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SEO Consultants

Written by: Keenan McGrath

Article Overview: These days it seems as if SEO consultants have gotten as bad a rap as used car salesmen. To be sure, there are many of them who are just out there to make a buck. They’ll try to sell you their magic solutions to get your site to the top of search engine results, and when that fails, they’ll run with your money. But, there are some firms out there that are actually doing a great job of helping their customers achieve a high page rank. Read on to discover what you need to look for so your site doesn’t get scammed out of business.

SEO Consultants

These days it seems as if SEO consultants have gotten as bad a rap as used car salesmen. To be sure, there are many of them who are just out there to make a buck. They’ll try to sell you their magic solutions to get your site to the top of search engine results, and when that fails, they’ll run with your money. But, there are some firms out there that are actually doing a great job of helping their customers achieve a high page rank. Read on to discover what you need to look for so your site doesn’t get scammed out of business.

First of all, don’t jump into bed too quickly – if at all – with firms that contact you. If they’re scouring the Internet to find clients, instead of clients coming to them, then that’s your first sign that they’re not the best at what they do. You want to do business with a company that has a steady and significant client list and one that will respond to your inquiry when you contact them – not vice versa.

Second of all, keep your ears on high alert for anyone promising to give you results. Unless this person is an actual Google employee in charge of writing the search algorithm that controls the whole process, and is giving you illegal information, then there is no way anyone can give you any kind of guarantees. A reputable firm should be able to tell you what they’ve done in the past and what their success rate has been thus far. That should be a solid indicator as to the type of results you can expect.

Many SEO consultants also have a reputation for being secretive. They don’t like telling you what they’re doing; they just want you to wait and see what the results will be. But, you wouldn’t accept that secrecy from a banker or your accountant or anyone else involved in your business, so why accept it from them? A professional specialist will be more than willing to involve you in the process and show you what they’re doing at every step along the way. Being kept in the dark is usually a good sign that you’re not going to like the outcome that you are going to get.

Finally, don’t give up too easily and be ready to have patience in seeing results. Even the best SEO companies can’t generate success overnight. And, your expectations should be realistic to boot. If you run a small company and have a two-page website, the chances of you outranking a major multinational company in the same business as yours is slim. It is possible to be sure, but the results will not show themselves overnight.

SEO consultants need to be people that you feel you can trust. After all, you are entrusting them with a large part of your baby, and often times, they can be the difference between making it and breaking it. Ask lots of questions and do your homework to find the one that’s right for you.

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Article Tags: consultants, search engine, SEO, SEO, SEO companies



Related Forum Posts
Why pay a Consultant? - Consultants can bring you into contact with a Funding Source but how do you tell whether a consultant will be successful beforehand? Professional Consultants ALWAYS ask for some kind of retainer so that they can feel they're not being used by a 'chancer'. However, when raising funding, a real consultant will offer to REFUND THAT RETAINER out of the % BROKERAGE he charges, payable once he finds your Funding Source, and payable from initial disbursements. Retainers only cover part of the costs that a consultant has to pay while working on behalf of the Client. Their real wages come from the agreed upon Brokerage, received when they are successful on the Client's behalf.
Re: Franchising Brokers vs Franchising Consultants - To correct some mis-information. Not using a broker/consultant will not save you any money. The FTC is quite explicit about that. The franchise fee is the same whether you use a broker, or if you go directly to the franchisor. Unlike the "MLS", each broker does have a limited number of franchises they represent, however, the more established brokers have created relationships with many more franchises then the portfolios of there counter parts. Some of the companies mentioned above are limited only to the franchises they have available to them. Consultants, like myself, have relationship with over 300 different franchises falling within the top 500. Some of my "high profile" counterparts represent maybe 125 franchises. Most brokers won't help or assist with the negotiation of the sales agreement, not wanting to offend the franchisor. And many do not have a clue as to what items are negotiable, and which items are not. Brokering is more then just matching up a person with a franchise or business, it is assisting the client through the whole process. Even though we are paid by the franchisor (by mandate), our first responsibility is to the client. Case in point, I just received a client that was working with one of the major "broker mills" that was mentioned in one of the above threads. They were almost sold a franchise, the day before the signing the franchise filed bankruptcy. I had stopped doing business with this franchise a year ago, and had an idea of the financial difficulty of this franchise (easily obtained). Why would a broker recommend a franchise that was near bankruptcy (and known in the industry)?...to close a deal, not to service his client. Shame on that broker, and that is what is giving brokers a bad reputation. Who the broker works for is not nearly as important as what service the broker/consultant can provide. Will he assist you in helping you reach an informed decision, based upon your skill sets? After that decision has been made will he assist you in completing the transaction to the greatest benefit to you? Buying a franchise is not a guarantee to success, but buying the wrong franchise is a guarantee of failure. And like many mortgage brokers, car salesmen, and others, they may never see or hear from you again, so why would they care? The decision to choose the right broker/consultant is almost as important as choosing the right franchise. They go hand and hand. Over 85% of my clients end up buying a franchise they had not thought of, they come in with a mindset. When the facts are laid out, the figures are gone over, the item 19 is explained, and options are given to them, that is when they can make an informed decision. You can't rely on websites that promote specific franchises, or rely only on what the franchisor tells you. That is the value of a quality franchise/consultant, to give you pertinent background information along with helping you "get the best deal".


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