Costs of SEO

[limessl]

I've done a quick search on this but it seems to be pretty vague all things told.

I have absolutely NO idea where to start on this so I am virtually resigned to having to pay for some proper help, at least to get me up and running. How much am I likely to have to pay to get my site initially set up?

Actually I have no idea what would constitute a "success" from it all either - is page 2 on google good or lousy? I'd half expect most people these days to be so lazy that they can't even be bothered clicking past page 1! ;)

I'd at least like to be visible in free search listings before I start to consider the adwords route.

[franchiseshop]

I've done a quick search on this but it seems to be pretty vague all things told.

I have absolutely NO idea where to start on this so I am virtually resigned to having to pay for some proper help, at least to get me up and running. How much am I likely to have to pay to get my site initially set up?

Actually I have no idea what would constitute a "success" from it all either - is page 2 on google good or lousy? I'd half expect most people these days to be so lazy that they can't even be bothered clicking past page 1! ;)

I'd at least like to be visible in free search listings before I start to consider the adwords route.

When you say "How much am I likely to have to pay to get my site initially set up?" do you mean How much for SEO work on your site or do you mean how much to have your website build from the ground up with SEO in mind?

Regardless of this, it would not be possible to discuss costs as this would vary wildly depending on multiple factors, including:


Number of key-phrases targeted.
Size of website (are we talking small business site or full on shopping site?)
How much competition there is in your niche.


And that is just a few of a whole range of factors which may determine cost.

If you could let us know your website or at least the industry and aims of the site then this would help to determine how big a job it would be for ongoing SEO work or basic on-site SEO. On-site SEO being content and tags all keyword optimised on each page. Ongoing being both the former + off-site link building to increase popularity.

Is it https://www.limessl.co.uk you would like work done on?

[WeblinkPlus]

A quick search on "ssl certificate" gives over 6 million results, so a quick guess you'll need a sizeable budget unless some underutilised long tail keywords show up...

Additionally why would anyone go elsewhere, other than their hosting, to get an SSL certificate?

[I, Brian]

I'd at least like to be visible in free search listings before I start to consider the adwords route.

Visibility is one issue - but visibility in the right areas is more important.

You would definitely be recommended to run a test Adwords campaign to try and find out what keywords people use to find and purchase from you. If you don't, a SEO will probably need to set this up and charge you for it as part of their keyword research.

[limessl]

Additionally why would anyone go elsewhere, other than their hosting, to get an SSL certificate?

Because hosts generally only offer a small selection, or maybe only one certificate, and most hosts charge above the odds because people often think they're tied to their hosts for provision.

[limessl]

Is it https://www.limessl.co.uk you would like work done on?

It is indeed. I have got the framework of the site, I am just wanting to get the main pages sorted for SEO. I appreciate, as someone has said, that "SSL certificate" is a somewhat generic term and comes up with millions of results.

However my site is targetted at only the UK market, mainly at smaller e-commerce businesses who don't require a huge multi-server solution, and at working with hosting companies to offer a wide range of certificates to their customers.

I know I am facing an uphill struggle with the last one, but I already work with one hosting company who buy their certs from me for resale to their webmail customers.

What I'm therefore aiming at is more directed traffic from specific searches that would be relevant to me. I could probably try this out myself but I don't know how long I should be waiting to see the results to appear in google!

[Ali-v-8]

It has already been mentioned that you are entering an industry dominated by big players like Versign..etc.
I would try to build an affiliate network with hosting providers.
Chances that you hit page one on google are slim.
I would expect 12 months wait.


It is indeed. I have got the framework of the site, I am just wanting to get the main pages sorted for SEO. I appreciate, as someone has said, that "SSL certificate" is a somewhat generic term and comes up with millions of results.

However my site is targetted at only the UK market, mainly at smaller e-commerce businesses who don't require a huge multi-server solution, and at working with hosting companies to offer a wide range of certificates to their customers.

I know I am facing an uphill struggle with the last one, but I already work with one hosting company who buy their certs from me for resale to their webmail customers.

What I'm therefore aiming at is more directed traffic from specific searches that would be relevant to me. I could probably try this out myself but I don't know how long I should be waiting to see the results to appear in google!

[directmarketingadvice]

You would definitely be recommended to run a test Adwords campaign to try and find out what keywords people use to find and purchase from you.

I'd agree. It'll also show you whether your site converts.

I suspect a few changes to your homepage could at least double - probably triple - your conversion rate.

(Where's the unique selling point? Where's the call to action?)

To pay to have the site SEO'd and then find the site has to be re-done (meaning, presumably, the on-page SEO would need to be re-done) could be very costly.

Finally - and I know this isn't the question - but are you sure about your business model?

You seem to be selling something that's (a) not well known and (b) a fraction of the price other people are selling at.

I wonder if this is a good use of search engine traffic.

Wouldn't you have a far higher visitor value (conversion rate x profit per sale) if you sold the big ticket items instead?

Just a thought.

Steve

[limessl]

Hi Steve

Business model - yeah I've ummed and ahhed about this one for ages. The simple fact is that SSL certificates are just completely overpriced in the marketplace at the moment. As for "not well known" well I'd argue that a lot of people running websites know about certificates but perhaps without fully understanding whether they'd be better off with one or not.

