An SEO, Lawyer, Car Mechanic, and Ad Exec Walk Into a Bar – Evaluating SEO as a Service
“What’s it worth to ya?”, I would ask first-time clients with a stoic face when asked how much SEO services cost. A laugh of uncertainly, maybe slight hesitation, and I’d tell them I’m kidding.
SEO is really its own unique breed of species in the service industry; it is billed and paid for like many professional services, from lawyers to car repairs to advertising, but how business is done is distinctly different from these things. Below I’ve used these three professional services to explain what SEO service is, what it isn’t, and many of the things to look for in an SEO service.
The Lawyer – Education and Proficiency
Becoming a lawyer takes a lot of freaking education, and I’m humbled by those who can endure the classrooms, tests, and law books to actually get there. You don’t know every nuance of their legal expertise, but you can be assured they’re well educated to practice law. Of course, experience matters, and you’ll likely be paying more for an experienced lawyer with a solid track record of success and happy clients.
There is no “SEO Degree” or even an accredited certification I know of that is worth taking seriously. Most SEOs have learned from other SEOs, a sort of self-education coupled with a geek fascination of the Internet. SEOs start from the ground up, often coming from a computer science, web development, or marketing background and usually learning along the way. There is no standard in SEO education, we all pick up things as we move along; the exceptional ones take that knowledge and extend it further, developing their own style of business, best practices, and a personal track record of success.
Because of this, experience matters most in SEO. And whether you’re hiring a lawyer or an SEO, the ideal candidate would have these things:
1) Do they perform optimally for their clients, with a genuine concern for the outcome?
2) Do they invest their time with the right clients, the clients they can produce the best possible outcome? (And, if not, do they know where to recommend the right person to help them?)
3) Do they have a track record that demonstrates these things?
3) Can they respectfully communicate answers to your questions in a way you can understand?
These are all things I would want in a lawyer, and they are all things I would also want when finding an SEO service.
The Auto Mechanic – Right Tools and Knowledge
Auto repair technicians are problem solvers, and thank God we have them because I’m a personal hazard with hand tools. Generally, you never pay for auto repair until you get your car back in better condition than you left it. This is pretty cut-and-dry; brakes changed, tires rotated, engine repaired.
With SEO, you don’t have the certainty of paying for, say, a “top position” or “X amount in revenue” like you would a new set of tires. It just doesn’t work that way. Payments are usually requested up front (at least deposits) and there is no time frame for success.
But like a good mechanic, the right know-how and tools make all the difference. I would want to know these things:
1) Do they have the tools available to get the job done right?
2) Do you trust they have the expertise to do the job correctly, and if they’re charging hourly, to do it efficiently?
3) Do they actively find and discuss any problems, consequences, or recommend future work that may be needed to do well?
Doing Business – Advertising Project Manager
SEO is not advertising, it is a niche form of marketing. Advertising communicates a product/service in some persuasive form to encourage the viewer to act, whether it be to purchase or take action, and presented in some form of media that is bought and paid for.
Yes, a top Google ranking can be persuasive. You can certainly write persuasive copy for both your Google keywords and your Website. But you do not pay for placement, nor do you have control over Search placement. This is a key difference that sets SEO apart from any form of advertising.
How it works: In advertising, a company usually approaches an agency/individual with a pre-determined budget. The agency convinces the company to spend as much of their budget as possible by explaining how they’ll spend it. So far, not too different from what I would do with any of my SEO clients. But here is the kicker…
To allocate a budget, agencies will produce a full scale marketing strategy, estimated media buys and determine how much they’ll charge a client for the work. They will arrange media buys, often taking a healthy cut from these, too, since they have already worked out deals with these media outlets and charge clients full price. If it exceeds what the client wants to spend, they’ll whittle it down from there by removing pieces of the original quote (creatives, media buys, etc) and negotiate a final agreement.
Media buys are somewhat predictable, as most media outlets will promise an estimated level of impressions/views. (the quality of creatives and execution is another story, but I digress.) Think: How many Magazine subscribers, television watchers, radio listeners will you reach?
It’s this purchasing element that makes SEO business different from the Ad business. With SEO, you don’t pay for placements, instead, you are paying for the time invested in optimization. Success in SEO lies somewhere between well-planned execution, and what Google, Yahoo or Bing decides your site is worth to your (and their) audience. And unlike ad campaigns, you can’t “schedule” SEO success, and SEO worth anything doesn’t disappear when the budget dries up.
There are similarities between SEO and advertising in how business is done and how predictions are made. Here are some things you can expect:
1) Does your SEO provide a realistic estimation of website visits/reach based on acquiring certain targeted keywords?
2) Can they provide an estimate on the level of effort needed to achieve your goals? (revenue increase, more traffic?)
3) Do they have the tools to measure success?
4) Can they negotiate and prioritize their quote if it exceeds your budget?
For more tips in finding good SEO service, read my post on avoiding SEO Snake Oil Service.
