketing. Often times it is easy to baffle the client with figures and wow story’s of SMM. However there are a few things to consider

It only works if it is relevant to your audience – Many industries have customers that are past school and university and are past the point where social media is anything but a gimmick when it comes to marketing tools.
It only works if it is relevant to your products – Selling pizza vouchers on Facebook is a relevant marketing strategy. Selling industrial supplies or equipment on facebook is not.
Social Media is taking a hit in popularity – wise folks globally are starting to realise the poison that Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms are injecting into their life. I was interested to read an article on SMH recently (http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/its-complicated-why-our-facebook-romance-is-fading-20121122-29r06.html )
Corruption and Legal Implications – In recent months, facebook and twitter have both faced charges by federal and international legal teams for protecting criminals and harbouring information and data that is both illegal and could assist in the arrest of evil persons.Do you really want your Brand associated with such?
It’s a slippery slope – once you start with Social media, you cannot stop. It requires constant updating and opens you to unconditional criticism by angry customers which you then have to go into damage control to counter.