How To Select A SEO Expert

Why Different Rates &Fees For the Same Service?

Well It’s the same question that’s been around for
years. “Why does one company/person charge one price and another charges a much higher or lower fee for the same service?”

Before we start, if you decide this is all too much and

want to try it yourself, try picking up some excellent advice and a free
checklist at the SEO How To Guide
website.

Although most of us already know the answer,

we need to be reminded of it now and then. First the IT industry as a whole is
not standardized and it’s a free market so whether you’re dealing with a
individual with the skills or a larger company with the skills, it all boils
down to overhead and markup.

If you’re talking to a SEO company that has a nice

office downtown, their hands are tied. They have to mark up their rates to
cover, Leases, salaries, utilities, taxes, workers comp etc. Get the idea? So
they have no choice but to charge you a larger rate so they can make a profit.
That’s what all this is about.

Now if you’re talking to a person that works from his

home or apartment, those things that I mentioned above are still appropriate
to consider but now, chances are you’re not paying for additional salaries,
higher lease or rent payments etc. So if the person you are talking to is
reasonable, he/she will only charge you a reasonable markup. So your fees or
rates should be lower.

But you do need to be aware that many of those

home-based folks offering the same service, may not reduce their prices and
simply charge you what the bigger boys on the block are charging thus making a
higher profit than even their bigger competitors. Something to Think About…ay?

So it’s not the question of

“Why the big difference in fees and rates” that you should be asking, it’s a
completely different set of questions you should be asking. And here they are
below:

1.

Is this your business?

2.

Do you have a commercial or retail office that you work out of?

3.

Do you work from your home?

4.

How much do you charge for SEO and Ranking services?

5.

How do you determine your fees and rates?

6.

What is your typical payment plan?

7.

Do you provide guarantees?

8.

Do you have a pay on performance plan?

9.

Do you have a website that is optimized?

10.

Is your website ranked within the top 10 positions for a POPULAR search
term phrase?

Number 1 -8 will tell you a ton of information about the

person you are thinking of working with. This is extremely valuable info and
should never ever, make a decision without knowing this information

Number 9 and 10 will eliminate 95% of all the FAKE SEO

PEOPLE out there. There are NO EXCUSES for them to not have their own website
ranked in the top 10 of the big “G” search engine. If they hmm and haaaaa… they
you say thankyou and you turn and run as fast as you can…. They may sound good,
the excuses may sound legitmate, but the bottom line is if they cannot rank
their own website, how in the world can they rank yours? SO JUST MOVE ON…

Everybody says well you have to ask for references also.

And over the years, we’ve found that written testimonials although many are
legitmate, many can simply be fake and there’s no real way to validate them.
We’ve seen the ones that are simply fake to the ones that we found out later
were done by friends or family and are passing themselves off as clients and
customers. So in our opinion, just don’t worry about any of them.

If you want to see references… Ask these questions…

What are 3 of your most recent websites that you have
optimized and ranked on the top 10 of Google?

They should be

able to give you a domain name like:

http://www.discoverytowers.com

What is the
popular search term phrase that you used?

Cheap Professional Web Site Design

What ranking do
they have?

#1 or #2 Always…. For the past year

Can I see your
signature link at the bottom of the Website or in the “Source Code” of the Home
Page online?

Yes

Then ALL YOU DO is go to Google, type in the search term
phrase and see if their domain name pops up on the #1 or #2 position…

Then click on the link and go to their website and scroll

down to the bottom of the page and look for their name… if not there, go to file
tab, click on page source and look in the code for their name, should be either
in the header area or maybe at the bottom of the page somewhere.

If it’s there, then they’re 99% - 100% legitimate and all you have to do is
decide whether their rates are affordable for you.