Anyone Else Have SEO Clients?

This is a GREAT thread! As a freelance web designer I have neglected to offer too many SEO services to clients but have been gradually prodding them with up-sells when I give them a package.

There are some great tips and insights here and I hope to hear more strategies, techniques and models for how people work the SEO angle. I guess a lot has to do with bundling the services into ordered and tiered packages and educating the client.

Do most of you selling SEO services offer guarantees (% increased visits, first page google for keyword, etc)?

Hey guys, I thought I'd post what I do for SEO consulting. Might help you guys out.

I've been doing SEO consulting and Internet marketing for 3 years now. Here's what I do.

1. WebCEO for reporting
2. I outsource onsite SEO based on the reports I run. I have a couple of guys who do a nice job to get the onsite stuff done right. $10 HR and I charge $125 so it is a nice lift.
3. I outsource link building, using submit Edge, link market, and a few scripts that I run to get links for the client. I also buy one way links for the client from a few overseas companies and mark them up nicely.
4. I update my clients every 2 weeks using basecamphq, which I find nice to manage the project.

So far this year, we've pulled in about 125K in SEO fees, just working from home. Most of my day is spent on my projects, but of course I get interuptions from the clients.

SEO lead me into quite a few other areas of marketing including Podcasting, PPC, affiliate marketing, etc. The best thing about doing this for other clients is that you can experiement with their results and know what to do on your projects. Very valuable.

Some services you can offer:

Microsite Building - $350 each
Custom Blogs - $400 each
Website Design - $1000 and up
PPC - $1200 and up - I use speedppc for this and works great.
Affiliate program set up - I use shareasale mostly.
Ebay promotion
Craigslist promotion
Link Building

There is really so much there and the market is not very saturated if someone wants someone in the USA that speaks english and can answer their phone.

I charge consulting in person and by phone as well from $150 to $300 per hour. I've made $2700 in one day for spending some time in Colorodo last year.

Here is the secret to success! - Don't waste time with people who have no money. If you are going to make money, you have to find a company with cash to spend. I charge $250 to write a proposal, this way I know if they are serious of not. If they are not serious, then move on.

Most of the stuff we do is white hat, but actually building links for a client isn't really white hat, so I guess it is more gray hat SEO. Which is where you'll have to be to get the client to rank.

I have 6 clients now, and am really not looking for more. If you do a good job they will re-up their contracts. I typically do 6 month contracts with payments. Freshbooks is a great payment processor so you don't have to worry about receiving payments or invoicing.

The key is building a team of people that you can trust to outsource to. I have a PHP guy, designer, SEO guy, and a few more people I call on so the work gets done fast and I get paid.

Good luck to you all.

Matt

Great thread! I do dabble a little in SEO but I have trouble providing what I feel is tangible results. I know the theory of how it all works but often it just feels like were throwing darts in the dark, hoping something will hit and when it doesnt having to come up with an explanation that sounds plausible.

I guess I cant seem to get away from the feeling its just about gaming the system and sooner or later it'll all come crashing down on us but I guess if people want that service and theyre prepared to pay for it then who am I to argue? Besides I'd rather they pay me $25/hour than some SEO swindler thousands for adding meta tags!

I agree with what others have said about education - I try to help my clients help themselves, so they know why theyre making the changes to their site. I also use http://www.traffictravis.com to give them some feedback on their SEO status of their site and their competitors sites.

I am planning on getting into PPC but it does scare me a little - I just have to make sure I keep a close eye on the budget.

Jas

This is a great thread I have been recently pitching for business and really interested in SEO. I feel it suits my skills best and although not suited to everyone here as I believe it takes some hard work to approach professionally not really a fast buck (IMHO too many ppl on this forum are looking for easier methods).

Thanks for everyones tips and realy appreciate input from more experienced ppl.

I am looking at Web CEO and SEMPO qualifications to help back up my credentials I am interested in what ppls thoughts are as so many always say not to bother with SEO quals.

In regards to SEMPO, many years ago there was a debate on SEW ( Search Engine Watch Forums) IF there was any merit to it. The out come was both yes and no.

Listing yourself at the low end is basically like buying a link in the directory, very few back then, that did that, seen little value in return, nowadays it may make a difference depending on what SEMPO does to promote itself and what it currently does for members.

