1 hr of SEO vs Paid Link
-
Can me paying an SEO firm $250 for one hour of work benefit me more than buying a lifetime link on Best of the Web for $249? ( Firm said I had to buy a min of 8 hrs though)
The firm strongly suggested that I not purchase a paid link. (All my major competitors have paid the $249)
Boodreaux
-
Yes...I will end up doing both...because staying up until 4 or 5 AM many nights is not going to work for me in the long run.
-
We are a nationwide group with very little local traffic. I think I will probably start focusing on getting links from industry specific sites with good domain and page authority. I will also follow the link you suggested. I had no idea that good directories and blogs were under fire. Thanks!
-
They said 8 hours minimum for $250 an hour and then each hour thereafter it would just be at the same hourly rate. The would have been doing all the set up including keyword research. Seemed a little high...so I have been burning the candle at both ends to learn this stuff. Bought two new books yesterday ($70). If I new for sure that I would have the ultimate optimized site with the proper keywords it might be work it to me. I guess I just have to research the company more to find testimonials etc.
-
SEOmoz has this recommended list of directories and "BOTW.org" is the 15th best directory to purchase a link from out of 229 recommended sites. I just looked at the site and saw a bunch of my competitors on there. Since I only had 3 links I felt I need to purchase a couple. For the rest of the year I will just be linking to industry related sites. I have a feeling that these "good" directories will be okay as long as I get them in the proper ratio to my non paid links. Will probably take a hit right now because I bought two. Also got Business.com.
-
It depends on what that one hour of work will get you. Is that one hour of work total, or are they prepping with an audit then spending an hour to explain it to you?
What have they said you'll get out of that hour?
-
If he is debating the budget of 1hr or spending same $ for a paid link, he isnt hiring a firm. He is trying to get gains from a small investment. His time is better spent learning some basics. Most sites are so bad that simple changes and learning how to structure content can get him gains in the near future.
-
Yes & no, Learning is great for those that have time for it, but if he has already hired a firm then his time would be better spent on earning income through his own sources...At some point SEO like all things that require much time to learn needs to be left to those who can do more with that one hour then he can do in 3 months.
-
How about spending a few hours and read http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo as I can ensure you that even the newb can learn something that is better than spending 1hr of SEO consult as that agency seems pretty expensive at $250hr
-
Web blogs & directories are getting nailed these days.
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/unnatural-link-warnings-blog-networks-advice
I feel that a GOOD SEO person will want you to focus on natural links & content as apposed to buying links that may very well be penalized in the next ... well whenever they are deindexed...
Yes, your competitors might be buying those links, but you will be happy when they do go down in flames and you rise to the SERPS because of it. If you are truly itching to buy links... then buy them from local merchant directories that are in your field, then at least you are advertising to people who live/work in your area...
-
I'm baffled by this question can you elaborate?
What is your SEO firm asking you $250/hour for? I also cannot imagine what possible value you will get by paying $249 for a life time link on a directory unless it's dmoz.
