Train Client to SEO?
-
What would you do if a potential client asked you this:
Bob and I could meet with you soon to discuss how we would like to work with you regarding SEO. We are specifically curious whether or not it is worth it to have you work on SEO-related issues for a specific period of time or to pay to have you train Bob in doing so for that period of time. We would be interested in comparing rates and the value of each proposition.
I am tempted to tell them that I do not doing SEO training. But, I have a feeling that there is a way for me to help the client and to make some money for myself as well.
I'm curious what the rest of you would do in this situation though.
Thanks in advance.
-
Great responses, everyone! I think that I will go to the meeting, and then explain all of the components and time that go into SEO. I have a feeling that Bob will not want to increase his workload as much as it will take. And, if he does, I'm sure that it will just get pushed to the side, as "extra work" for when he has time to do it.
Thanks everyone!
-
Hi
We do both in house SEO training as well as SEO consulting. We have found that SEO training is a great way for people to learn more about us as a company and then we can introduce the other services that we have to offer as well.
When people choose to have the SEO training over us completing the SEO they then understand the work that is involved, this can then lead them to changing their minds and wanting us to complete the SEO.
I would embrace the opportunity of being able to offer either training or consulting to your client. Either way if they are a happy client they will talk to other people about you and your company and this may then lead to other bigger clients.
I hope that helps.
-
sounds like a pain...lots of clients are lol
I would instead create a plan for training, broken down to each month as long as they reach the cost I charge.
Plus a consultation fee that is separate
-
Go through with the meeting but I am getting a sense that this client is going to be a real pain for you as he is too finicky about the whole SEO game and have less or no idea of the impact of SEO on his business!
I guess training is going to be another pain because if he won’t understand the whole game he might end up saying you are no goo! :S (Kind of frustrating situation for you but I guess you can only make the decision on that spot only!)
-
Sam,
There is a common misconception among clients that SEO is not real work. If you explain everything you need to do most will figure out that it is not something they want to do. If they still will not be dissuaded you might consider a small support contract to answer questions up to a specific time limit. Again after working with someone on the things they need to do they often will figure out that they would rather pay you and do their real job that they like ;),
Ron
-
Hi there, If I were you, I would have humbly told them that I currently do not offer SEO training but I offer SEO consulting. For learning SEO, you can check out online forums like Moz.com, try the SEO starter guides from Google and Moz.com. These will give a good head start for anyone who wants to start-off learning SEO.
Best,
Devanur Rafi.
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
-
SEO Service Needed
Any suggestion about hiring an SEO individual? Primary focus will be proper link/relationship building. What questions would you ask them? What is a fair compensation method? Can the compensation be based on results vs. effort? Thank you, Joe
Industry News | | csamsojo0 -
Is it getting harder to sell SEO services?
Is it just me, or is it getting harder to sell SEO services? SEO costs more now and takes longer to achieve results There seem to be more good SEO agencies out there (gone are the days where the primary competition was offshore outsourcers and web design agencies) It seems that the number of agencies is growing faster than the number of companies buying services As online competition heats up, it takes more and more budget to really "win" in a market, but so few companies are willing to invest enough Any others notice similar trends? What will the future look like?
Industry News | | AdamThompson0 -
Chinese SEO specialists
Wondered if any of you could recommend a very white-hat and trustworthy Chinese SEO specialist who I can partner with? Thanks, Luke
Industry News | | McTaggart0 -
How should I outsource my small business SEO needs?
