SEO for Local Business
January 19th, 2010 by OnlinePress
On Site, Off Site SEO and ROI for Local Business Owner
Was this for real?
SEO Dude: “Every business owner should take full advantage of Social Media, they are free and it can benefit if used properly”
Bob the Builder: “Oh yeah, that Twitter thingy, yes we opened the account with them long time ago, we also listed our website with them”
SEO Dude: “So you do, that is great. Can you please tell me how often do you use Twitter and what are the things that you Tweet about?”
Bob the Builder: ”What do you mean how often do we use Twitter, Tweet? I don’t understand, can you explain?”
SEO Dude: What is your monthly advertising budget, if I may ask?
Bob the Builder: Let me get this for you, can you please hold, I have the list of the stuff we’re paying for every month?
SEO Dude: Sure, no problem I will hold.
Bob the Builder: All right, let’s see what we have here. We pay: $1700 for Yellow Pages (this is where we also have the toll-free number as well), $350 for Local Business Listing (I am not even sure what kind of listing this is), $95 for Google Business Listing Inclusion (This really helps, if you search for Bob the Builder on Google local search, our site is ranked #3, the SEO Consultant really helped with this one). There is also $500 for online version of Yellow Pages, (the guy told us that it’s very important to have this)
SEO Dude: So basically you pay about $2645 a month for all this, correct?
Bob the Builder: Pretty much!
SEO Dude: How do you keep track of what brings the customers in and what “pays off”?
Bob the Builder: Most of them e-mail us with some reports, I don’t really know if they are or not, if they told me that performance is good, me and my stuff never doubt that. However that is why we were told to contact you and tell us if this is waste of money or not.
SEO Dude: I have one more question. Do you have anyone that does your Search Engine Optimization at all?
Bob the Builder: Oh yes, I am sorry, that part slipped out. There is a guy who designed our website, he also does the optimization as well.
SEO Dude: Is that included in your site maintenance, or you pay something extra?
Bob the Builder: We keep the site related expenses separately from the list I gave you earlier. The maintenance is $300 per month and additional $1500 for Google optimization. We pay for many things and I am not sure what works and what doesn’t.
SEO Dude: Let me get this straight, your total out-of-pocket pay, every month is almost $4500? And you are not sure if you are making money from this, or even if your ROI is back?
Bob the Builder: Yes, that would be correct.
What the heck was this all about. Comment if you like.
PS I hate to put anyone on the spot, but people what the heck are you doing?
I was “Bob the Builder” once and it’s very real. Thank you so much for posting this up.
Bye,
Linda
Hey SEO Agent,
Just for the record you’re now my official (SEO Source). I went over your earlier articles and you definitely talk my (language) no BS no nonsense.
James C. – Atlanta
Palapple Blog | SEO Solutions for your Business…
Thanks for sharing. Search engine optimization is indeed one of the most crucial areas in Internet marketing, it is a perfect bridge between technology and business….
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You would be surprised just how many “Bob The Builders” there are out there and even more surprised at just how many of these self proclaimed “SEO consultants” take clients for mugs.There is enough money to be earnt by providing a good service and keeping your client informed without ripping them off.I love it when I come across them, simply by showing the client the true costs they usually come across to me.
Indeed Mark, thank you for your comment.
Cheers,
Emil