SEMPO seems to work for some at the 5k membership level through contacts and speaking engagements but you have to be pro active within SEMPO to get on the discussion panels

IMO for the 5k fee you could do allot more with that cash....credentials should come more from your references and proof of what you obtained for your clients

2cents

Hey guys,

I have an online training school for SEO consultants. About 10 hours of video and I show you how to get the business.

As I said, I'm making over 100K consulting SEO alone and my main site is a PR0! Hello!

If anyone is interested PM me your email and I'll give you Free access to the course. I need to let about 15 people in to get the forums going and I also need testimonials for the training we're selling.

Only thing I want is a video testimonial in exchange for access to the membership site. You'll also get about 7 hours of other training on basic internet stuff.

System won't be live for 2 more months, but if you PM me, I'll get you added and update you as soon as it is live.

There's also a 500 page book that I'll get you that has all kinds of SEO training that is very helpful as well.

Good luck all,

Matt

PS. In my opinion, SEMPO is not worth it. Do a good job for your clients and they will spend a lot of money! Webceo has certification program! If you build links and do a good job with communication, then you can make just as much. Our first year we did almost 130K in SEO and internet outsourcing.

squelsh said:

that software looks quite good. I tried out web position and liked it but am looking for a cracked version of the professional edition of webposition 4 http://www.%3Cb%3Ewebposition%3C/b%3E.com/

If anyone has it please let me know.

Click to expand...

try this:
hXXp://hotfile.com/dl/5831132/403cf3a/WebPosition_Professional_4.rar.html

or this:
hXXp://rapidshare.com/files/163305545/WebPosition_Professional_4.rar

web_i said:

I have been taking on clients for SEO and PPC for over 10 years now and its my only form of income. In these 10 years I have managed to support a family of 4 and love every minute of the career.

I will recommend that taking on clients, that you make your reporting top notch, there is allot of eductaion needed for most clients and the more clear and concise the reporting is, will cut down alot of hand holding.

I have worked in every possible vertical over the years and the 2 main areas that you must push through are:

1. Educate the client to understand that SEO is a long term play, instant placement or exposure calls for PPC. Traditionally a combination of both works best

2. Deliver the results. Educate the client about expectations. for example, if your client sells " coffee beans" you have to instill in the client that, out of the gate they wont beat "Starbucks", educate them in who they may want to target

Just 2 cents, good luck with your business

Click to expand...

Can you do Seo for my website, i need help to promote this site. http://www.wirelessworldphones.com. Let me know if i can add anything to it to convert more sales. Right now im only promoting on cl. Now i want my site to be on google to get more traffic. please PM me if you willing to work with me

PM sent

Thanks

Just a couple of thoughts for those of you looking into getting into SEO consulting. IMHO, you have to be a "consultant" first, and then sell your services second. This year we'll push over 150K in SEO services I believe. Most of it is in package format. I have 4 clients alone that spent over 20K this year.

The key is that you have to position yourself as a busy expert... Credible! If you set up a credible website, have proof of your work, and then talk to clients professionally, you'll get the work.

Here are a few Keys - 800 Number, professional website, good testimonials, proof of work, and a detailed pricelist of what they get for the money.

I also manage all my projects through basecamphq, and bill all clients via freshbooks.

So on every side they are getting to see professional service. To many guys trying to make a fast buck with this forget that if people are going to spend a lot of money, you have to be professional first.

Seconly, you have to know how to build a lot of links. I outsource much of my work to submit edge, link market, and use a few other scripts to build links. Onsite SEO with Web CEO which emails rankings automatically every week.

So first, spend some money and be professional! Seconly, build a system for getting results. If you don't get results, clients won't up their contracts again.

Lastly, you have to make your information available. Podcasting, Ebay, Freelance sites, youtube... You have to be in the marketplace to get people interested in your services.

Next year I think we'll hit 200K in SEO services. Working from home with a virtual team. It is easy, as long as you position yourself the right way. It's all about the positioning and client perspectives.

Cheers,
Lawman

I have a few....all I do is give them the top spot for local business results lol and they pay me $600 for that

Very good advice in this thread.

Going over some points I could think of right now with previous clients:

• Set a 6 to 12 month contracts with them - Explaining that SEO takes time and giving you enough time to rank for the keyword without them expecting to rank within the first month (Plus it helps keep long term relationships = more $)
• Be ready to teach and explain in layman's terms what search engines are, how ranking helps, how google works and so on to keep them happy and informed that you know what you're doing and how it could help them out.
• For sales to get the client: Compare what it would cost to get a good amount of visitors via PPC over time vs. showing them what it could cost them to hire you and do it organically and have a lot more steady results and way better ROI.
• They may suggest some keywords they want to rank for but if you see wikipedia, amazon or ebay on the top 3, pick a different keyword.

