$5,000 Budget, Should I Hire SEO Firm?

[magwoi]

I have $5,000 to spend on SEO activities to promote my main site. Which SEO firm should I spend that money with that is proven to deliver? Are there any firms worth it?

I have no interest in link-building myself and all the people I have tried to hire just deliver directory, profile, article and other limited links.

I am looking for links that can increase the authority of my site. Any advice on what to do?

[outwest]

Whew thats a lot of money to blow, why not just hire someone to write articles, cheaply and then get a BMR account, for high PR backlinks for about 60 bucks a month and have someone post the articles

I could see you easily finding someone to take the 5 grande but not doing jack crap , i rather have more control over it

You could have someone do an internal SEO analysis of your site, for very cheap or just analyse the site with a program, to see if its kosher for onsite SEO factors

[Seth Bias]

You need some high PR links, .edu and .govs are good as well. I Pm'd you

[Melissa82]

Search SEO on Google. Whoever is on top, or even the top three, for that extremely competitive market would definitely earn my trust in their ability to get your site on top also.

[wegenbelasting]

Take a look at karelgeenen.nl , they are dutch, and they don't sell crap, they are also nr1 in the rankings on "zoekmachine optimalisatie" with all legit backlinks, haven't found a single crappy one. They are about the marketleader on seo stuff in my country.

Then your 100% sure your dealing with a real legit company, and not some random guy who uses private networks that can get busted in the future. Dont get me wrong, nothing wrong with private networks, but spending $5000,- vs maybe $100 is a huge difference ofcourse.

[magwoi]

Originally Posted by outwest

Whew thats a lot of money to blow, why not just hire someone to write articles, cheaply and then get a BMR account, for high PR backlinks for about 60 bucks a month and have someone post the articles

I could see you easily finding someone to take the 5 grande but not doing jack crap , i rather have more control over it

You could have someone do an internal SEO analysis of your site, for very cheap or just analyse the site with a program, to see if its kosher for onsite SEO factors

Hi.

If the $5,000 invested makes me $5,000 per month, I would be quite happy with that - so I do not consider it blowing any money but I see it as investing for better ROI.

Both BMR and article directories are very good for micro-niche sites, but for promoting big authority sites in competitive markets, my experience tells me that BMR and EZA etc. are very limited.

[magwoi]

Originally Posted by wegenbelasting

Take a look at karelgeenen.nl , they are dutch, and they don't sell crap, they are also nr1 in the rankings on "zoekmachine optimalisatie" with all legit backlinks, haven't found a single crappy one. They are about the marketleader on seo stuff in my country.

Then your 100% sure your dealing with a real legit company, and not some random guy who uses private networks that can get busted in the future. Dont get me wrong, nothing wrong with private networks, but spending $5000,- vs maybe $100 is a huge difference ofcourse.

Sounds good but I am not sure how good they would be for English markets because they probably have a network or database of dutch high PR sources but not ones in english.

[wegenbelasting]

Originally Posted by magwoi

Hi.

If the $5,000 invested makes me $5,000 per month, I would be quite happy with that - so I do not consider it blowing any money but I see it as investing for better ROI.

Both BMR and article directories are very good for micro-niche sites, but for promoting big authority sites in competitive markets, my experience tells me that BMR and EZA etc. are very limited.

Listen, the big company's buy advertising space, and in these ads (like pictures there url is visible) google is capable of scraping it out of the image. So these company's are not buying links but ads with the links in them on very relevant websites. Mostly you get an add that is projected on every single page of that site.

I saw that a site of a friend of mine who paid around 10k for website+seo, he had a AD on a HUGE well known forum with tons of high PR pages. It wasn't a onetime investment, he had to keep paying montly for that AD.

Result? He was at the top of page 1 for a LOT of keywords that were all related to eachother but didn't look like eachother. Say your in fruit business, then he ranked for: strawberry, banana, orange, apple. His main linksource was one HUGE ass forum with 100's of PR3+ pages, I think he paid around $1500/month. So all the people yelling about anchor txt to rank for certain keywords, yeah bull, if you have the right source you don't need a single achor. How you wanna implent an anchor txt in a picture lol.

Keep in mind he had a real company selling real products of $300 up to $1500,- with a real shop and a 1500m2 showroom. So he could afford the $1500 a month and it brought him big sales. Ofc you cant compare that to all the small online IM'ers with there affiliate sites where they make $40 max on a sale from Amazon. He made easily 30-40% profit on his products.