Fellow MOZers, I run a small ecommerce business called mrpearl11.com, and I need assistance in outsourcing my SEO. A little about us: We sell a variety of import merchandise, but specialize in closeouts (buying merchandise at very low prices) which can translate into some real exceptional value to our customers. The buying part of the business is strong, but our online presence is weak. We have a decent high-level understanding of SEO, but I do not have the in-house skill sets necessary to truly leverage the SEO tactics and strategies that I believe we need to integrate into our processes. Thus we have a very weak SEO presence. Basically starting from scratch. Right now, we are focusing on content. Item-level content. Subcategory and category level content. General website content (about us, contact us, the checkout process, etc...) with the goal to provide a great user experience. We believe we have the right prices on the right merchandise, and that if we can set a strong foundation of content so that the user experience is positive, our future marketing efforts will have a better ROI. However, keyword analysis and targeting, data-mining, A/B testing, link acquisition, etc etc etc, really don't exist as a part of our processes on a professional level. I could try to train my in-house crew, but I think that from time a time and cost perspective, we'd be better served by outsourcing. My question to the MOZ community is how should I address my small business SEO needs? There are probably a lot of ways to go from here, but I want to start with a person or an agency, build a relationship, and move forward taking one step at a time. I don't want to jump into some kind of commitment where we're spending big bucks out of the gate, but on the other hand if we can build a track record of proven results that have a good ROI, I'm not afraid to scale up. Please share your thoughts, and feel welcome to ask questions 🙂 Thanks! Adam
Industry News | | Adam-Perlman0 -
Choosing an SEO Company
Hi Guys, My first question for the forum. So here's my question, everyone in here has something to do with seo, but how would you choose an seo company. There are many a wild claim made by so many companies. Having done seo on our portfolio for about 6 years, however now I just dont have the time to spend. In my initial inquires I have asked for examples of their work and run a back link analysis to see the kind of links they have been building for their clients but so far all I have found is a load of directory links and no real innovation. I would be interested in your thoughts of how to sound out some companies. Thanks Alex
Industry News | | alexkemsley0 -
Best way to charge my clients...........I think I finally decided
I have struggled with the best way to charge my clients FOREVER it seems and I think I finally have decided on how to proceed! ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated! (I have read the seomoz blog posts about the subject, the Art of SEO and Search Engine Optimization Secrets book and tons of blogs, etc). I got into this business because of what I was able to accomplish with my party rental companies website and what I had studied and read for months and months. Without knowing any better I tried to get into SEO and online marketing and fell straight into designing websites and subcontractors and hosting and everything EXCEPT seo work! sound familiar? I CAN'T be the only one this happened to 🙂 I have regrouped and finally gotten my FIRST pure SEO client. They agreed to pay me $3,000 over 6 months for JUST recommendations with monthly reporting on traffic, # of links, etc. My plan is to charge clients X amount of dollars broken up over 6 months - $2-5k. (that will include monthly reporting) for a list of recommendations. (on page, link opportunities, design suggestions, kw suggestions, email campaign, on and on). NO MORE $400-500 FOR A WHOLE WEBSITE - INCLUDING CONTENT CREATION! (I was stupid enough to do this - TWICE! I like doing it this way so I can focus on giving them maximum value right from the get go and not slowing spoon feeding my knowledge out to them or them getting burned out after 2 months and not wanting to continue because they haven't seen a miracle yet. I will justify the clients investment by dividing that lump sum by $75 an hour (low for some of you I know) and track the time I spend researching links, their competitors, their on page, etc. and include it in my monthly report. I plan to give my first client their report in a few weeks and it will be pretty comprehensive but not EVERY thing I can think of but enough to impress. They are welcome to pursue the links I found, make the site changes, etc themselves OR I will be happy to have ALL my recommendations implemented for them for a reasonable, fair amount. If they want me to do it I will explain my staff will be doing the work and it will be $25 +/- an hour vs. $75 Sorry for the long post and thanks for hanging in there if you read this far! 🙂 I would love any suggestions or flaws with my plan! Thanks in advance and have an AWESOME week! Matthew
Industry News | | Mrupp441 -
SEO Consulting for Sex.com
Hello everybody, We are looking for someone to help us improve our SEO, more specifically on google.com. We seem to be getting positive results in general, but we are far from our objectives. We are looking for someone that could: Do a complete analysis of the site Write a report of the needed changes Proposed ideas to get better positioning Experience with adult oriented websites would be a great asset. We would repeat this process every 3-4 months to make sure we stay on top of our SEO strategy. Thanks!
Industry News | | ejodoin0