Has any one ever paid an SEO consultant

[richardg]

I have got my webstore visits to 8000 per month with a sales conversion rate of 1.6% by myself. The average spend is 110 euros. I understand at 1.5% you are starting to do OK.

I keep getting approached by SEO consultants that refuse to guarantee anything other than higher search engine ranking, losing sight of why I would want high search engine ranking in the first place. I would want it to increase my store visits whilst maintaining a sales conversion rate of 1.6%. But they all seem to get a bit vague and non-committal when I say there is no point in doubling to 16,000 visits per month with a conversion of 0.8%, costing me a load of money in the process. So I always ask them,can you please move your guarantee away from the ranking pitch to increasing visits whilst maintaining conversion? Tumbleweed follows.

I can see why big brands would bite, as they are able to budget brand awareness activity etc. Or new store owners where they have built a site but nobody is visiting at all. But a relatively successful one where the shop is the only point of the store is a much harder pitch. There must be a return on the investment, no nebulous activity.

Any other website owners used an SEO consultant?

 

[Snufkin]

I am rather cynical about consultants in general as they seem to require large sums of money to tell you what you know already. My default setting would be AVOID unless you really feel they can bring something tangible to your operation.

 

[Woodface]

I would be wary of anyone soliciting their services. The really skilled practitioners will want something they can scale; having said that the world of online is full of cowboys & kids with no real business experience.

 

[richardg]

I would be wary of anyone soliciting their services. The really skilled practitioners will want something they can scale; having said that the world of online is full of cowboys & kids with no real business experience.

I guess...but I have approached a supposed UK-based guru at 1000 per month, still no guarantee that conversion will not drop. So I won't pay. Admittedly, it is mainly Indian and Chinese people coming to me at about 200 per month. I'll bite if I can pay in arrears after we see the visit / conversion figures.

 

[GruntPuppy]

It all used to be so simple, back in the days. Add a few links to other sites, stick some meta tags in related to your products, job done.

Then again, that was 15-20 years ago!

Google are offering a free trial of what they call Ranking Coach - a tool designed to enhance online presence - not just search optimisation, but local media and social media too - that may possibly be worth a look?

https://www.rankingcoach.com/en-gb?...8qjJOsu7XhXR6WxDIeK4kQAL4_jUS3ExoCAvUQAvD_BwE

 

[richardg]

It all used to be so simple, back in the days. Add a few links to other sites, stick some meta tags in related to your products, job done.

Then again, that was 15-20 years ago!

Google are offering a free trial of what they call Ranking Coach - a tool designed to enhance online presence - not just search optimisation, but local media and social media too - that may possibly be worth a look?

https://www.rankingcoach.com/en-gb?...8qjJOsu7XhXR6WxDIeK4kQAL4_jUS3ExoCAvUQAvD_BwE

Thanks, not seen that.

Overall, inhouse is the default position.....

 

[35451]

I am rather cynical about consultants in general as they seem to require large sums of money to tell you what you know already. My default setting would be AVOID unless you really feel they can bring something tangible to your operation.

Yes. What's the old saying - borrow your watch, tell you the time and then charge you for it. Too many charlatans out there. Avoid.

I have a mate who's partner specialises in search engine optimisation. She is self taught. It's not magic.

Rather than pay someone else, who has a vested interest in their continued income, why not get the tools and teach yourself.

Or at least if you are going to pay someone, pay to be tutored in optimisation, rather than for an ongoing service.
To end on another corny saying, 'teach yourself to fish, rather than go to Waitrose wet fish counter'

 

[Yomanze]

Yes, I have worked in the industry for 15yrs, mainly in SEO / audience insights, technical e-commerce (platform level stuff), and analytics.

First off, never work with people who guarantee rankings... a big alarm bell.

I know a good freelancer that I can get you in touch with for reasonable rates. He has been in the game as long as me, but doesn’t charge agency rates.

He would be able to offer some on page training etc. (how to map and optimise pages against search terms) for your product guys, and give recommendations to your developers for any technical (on-site) changes, help guide content decisions, build some links etc.

 

[richardg]

Rather than pay someone else, who has a vested interest in their continued income, why not get the tools and teach yourself.

I did....but there is only so much and so far I can go. I basically focussed on the stuff that was easy to understand and execute, free or very cheap. And ranking was never the objective, sales were. So:

I subscribed to google shopping
I added keywords in the alt text to 4000 images
I work the relevant facebook groups, dropping links in threads
I added trustpilot and google reviews
I added the address on google maps
I made sure all product description content had a unique sentence, no duplicates.
I removed all duplicate titles.
I advertise on all free platforms that allow links, like gumtree equivalents
We have a second website selling the same stuff.