I could've done the same, I was in a similar business, but I blew it by gambling, and now I'm desperatly trying to make a few bucks at the internet lol. Also i was pretty sick of going to the shop all the time and driving around the whole country delivering stuff. I couldnt outsource all that cause each time I made 5k profit in a week I just blew half of it on the roulette. Story of my life lol, once a gambler always a gambler.

[magwoi]

Originally Posted by Melissa82

Search SEO on Google. Whoever is on top, or even the top three, for that extremely competitive market would definitely earn my trust in their ability to get your site on top also.

Firms like that will not even speak to you if you have less than $30,000 to spend. I know a firm like that was billing a $100,000 per month for SEO services. That was several years ago.

[outwest]

Originally Posted by magwoi

Hi.

If the $5,000 invested makes me $5,000 per month, I would be quite happy with that - so I do not consider it blowing any money but I see it as investing for better ROI.

Both BMR and article directories are very good for micro-niche sites, but for promoting big authority sites in competitive markets, my experience tells me that BMR and EZA etc. are very limited.

No thats understandable but then there is also a big IF

If you are set on getting someone else to do it for you, actually 5000 will not buy much for SEO companies, that are GOOD

I would certainly do a lot of research and find a company that works for a reasonable price and has LOTs Of recommendations, (that did not come from them, of course they will show you only satisfied clients, I want to know about unsatisfied clients, people complaining)

If I can find only people giving glowing reviews, then I will say, ok hmm those guys must be good, If a lot of people are complaining they tried them not worth the money, I would be wary

If someone recommends a company, I would google "company name, scam, complaints, fraud" etc to see what comes up

I just dont want you to blow 5000 bucks and not get your moneys worth

You almost have to really understand SEO yourself in order to know who to avoid
Do NOT let companies BLAST your site with backlinks
this could backfire bigtime

I also think a lot of companies out there just point a lot of "high PR " backlinks towards your site (supposedly) and for that they call themselves SEO experts

Some companies say WE GUARANTEE YOU A GOOGLE #1 LISTING
to me if you hear a company say that? Run the other way, nobody can guarantee you a Google #1 listing. (unless you let them pick the kw)

[wegenbelasting]

Originally Posted by magwoi

Sounds good but I am not sure how good they would be for English markets because they probably have a network or database of dutch high PR sources but not ones in english.

No you can't have sources in every niche. Each link they build is highly relevant. All work is done manually. They are mailing/calling relevant websites and buying advertising space and such.

[LinkVariety]

Originally Posted by magwoi

I have $5,000 to spend on SEO activities to promote my main site. Which SEO firm should I spend that money with that is proven to deliver? Are there any firms worth it?

I have no interest in link-building myself and all the people I have tried to hire just deliver directory, profile, article and other limited links.

I am looking for links that can increase the authority of my site. Any advice on what to do?

SEO is a very crooked industry, most companies will take your money and do the exact things you said youre not interested in.

The best work ive seen recently was not done by an seo company but a PR company. They created high quality content that was contentious / discussion worthy then issued press releases to promote that content. That got picked up by national press sites and high powered blogs etc and generated a trove of high quality links.

The links were not targeted, being organic and referencing 'non commercial' pages, but they certainly delivered a solid bedrock to work with.

Add targeted links to the mix and your on your way!

Guest posts and paid links are the best targeted links you will find. Paid links are the mainstay of many a 'high end' seo company.

As for recommendations im afraid i dont have any for that budget, i also think WF is one of the worst places to come with 5k burning a hole in your pocket. I would be inclined to try a subscription on seobook and see if you can find anyone in there.

Whoever you choose make sure you know exactly what they are going to do, dont go with anyone who will not disclose anything about 'the magic beans of seo'.

A good company will tell you what they do, as they know you will not be able to / want to take the time to replicate it. Scammers will allude to secret mythical powers too powerful to disclose.... If that happens move on.

Good luck!

[wegenbelasting]

$30k a month is a lot yes, and I agree that the real professional seo company's charge like $30-50/hr for manual linkbuilding.

If I were you I would do like this:

BUY advertising space and let someone make a banner with your url in clear letters so Google can pick it up. This worked for my friend so I bet it will also work for you. Honestly I dont get why he paid 5k, cause he also has to pay 1.5k each month for the ad so what did the seo company really do for him? being the middle man of finding that forum to advertise on? I know cause he didnt have much other relevant backlinks then that 1 forum.