The fact that your competitors paid the $249 might be an indication that the directory brings traffic that converts but even then I am curious to find out how you know that all your competitors are there? Did a rep from the site call you and tell you that or did you find out for yourself? Ultimately when it comes to SEO, paying for links is a big no no. With more info might be able to give better advice
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Links to external site (hotels link)
Hello, I am currently designing the webpages of my website and I am wondering if I should link externally or if it going to hurt me ? I am in the travel industry and for example in the France in the Loire valley, I want to list hotels that people can stay at in pre and pods trip. Is it ok to link to maybe 10 of those hotels websites or can it hurt me ? Thank you,
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | seoanalytics0 -
Technical SEO
Hi Team, What are the points we are missing on our website from technical SEO front? http://www.giftxoxo.com/
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Obbserv0 -
Constructing the perfect META Title - Ranking vs CTR vs Search Volume
Hello Mozzers! I want to discuss the science behind the perfect META Title in terms of three factors: 1. Ranking 2. CTR 3. Search Volume Hypothetical scenario: A furniture company "Boogie Beds" wants to optimise their META Title tag for their "Cane Beds" ecommerce webpage. 1. The keywords "Cane Beds' has a search volume of 10,000 2. The keywords " Cane Beds For Sale" has a search volume of 250 3. The keywords "Buy Cane Beds" has a search volume of 25 One of Boogie Beds SEO's suggests a META Title "Buy Cane Beds For Sale Online | Boogie Beds" to target and rank for all three keywords and capture long tail searches. The other Boogie Bed SEO says no! The META Title should be "Cane Beds For Sale | Boogie Beds" to target the most important two competitive keywords and sacrifice the "Buy" keyword for the other two Which SEO would you agree more with, considering 1. Ranking ability 2. Click through rates 3. Long tail search volume 4. Keyword dilution Much appreciated! MozAddict
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | MozAddict1 -
Linking and non-linking root domains
Hi, Is there any affect on SEO based on the ratio of linking root domains to non-linking root domains and if so what is the affect? Thanks
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | halloranc0 -
Links from a website or a subdomain, which would generate more benefits in terms of SEO?
I have a customer who just bought a domain (and the full website) of a competitor and decided that they will no longer update the website purchased. The website of my client has a Domain Authority = 50 and DA of the website purchased is 45. Each of them was registered by different companies and are on different servers too.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | marciofelias
The reason for my message is that by being registered by different companies and are in differrent servers I can use the site purchased as a way to make link building to the main website (one way link buiding only from the website purchased to the main website), but I can put the website purchased as a subdomain of the main website and agregate content to the main website.
In your opinion which would generate more benefits in terms of SEO to the main website? Links from the website purchased or put this website as a subdomain to the main website?0 -
Bad links
Well just set up SEO Moz to find out someone thought it funny to build a load of links to our site http://bluetea.com.au/ with the anchor txt "Buy Cocks" .... PLEASE PLEASE let me know how much I should worry about this and how can I get rid of it?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Intrested0 -
Fading Text Links Look Like Spammy Hidden Links to a g-bot?
Ah, Hello Mozzers, it's been a while since I was here. Wanted to run something by you... I'm looking to incorporate some fading text using Javascript onto a site homepage using the method described here; http://blog.thomascsherman.com/2009/08/text-slideshow-or-any-content-with-fades/ so, my question is; does anyone think that Google might see this text as a possible dark hat SEO anchor text manipulation (similar to hidden links)? The text will contain various links (4 or 5) that will cycle through one another, fading in and out, but to a bot the text may appear initially invisible, like so; style="display: none;"><a href="">Link Here</a> All links will be internal. My gut instinct is that I'm just being stupid here, but I wanted to stay on the side of caution with this one! Thanks for your time 🙂 http://blog.thomascsherman.com/2009/08/text-slideshow-or-any-content-with-fades
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | PeterAlexLeigh0 -
Site Architecture: Cross Linking vs. Siloing
I'm curious to know what other mozzers think about silo's... Can we first all agree that a flat site architecture is the best practice? Relevant pages should be grouped together. Shorter, broader and (usually) therefore higher volume keywords should be towards the top of each category. Navigation should flow from general to specific. Agreed? As Google say's on page 10 of their SEO Starter Guide, "you should think about how visitors will go from a general page (your root page) to a page containing more specific content ." OK, we all agree so far, right? Great! Enter my question: Bruce Clay (among others) seem to recommend siloing as a best practice. While Richard Baxter (and many others @ SEOmoz), seem to view silos as a problem. Me? I've practiced (relevant) internal cross linking, and have intentionally avoided siloing in almost all cases. What about you? Is there a time and place to use silos? If so, when and where? If not, how do we rectify the seemingly huge differences of opinions between expert folks such as Baxter and Clay?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | DonnieCooper7