It worked for 18 months but I am out of steam and it has plateaued. But I am not unhappy and not looking for an seo consultant. In fact I don't look at all. They keep coming to me. My point is, I owuld pay for it if they stopped being fluffy about the value of ranking and gave me a guarantee.

 

[JensenHealey]

I can see why the 'consultants' will not talk turkey over conversion rate. It is because that is not what they are offering - nor are they ever going to be in such a position.

SEO will only ever, at best, get some extra visitors to your site. Consultants want to get you onto the first page of Google results. Anyone knows that appearance on the third page is a commercial dead zone.

But 'conversion 'rate' is all about the 'quality' of those visitors and the 'desirability' that comes across on the website. You kind of know, intuitively, whether a website is the thing you are looking for. Does the knowledge and expertise come across to give a potential customer confidence? Is it easy to search, navigate and complete a purchase? Are the delivery times obvious? bla bla.

I reckon a 'good' social media presence is probably a better way of driving more good traffic to your site than SEO these days. But of course social media presence takes a good deal of daily work - so you may need to employ some youngster to get on with that for you. Got to keep up a stream of good Twitter stuff, Insta feed perhaps.

 

[richardg]

Yes, I have worked in the industry for 15yrs, mainly on the SEO / audience insights and analytics side.

First off, never work with people who guarantee rankings... a big alarm bell.

I know a good freelancer that I can get you in touch with for reasonable rates. He has been in the game as long as me, but doesn’t charge agency rates.

He would be able to offer some on page training etc. (how to map and optimise pages against search terms) for your product guys, and give recommendations to your developers for any technical (on-site) changes, help guide content decisions, build some links etc.

Thanks, paying for a product review that provides me with a list of things that can be done by us luddites is a good approach. Paying monthly retainers for better ranking but perhaps no sales is never going to happen...so let me at him!

 

[Yomanze]

Thanks, paying for a product review that provides me with a list of things that can be done by us luddites is a good approach. Paying monthly retainers for better ranking but perhaps no sales is never going to happen...so let me at him!

I would suggest a 3 month project then. Month one can be audits and strategy docs, month two implementation, and month 3 continuing training and handover.

 

[richardg]

I can see why the 'consultants' will not talk turkey over conversion rate. It is because that is not what they are offering - nor are they ever going to be in such a position.

SEO will only ever, at best, get some extra visitors to your site. Consultants want to get you onto the first page of Google results. Anyone knows that appearance on the third page is a commercial dead zone.

But 'conversion 'rate' is all about the 'quality' of those visitors and the 'desirability' that comes across on the website. You kind of know, intuitively, whether a website is the thing you are looking for. Does the knowledge and expertise come across to give a potential customer confidence? Is it easy to search, navigate and complete a purchase? Are the delivery times obvious? bla bla.

I reckon a 'good' social media presence is probably a better way of driving more good traffic to your site than SEO these days. But of course social media presence takes a good deal of daily work - so you may need to employ some youngster to get on with that for you. Got to keep up a stream of good Twitter stuff, Insta feed perhaps.

The prize is sitting under our noses on social media. Motorbike model groups on facebook, they are sitting ducks...you have a KTM 1290 Super Duke? You can join 3 or 4 facebook grups with thousands of members in each. Many owners in these groups. If facebook allowed advertising in groups, then we have the golden key. But they don't, so we have to work the groups as members, dropping products here and there without getting caught. So it is not as effective as it could be if they allowed us to advertise there. If I had staff, they would be on that all day, forget the rest, it's not direct enough. Facebok advertising, twitter, instagram is so vague and so expensive to manage, that it could bankrupt me before showing any results. Instagram 'influencers' with about 2,000 followers seem to think I will send them a couple of hundred quids worth of product for a few pics on their page...lol. I have about 200 bikes to manage products for. And if you have one model, you have no interest in the other 199 I am marketing. Motorbike influencers just don't have the reach that a make up artist does.

 

[Yomanze]

As for the conversion stuff, this is why we have a UX (User Experience) and CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) team here working alongside the search and data teams.

Social media is nice to have for customer service and interaction, but their intent is different. Consider someone’s mindset when browsing Twitter or a social media feed vs. searching for bike parts.