Now my question to you guys who do this... what specifics do you look for in the competitive keyword research, knowing your going to be able to take over the top listings (While it still being a keyword that gets searches and not really a long tail)? I ask because I try to pick one popular term and 10 keywords under that more popular term and sometimes it just seems like some of those 10 others will be hard to rank for.

It is debatable whether your need to tie your client in for 6-12 months. We sell on the basis of no long term commitment and this seems to close the deal quite well, after all, the thinking is that if we don't perform they can get rid of us quickly.

We make it clear the expected time frame when they could start seeing results but emphsise that it's not guaranteed. No complaints thus far

It is debatable whether your need to tie your client in for 6-12 months. We sell on the basis of no long term commitment and this seems to close the deal quite well, after all, the thinking is that if we don't perform they can get rid of us quickly.

We make it clear the expected time frame when they could start seeing results but emphsise that it's not guaranteed. No complaints thus far

I do SEO for clients. And I am very successful at it. Won't drop numbers here since I am not here to impress anyone OR to try to sell you a HOW to do SEO stuff, no time for that, my valuable time is spend billing clients for quality services we performed for them .
I say "we" because I do have a team, both internally and externally.

Selling SEO is not always easy.
I guess the country you are in has a lot to do with this. But I am in an industrialized country (G7), in a large Metropolitan area, people have money but it's very competitive.
Companies in my area will not buy SEO over the phone or just by visiting a website. They want to meet you in person. And this is good because because this is one of my strenght, I have almost a 100% closing rate.

But I am not a newbie in sales. Been successful at it for many years, and tons of experience selling consulting to "Fortune 500". But these bluechips organizations are not my target market, I prefer companies doing between 10 and 100 millions per year.

My advices:

• Be very selective for clients (thay should have a budget, realistic for expectations and I will not do business with someone that does not have a "marketing mentality")
  
• Prepare a top presentation for in person pitch
  
• Never make false promises, never!
  
• Give them 105% performance
  
• You must close the deal on paper with a well written contract.
  
• Ideally, the contract should be 1 year but with a possibility for the client to walkout without a penalty if they are not satisfied.
  
• I will not do blackhat stuff for my clients, never. Some greyhat ok
  
• You should have a process to do the work, We have a "process map" and we show them what we do for the consulting fees they are giving us.
  
• We bill them every three months

Good luck for all of you in this SEO business, the "cake" is quite big so they should be enought to fill us all.

Just a simple question, I would like to learn some pratical SEO basics ... how would you guys do white/grayhat SEO for lets say a small local company that sells bathrooms?

I had 2 SEO clients. It is hard to make money doing it since most come from word of mouth. You have to give good deals.

I' totally agree with voxclan. You have to win them over.... I have 3 clients I have worked with for more than 2 years. They pay well, but we do a kick but job for them. No BH SEO, just good link building and onsite changes.

I do have contracts, but they can cancel at anytime. If they cancel, the link building stops. If you do a good job, they won't cancel as they will be seeing results.

Webceo will help you with keyword research.

It is tricky to figure out what how many links it will take, but you can view competition PR with webceo and also compare your client's site to theirs and measure backlinks as well.

Under promise and over deliver. Manage your projects well. This is a wide open business.

Cheers,
Lawman

This is the best thread i have read in a long time on here guys - one thing confuses me though, how do you decide how difficult it will be to achieve a front page ranking for a given keyword, how long it will take and therefore how much to charge the client. Most of my clients for other work I do prefer fixed price jobs and so getting an open-ended contract is difficult. It would be great if i could say something like- well for that keyword it will take x weeks or y months to achieve the front page but I dont know how to estimate that? Any formulas/scientific approaches or is it just touchy feely.

To give something back - i recommend the software tools from link assistant dot com even the free ones work well

Thanks
PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait...wait... Rank: wait... Traffic: wait... Price: wait... C: wait...

yep this is a big problem. Do not bother with little self employed businesses where they try to get all your work for next to free. Best to have 6-12 big companies all paying $1,000+ per month than 50 small ones fighting about $100.