[wegenbelasting]

Originally Posted by LinkVariety

The best work ive seen recently was not done by an seo company but a PR company. They created high quality content that was contentious / discussion worthy then issued press releases to promote that content. That got picked up by national press sites and high powered blogs etc and generated a trove of high quality links.

paid links are the best targeted links you will find. Paid links are the mainstay of many a 'high end' seo company.

As for recommendations im afraid i dont have any for that budget, i also think WF is one of the worst places to come with 5k burning a hole in your pocket. I would be inclined to try a subscription on seobook and see if you can find anyone in there.

Very solid post!

[magwoi]

Originally Posted by wegenbelasting

$30k a month is a lot yes, and I agree that the real professional seo company's charge like $30-50/hr for manual linkbuilding.

If I were you I would do like this:

BUY advertising space and let someone make a banner with your url in clear letters so Google can pick it up. This worked for my friend so I bet it will also work for you. Honestly I dont get why he paid 5k, cause he also has to pay 1.5k each month for the ad so what did the seo company really do for him? being the middle man of finding that forum to advertise on? I know cause he didnt have much other relevant backlinks then that 1 forum.

Thank you. So what you are proposing is really like sitewide links. I had thought they were not effective anymore as the SEO rumour was that GG saw links from the same IP as more or less than just a single link. But it is interesting to hear that your friend was successful with them. I know of a few sites that sell such high PR site-wide links.

Were the keywords he was ranking for competitive?

[wegenbelasting]

Originally Posted by magwoi

Thank you. So what you are proposing is really like sitewide links. I had thought they were not effective anymore as the SEO rumour was that GG saw links from the same IP as more or less than just a single link. But it is interesting to hear that your friend was successful with them. I know of a few sites that sell such high PR site-wide links.

Were the keywords he was ranking for competitive?

Pretty competetive yes, one word product types. Think of words like: parrots, elevator, washing machine, radiator, but then in a local language.

Yes I also thought that, but appareantly when they come from different pages (on the same domain obv) it doesnt matter anymore.

What kind of business are you in? We can't compare apples to pears obv. Are you selling a wide range of real products or do you want to rank for a single highly competitve keyword?

Just took a look at his linkprofile and he rents banners at 3 different bigsites. And has links on multiple pages of a supplyer site. And ofcourse a dozen of other links on different sites like directory's in his niche.

[LinkVariety]

Originally Posted by magwoi

Thank you. So what you are proposing is really like sitewide links. I had thought they were not effective anymore as the SEO rumour was that GG saw links from the same IP as more or less than just a single link. But it is interesting to hear that your friend was successful with them. I know of a few sites that sell such high PR site-wide links.

Were the keywords he was ranking for competitive?

Regards what is effective.... If you believe everything you read then nothing works.

Less effective does not mean they are worthless.

Also, as seobook often say 'seo is a zero sum equation' meaning as one site or method rises another falls. A couple of years back everyone was saying directory links were dead, i got some great results with directory runs a while back, it would seem that as other kinds of links were put down directories came back a little.

The key is diversity. Diversity has never failed me. When the flavour of the month turns sour, hopefully you already have links fom the new flavour of the month... Which was out of favour previously.

Google invest a lot harvesting all this link data, i never subscribed to the view that having done that they throw 97% of it in the bin. So, i always mix things up taking lots of different link types regardless of whether they are in vogue.

Cruically, a natural link profile will have a varied link types, which would often include a few sitewides.

[Goath]

If you are in a very, very competitive niche you will need more than $5000 dollar when you don't want to do the work manually (or outsource it).

Even when you don't hire a SEO company. I advice you to use your $5000 carefully, because if you are working with the wrong company they will just rip you off.

What I would do with $5000...

Buy a lot of sidewide backlinks from relevant posts /articles. Someone told you that here above.

Google LOVES these kind of articles... they are relevant, they contain your link, and if you choose the right network (like Linkvana or Build My rank), then you are definitely get articles from authority websites.

And I personally believe that you will see the results soon.

Even when you are targeting a competitive niche, by doing seo for that particular keyword, other relevant long tail keywords will eventually end up ranking higher.

(But to be honest, I advise you to start with long tail keywords, because with long tail keywords you see the quickest results and from there go step by step to a higher, competitive keyword)

Or, last option: invest your $5000 in Google Adwords. I am using Google Adwords a lot because I am a lazy guy, and it payoff very well.

You gather data about which keywords are converting and which not (which you eventually can target in the organic results) and also if you set up your campaign right, you can make a big profit too.

I am also from The Netherlands.