 

[35451]

I did....but there is only so much and so far I can go. I basically focussed on the stuff that was easy to understand and execute, free or very cheap. And ranking was never the objective, sales were. So:

I subscribed to google shopping
I added keywords in the alt text to 4000 images
I work the relevant facebook groups, dropping links in threads
I added trustpilot and google reviews
I added the address on google maps
I made sure all product description content had a unique sentence, no duplicates.
I removed all duplicate titles.
I advertise on all free platforms that allow links, like gumtree equivalents
We have a second website selling the same stuff.

It worked for 18 months but I am out of steam and it has plateaued. But I am not unhappy and not looking for an seo consultant. In fact I don't look at all. They keep coming to me. My point is, I owuld pay for it if they stopped being fluffy about the value of ranking and gave me a guarantee.

Understood. Sounds like you done all right things. It's an ongoing task to maintain, let alone grow, as is working social medi.

If it has plateaued, you may get into diminishing returns with an SEO, or at best save on some ppc stuff.
Getting a cast iron guarantee from a consultant is always going to be tough. But maybe you can trial for a month or two, before deciding to commit. My understanding is that any seo worth their salt also has to understand the client business and market, so there is always an element of paying to first educate them, for them to then help you.

I'd be mindful of free audits too, and take them as the selling pitches that they usually are.

Good luck !

 

[richardg]

Understood. Sounds like you done all right things. It's an ongoing task to maintain, let alone grow, as is working social medi.

If it has plateaued, you may get into diminishing returns with an SEO, or at best save on some ppc stuff.
Getting a cast iron guarantee from a consultant is always going to be tough. But maybe you can trial for a month or two, before deciding to commit. My understanding is that any seo worth their salt also has to understand the client business and market, so there is always an element of paying to first educate them, for them to then help you.

I'd be mindful of free audits too, and take them as the selling pitches that they usually are.

Good luck !

Cheers..this one dude is asking what are your top key words? What do you mean? I have loads:

BMW plus about 7 models and 6 products for each, Aprilia, 5 and 4, Honda 3 and 4, KTM 5 and 8, Suzuki 4 and 4, Triumph 3 and 5, Yamaha 4 and 6, MV Agusta 3 and 6, Ducati 12 and 8, Kawasaki 5 and 4. Then each model has year variants,,,

Where do you begin if they are all equally important? OK, forget the year....let's just say for Honda, we go for all Fireblades...so for Honda with the slimmest selection we have:

Honda Fireblade Carbon Hugger
Honda Fireblade Carbon Mudguard
Honda Firebade Carbon Chain Guard
Honda Firebalde Carbon Heel Plates


I'm goosed if the searcher go for its other name CBR1000RR, though!

 

[Yomanze]

You want to be able to surface landing pages right down to models and variants, including use of official MPNs.

The search volume is lower, but commercial intent is higher, so will improve conversion rate; the more granular and specific a landing page is to the user’s query, the better.

 

[richardg]

You want to be able to surface landing pages right down to models and variants, including use of official MPNs.

The search volume is lower, but commercial intent is higher, so will improve conversion rate; the more granular and specific a landing page is to the user’s query, the better.

Cheers....please offer an example! Note our products have no MPN, its either unbranded after-market or our own design

 

[35451]

Cheers..this one dude is asking what are your top key words? What do you mean? I have loads:

BMW plus about 7 models and 6 products for each, Aprilia, 5 and 4, Honda 3 and 4, KTM 5 and 8, Suzuki 4 and 4, Triumph 3 and 5, Yamaha 4 and 6, MV Agusta 3 and 6, Ducati 12 and 8, Kawasaki 5 and 4. Then each model has year variants,,,

Where do you begin if they are all equally important? OK, forget the year....let's just say for Honda, we go for all Fireblades...so for Honda with the slimmest selection we have:

Honda Fireblade Carbon Hugger
Honda Fireblade Carbon Mudguard
Honda Firebade Carbon Chain Guard
Honda Firebalde Carbon Heel Plates


I'm goosed if the searcher go for its other name CBR1000RR, though!

And they said web based business was easy !

 

[Guest432]

Cheers....please offer an example! Note our products have no MPN, its either unbranded after-market or our own design

Why not create your own then, start the MPN with that of the bike which would get hits on google and then suffix with your own

i.e if the MPN for a Honda Fireblade is CBR1000RR-R then add yours on the end for e.g a carbon hugger so it is CBR1000RR-R-CH12345