If they have one already, I am confident I can save them money when they come to renew. The other benefit of SSL is that it does create good repeat business - most people buy a cert for one year so they should come back next year to buy it again.

The site only launched yesterday and I only took it "public" to start getting some feedback on it. I am trying to run the business on a shoestring, I know it means it won't be the best site in the world but on the other hand it also means that I don't have to sell much to break even (without going into too much detail I reckon that I'll cover the business costs on sales of £100 a month).

By the way, which "big ticket" items do you refer to?

ps call to action - I think I've started to address that with new text on the homepage but thanks for the heads-up and I will put more thought into it.

USP - I have a few ideas in the pipeline including one idea that I've not seen replicated anywhere else as of yet. I am hoping to build the business up to breakeven across 2010 and then give it a real nudge in 2011.

This is a big learning curve for me, I've never tried to create my own business before and the one thing I have learned so far is how little I actually know.

[I, Brian]

Best of luck with, limessl - I don't think a natural ranking for SSL as a keyword will be a problem for you in the medium to long-term - you have "ssl" as part of your domain which is certainly helpful, and I think a concerted link campaign along with good on-page SEO should be able to help push you there.

But the caveat is that SEO is a long-term play, and while it may be possible to hit SSL keywords now, I would presume that it would be better to target the variety of longtail keywords (using Google suggest as an example - ie, when you start typing "SLL" into Google, it offers suggestions - and then drill down from these).

However, my biggest concern would be that anyone buying SSL certs has trust factors as a big concern, so that your website must be able to convey a sense of trust - and I don't see that at present.

In which case, if your design skills are good enough, I'd recommend you look at a couple of websites you think convey this and then look to adapt their code and build your own images into it - or else hire a designer to do you a one page template, that you can either copy across other pages, or use as a master template in a CMS system such as Wordpress or Joomla.

Too many people are fixated on getting eyeballs on their site - what I think you could do better is focus on conversion. If you can convey trust, and show you're sticking at this business, then word of mouth via UKBF for example could generate low traffic with high conversions if you are seen to be professional and trustworthy. That gets you a foot in the door and some turnover.

While you're doing that, it leaves time for your website to warm up in Google, and get a few links set up to start building a gentle momentum, targeting different longtail phrases (not least from Google Suggest) to see a) how successful you are at ranking for these terms, and b) how these convert.

To accelerate this whole process, it would certainly be worth bringing Steve Gibson on board to blow a couple of hundred on PPC simply to get real user data, and run some split tests to make sure what traffic you get converts best into sales.

That will help accelerate your campaign and give you a clear idea of where your business success lays.

Hope that helps. :)

[curly87]

I could reccomend you a very good company in India, I used to work for them for a year, which you could outsource the SEO to? Very good prices as well

PM me if you want more details,

Tim

[I, Brian]

I could reccomend you a very good company in India, I used to work for them for a year, which you could outsource the SEO to? Very good prices as well

PM me if you want more details,

Tim

Geez, we're trying to make him money, not get him burned!!

Good SEO company + India = oxymoron

[curly87]

Geez, we're trying to make him money, not get him burned!!

Good SEO company + India = oxymoron

Its not all bad! Out of interest have you ever had any work done by an Indian company?

[I, Brian]

Yep - too many chances given.

I can't think of a single SEO company based in India that has any respect in the industry.

[sirearl]

Its not all bad! Out of interest have you ever had any work done by an Indian company?

I had a chicken korma ,bombay spuds,pilar rice and nan bread.

Very nice.

Earl

[directmarketingadvice]

By the way, which "big ticket" items do you refer to?

The SSl certificates that cost over £100 a year.

I don't know what the profit level is on those, but if it's far higher than for the cheap SSL certs, I'd suggest you consider offering a broad range.

Steve

[curly87]

Yep - too many chances given.

I can't think of a single SEO company based in India that has any respect in the industry.

I do see your point, the company I worked for the SEO they did wasnt the main thing they worked on. Still think they were pretty good, but then I guess I am bais!

[limessl]

Brian - I'm interested in the "lack of trust" thing - one of the key plays I have made on the site is that I have tried to build trust into it - the "about" page contains all of our details so that someone using us can see exactly who they're dealing with. I will of course look for more ways to achieve it - the biggest one for me being brand-name clients but I feel that might be optimistic in the early stages!

Indian SEO - I've never heard a good word about it, so I will be avoiding it lik the plague!

[Webtistic]

We are still trying to repair the damage done by an Indian SEO company on behalf of one of clients.

However, I am sure that in a country with a population of one million zillion, they are not all bad...

[Ali-v-8]

Unfortunately they promise results and most provide a quick fix.
I can honestly say that when a company outsources SEO to india it is strictly a cost thing and I have no sympathy when it fails.
If i quote and a company uses some one else i charge more when they come back to me, even more if they used an Indian firm. Only because i know i am going to have to ring them (billed for to)



We are still trying to repair the damage done by an Indian SEO company on behalf of one of clients.

However, I am sure that in a country with a population of one million zillion, they are not all bad...