There seems to be a lot mud thrown in the direction of SEO companies recently. Comparing them to managment consultants (no offence), confidence tricksters and scammers, SEOs are being portrayed as the ‘Dick Turpins’ of the information highway because of the monthly SEO fees they charge. 

Ceratinly, the SEO service industry, just like any industry has its fair share of scams and rip offs but this does not mean that all SEOs are ‘highway robbers’.

This article (we hope) should give a little insight into good SEO practices and help you avoid falling foul of the ‘masked bandits’.

The “scam” defined…

It works roughly as follows:

  • SEO Company guarantees client a “Top 10 Position on Google”
  • Client appoints SEO company to get their website listed on the search engines
  • SEO ties the client into an optimisation plus monthly fee contract
  • SEO optimises website for low level key words/low competition phrases
  • SEO tells client they need to keep adjusting keywords each month
  • SEO (sometimes) tweaks these keywords/phrases
  • SEO sends monthly website report to client
  • SEO charges monthly fees (e.g. £200 - £500 pm) for “updates and maintenance”

The SEO may have performed the optimisation and obtained the “guaranteed” result on Google but has most likely used low competition key phrases to achieve this. For example they will use keywords such as the owners business name (the most common keyword mistake) or esoteric inhouse terminology such as “widget model v1.1 repairs”. Easy meat.

By ranking the site for phrases nobody wants the site can stay on Page 1 of Google for years to come. The SEO knows this and can impress the client each month in the monthly ranking reports. This is great for the SEO because they can earn monthly fees for literally pressing a button and therein lies the scam!

Monthly fees are NOT a rip off!

In order to calculate monthly fees the SEO has to evaluate the overall campaign goals. The first and most valuable part of any SEO campaign is the setup fee or initial consultation of the website. This is a skilled SEO service where you will learn everything about your website, your competitors, your goals and targets. This information is worth its weight in gold and not be be undervalued, so expect to pay fees anywhere from £500- £25,000 for this service. (Some large companies will pay a lot more!)

As part of your setup your SEO Company will tell you what services you require - whether it be PPC management, web page optimisation, display advertising, affiliate marketing etc. They will also advise you on the level of monthly “maintenance” required (if any) to achieve your goals. The fees themselves can be for services such as uploading daily data feeds to Google Base, analysing your visitors, spotting trends, making adjustments, performing a/b tests or analysing heat maps. These services are highly skilled and often too much for most companies to perform inhouse. Depending on the website, fees can range from £100 - £10,000 per month and rest assured they’re not figures plucked out of the air! They are carefully calculated towards the returns (ROR’s) on your campaign. So basically the SEOs are putting themselves on the line for your company.

How to select the best SEO company for your campaign? 

Look at their work and the length of time they have been trading. Look at their clients and the testimonials they provide. Look at their results and the competitiveness of their key phrases. Then look at the websites they optimise. Are you enticed to buy from such websites? A good internet marketing company will have all these on hand for you to examine from their website.

When you obtain advice at the initial consultation make sure to ask what’s involved in the monthly fees. If you have a brochure website and do not expect to sell products then it is unlikely you will need any maintenance - your SEO company will tell you this. If on the other hand you sell products in a competitive marketplace then it’s certain that you will need additional services to achieve your goals.

A carefully planned monthly campaign will bring good results and decent returns.