How to make a good buy of SEO services?

[bob e]

Our site, http://www.newandimproved.com has fallen significantly in natural search over the last year. We have an active newsletter that gives great value for free (to those who find it) and we are all about 1 thing: Helping people and their organizations be better innovators. Clearly, the art and science of SEO work is growing more complex by the moment. Our philosophy is to try to find the best experts and hire them, rather than try to be experts in everything ourselves. We've played around with PPC on our own (and have low confidence that we're doing it wisely) but that's about it. The SEO market is so crowded with folks who hang a shingle (and declare themselves experts) that it is hard to even begin due dilligence to find a good, reputable provider. I seek guidance in both the criteria I might use to make a hire, and who's good out there. I'd also love to know how to know if someone is over-promising.

Thanks!

[forextrade1970]

Dear sir/madam
I can help you in your way to search engines. I'm doing SEO by writing articles optimized for a particular search engine or as many search engines you want up to 200. For a monthly fee of usd's 350 you receive
1. 3 articles written for a specific keyword/phrase and optimized for a specific search engine.
2. link building
3. Keyword research
4. 3 Articles written to be published to article search engines

There are also many other technics to promote your site online which have additional fees but since you ask for SEO i answer on this topic only.

Please keep in mind that we have a money back guarantee policy.
If you are intresting email me at grafistas65@gmail.com

[Jack S]

No easy way of getting high search engine ranking, your best bet is to learn all aspects of seo, it can be done without paying a penny and if you teach yourself then you have all the info to help you suceed in any internet marketing campaign, try this for a start, you get a 61 page analized report on your site, it gives you the info to do it yourself http://bestmoneymaker.co.uk/index.php?pr...ne_Ranking

[Rob F]

There are so many self-promoters here that it'll be difficult to find an unbiased answer... but since I'm not selling or offering SEO services, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

To tell if somebody is over-promising:

Anybody that guarantees specific results in the major engines (Google, MSN, Yahoo) is either lying to you or trying to get you hooked on PPC advertising. Nobody can guarantee results in the natural results. They may have tried and tested methods that work time & time again to get a website better rankings - but nobody can really guarantee you a first-page or top spot....

If somebody is making a boast about some rankings that they've achieved for themselves or a client, check out the search volume for the keywords that they optimized for. A big trick that pseudo-seo companies use is to brag about their achievements for obscure search phrases. You can use http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com to check the estimated search volume for a particular phrase.

I've worked with 87interactive before: http://www.87interactive.com they know their stuff. While I've never used their services because I was a contractor for them - they know what they're doing. I don't know their prices, though.

If you just want link-building services, I would suggest checking out iNetZeal: http://www.inetzeal.com/ I work with the owner presently, he's a great guy & knows a lot about building links & how to do it effectively. Personally, I would stay away from general directory submissions, though, cuz I personally think that there are more effective ways to spend your money.

I do think that the term "best experts" is relative to how much you are willing to spend on SEO. There are plenty of SEOs that'll charge $500+/hour and offer campaigns that'll cost in excess of $5,000 - $25,000 per month... and I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for.

You've got a couple of options that you could take, though. You could hire a company that specializes in SEO & keeps up-to-date on the cutting edge of white-hat tactics (kind of an oxymoron...) & probably spend a pretty-penny.

Or, you could hire a knowledgeable & skilled provider who understands on-page aspects as well as off-page aspects, keyword research & competition research, and you could hire them for $50/hour in the USA plus the cost of services, maybe less.

Of course, finding these individuals who know SEO through hands-on experience rather than reading info on a forum or blog somewhere can be difficult.

Probably the best thing you can do is that whoever you choose, get several references that you can talk to. See what the real results are from the clients themselves. Case studies are great to look at, but they can't really share the experiences that the client had with the service provider.

I don't know what your budget is, but if you've got money to burn - absolutely seek out a SEO company, filter through Top SEOs: http://www.topseos.com/ and look for a company that works for you. They'll take care of everything for you.

If you're limited on funds, I would suggest that you seek out a consultant of sorts - one that can get some of the manual link-building done cheap(er) through outsourcing it and has the knowledge & expertise to draw up a formidable plan to get your website back into better graces with search engines. I've done this many, many times (performed the services of a consultant, not hired one) - it's much cheaper than hiring a SEO firm, but you're still getting the same types of services.

I hope you find what you're looking for.

[Rooket]

I would say the best way to choose your SEO is to have them put their money where their mouth is! Ask them to rank one keyword phrase for your website in less than 30 days. This requires either skill, effort, or strategy. To be fair to the SEO, the keyword phrase must have less than 5M search results on Google. Most talented SEO can accomplish this task without issue, but you must be willing to pay top dollar and commit if the SEO accomplish the task.

I am a SEO myself and CAN accomplish such a task. If you have a long tail keyword I can actually get you ranked in 12 hours. If interested contact me with your target keyword phrase:: http://www.antonaf.com/contact/

I do however require a commitment of no less than $2500 (paid across 90 days of service). Contact me let's discuss a SEO strategy. I put my money where my mouth is.

[Terry R]

"I would say the best way to choose your SEO is to have them put their money where their mouth is! Ask them to rank one keyword phrase for your website in less than 30 days."

This is a ridiculous request and will only get you the SEO's that are disparate for work. SEO takes time and requires daily work to complete successfully.

I receive many contacts from businesses and individuals seeking SEO for their website. About one in twenty actually are serious about SEO and will pay for the services required.

If I started ranking people for free just to prove myself, I would never get paid and I would not have the time to devote to those who have real businesses and need real SEO services.

If you are seeking a professional SEO, go to my website, get my phone number and give me a call. I will give your website and your ranks a thorough review and tell you exactly what you will need and at what cost.

No two SEO projects are the same so cost is based on what is needed now to accomplish what it will take to get you back to where you want to be.

[affiliatecall]

I think most people are missing the point,,,if I read this right.

As far as PPC goes, there is a separate algorithm that you need to take into account and they update it constantly. Much like with SEO Google has just added in landing page load time to their PPC algorithm now including other aspects into their quality score.

I wrote an article on abestweb.com a while ago giving free PPC advice, here is the link:

http://forum.abestweb.com/showthread.php?t=94601

It will be a good free guide for you to get through PPC if you want to give it another go.

If you still think you would like to outsource your information, I reccomend Adam at Downtown Ecommerce if they have the bandwidth to take on more clients, however PPC is a very fun form of marketing and I strongly urge you to give it one more shot on your own before you outsource.

If you do decide to outsource, try them first:
http://www.downtownecommerce.com/

But I'd still recommend giving PPC at least one more try on your own first.

[Cool....]

Yesterday , i came across this ( http://tinyurl.com/24mof4 ) website which claims to get your website on #1 page of google for 5 keywords !
Firstly , i thought it must b a scam but then the news came out that it's been approached by search giants Ask.com for 'Buyout' .... Then it must be true !
Tell me what you think about it !
It's free until you get your website to #1 on google and 140+ search engines then you've to bid for your keywords ...
Heck , you don't need a credit card !