[Dentist]

You can hire a firm or do it yourself. I will be happy to help you for that. I will send you PM regarding it.

[RevSEO]

The real answer to your question:

Do you know what you are doing with SEO?
Should you be using your time DOING SEO or focusing on your business?

Don't screw around with SEO if you have the budget and should be focusing on your business. It's the same idea as mowing your lawn or deciding whether or not you should hire a maid.

You know what I mean?

Outsource what you aren't good at, and let the professionals do the rest. Now, IF you have a clue about the basics of SEO, and know what kinda of linkbuilding services work and those solutions are rather automated then by all means go that route as well.

[nickhumph]

Try the top rated, 5 star workers on odesk for example?

You might get a top quality SEO guy for 1/5 the price you would with a full-service online service.

[kolbywhite28]

I am guessing $5k for whole budget and not per month?

Go to freelancer.com or oDesk and look up the people who provide SEO services. Check their services and feedback. Also, talk to them about what they can provide. Should give you a good idea.

[Scott Patterson]

Originally Posted by kolbywhite28

I am guessing $5k for whole budget and not per month?

finallly someone gets to the root. 5k total budget is nothing without context. If that's for a year it's just over 400/month.

whatever you do, do it consistently every month. I would recommend a content and seo strategy, in other words, you commit to x amount of blog posts or content per month with the content supported by link building, towards the new content and old content.

and don't plan on getting an roi for 6 months.

that's all for now.

[linkservice]

3 years ago I paid $3800 for SEO, I really wished I didn't do that. Because they only got me to 7th spot. Now with the knowledge that I have learn now I got that site to #1 and another site targeting that same keyword just over took it. All you need is articles, blogs, HIGH PR HPBL's and edu/Gov links

[BudgetSEO]

Make sure you hire a company who does whitehat SEO and not some 'blasts' which WILL result in a slap.

[lifesofree]

I would rather spend that money for anything else.

SEO seems to be "made up" by SEO firms - at least they let this topic look way more complex than it actually is. They want you think that SEO is a science, but it isn't. It's something you can learn without that much effort.

Hope it helps and wish you the best.

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by Melissa82

Search SEO on Google. Whoever is on top, or even the top three, for that extremely competitive market would definitely earn my trust in their ability to get your site on top also.

$5000 for any of those would not last two months. If you want to emulate what they do then you build what they build - your own Seo network. either that or as suggested use a number of high PR network services (but eventually monthly fees will eat that out).

[mosthost]

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest you put the money into website development.

[magwoi]

I am quite experienced in SEO myself but I just do not have the mental stamina for doing white-hat link building myself these days. My main interest is not to rank for any particular keyword as such. I would rather rank for multiple longtails across the 8,000 plus original 1000 word articles on my site

The $5000 is a one off at first. If the ROI is good, then I would create a permanent monthly SEO budget.

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by magwoi

I am quite experienced in SEO myself but I just do not have the mental stamina for doing white-hat link building myself these days.

In my entire time here I have met less than ten people who I consider to know white hat link building. Whatever you do - do not pick a SEO here. You will not get the value you want but more than likely will get someone who knows only how to run a backlinking tool.

[Goath]

@ Magwoi

Do you mean you have a website with 8.000 articles each having 1000 words? Man... you have your own SEO machine.

Just interlink each article with some other articles with the long tail keywords you want to rank for and it will work out for you...

Look in your Google analytics for keywords that bring in traffic, check their google position. If they are not on the first page or on the first place, interlink for that keyword within your articles and you will get more traffic for such keywords..

Respect man. You got a huge website!

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by wegenbelasting

Be especially carefull when you hire someone who's name begins with a M

And especially if the beginning M is upside down

[magwoi]

Originally Posted by Goath

@ Magwoi

Do you mean you have a website with 8.000 articles each having 1000 words? Man... you have your own SEO machine.

Just interlink each article with some other articles with the long tail keywords you want to rank for and it will work out for you...

Look in your Google analytics for keywords that bring in traffic, check their google position. If they are not on the first page or on the first place, interlink for that keyword within your articles and you will get more traffic for such keywords..

Respect man. You got a huge website!

Yes, it is 8000@1000 words. Looking back, I realize I could have bought a high end Range rover instead of risking it on articles for my authority site.

The articles are interlinked heavily, however the site does not have any authority as I chose not to do any off-site SEO until I reached 8,000 pages. I was just too scared of being penalized by Google. But as the site has no authority, I just can get any strong link-juice to spread around the site through inter-linking.