Got my first offline Client - and Im only 16!! - Now I need a little help with his site...

Yes I'm inclined to a agree that restarting with a new keyword rich domain is probably the quickest way to get this done.

Also make sure you focus on putting real content on every page of the new website (the content can educate people on why they should do business with your client but it should be highly targeted and focused on the keyword phrase you're optimizing each page for).

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

Hi Mubarak,

Not a good idea to link to your first client's website.

a) if he happens to view his stats, follows the link to warrior and sees comments from others like -

plus comments from yourself like -

then they might well become your first cancelled offline client.

b) if there happens to be a desperate site builder scanning the forum, who now knows which company your client is, they are probably gazumping you right now, knowing that you're not meeting them until tomorrow.

I hope that the joys of youthful exuberance pass quickly and turn into discretion and professionalism

Hi Mubarak,

Smart move

Yeah, he is using adwords, so I should be able to talk to him about that....

What am I looking for when I do keyword research for a local business?

OOOHHH, I just remembered!

I have a $25 adwords coupon from HG - could I give it to him, or do you have to SIGN UP with the coupon?

Mubarak

Hi Mubarak,

That's my point. It's way too complex to explain in forum posts. It's just my opinion, but I don't think it's wise to encourage 'greenhorns' to go out and try and deal with real business people without them having some business experience and some competency in their trade. Others will disagree with me, I have no doubt, and will continue to encourage it in order to sell their ebooks.

Therefore, I'll leave it to the 'just do it' brigade to give you a crash-course in keyword research.

Sorry Mubarak, just being honest with you. But I admire your get-up-and-go - that will get you far in the long term.

First off, I ain't you son, mate. You've 'ad one too many of them Fosters. Blimey! Dingo Sheila! Shrip on the barbie! Crocodile 'Unter.

Anyway, enough of the racial slurs.

I will tell them that definately...

This is golden advice. If you don't know an answer, say so, and
tell them you'll find out, and get back to them. This alone will earn
respect from them, as it has done for me in the past. Outsource
what you can't do. Remember, business owners talk to each other,
and will recommend people they know and trust.

HTH

Glenn

Kewl All the best.

Mubarak,

One other word of advice about the meeting.

Remember people have an attention span of around 20 minutes, so less is more.

Don't hit him with too many ideas and plans for the future. His eyes will glaze over.

Focus on redesigning the website first with a brief explanation of how onpage optimization works. Then, a brief overview of offpage SEO.

Do not try to explain autoresponders unless you have a wireless connection and can show him one in action or you have made a quick video you can give him.

Martin

Way to go, Mubarak!

Let us know how the project is going.

And to think, your friends are cutting grass and stocking shelves for a quarter of what you can make.

Keep it up!

With the promotion.try to change the way it was promoted before.Give it a new feature for the big G and other search engines seeing it doing white hat.Promote in a nice way,a search engine friendly strategies.

Exactly! Don't undersell your services.
You just told us he advertised for about 40k per year.

If you're good with Adwords then I suggest you offer him a contract.

Example:

A-Adwords setup + year contract. (setup xxx + xxx per month)
B-Adwords setup + 3 months (setup xxx(more) + xxx per month) more
C Adwords setup only (xxxx)
D Adwords setup + additional months

The longer the contract the cheaper you can be.
I always tell my clients that I offer a year contract, a 3 month contract OR per month (which is the most expensive).

Guess what almost always happen?
They ask why there isn't a 6 month package (And bam!)

I've never tried this technique with a 2 year contract...

But to the point, never undersell your services!

Good luck,

Dennis

I should certainly hope so!

Definately:

I have bought the domain, and recieved MOST of the content.

Now I need to get some hosting sorted, and I should be ready to roll!

Good idea. Your client is mainly interested in the results. So you don't have to go into a long explanation of how you'll get those results (if he knew how, he'd be doing it... and if wants to know how, he'll ask follow up questions). Rather, you tell him in easy to understand terms what benefits he can expect.

For example...

If you go to the doctor with an ear ache and (s)he prescribes antibiotics, (s)he usually says something like this: "I'm going to give you antibiotics to clear the infection. You can expect the pain to go away in 24 to 48 hours."

What you don't hear the doctor do is launch into a detailed explanation of how, exactly, the antibiotics get rid of infection. You don't hear a technical explanation that flies over your head. And you probably really don't care how it works, as long as it works -- your main concern is that the pain goes away.

Likewise, your clients wants an idea of what you're doing in general terms... but only so that he can understand how it benefits him.

Cheers,
Becky

LOL I hope so! I jsut did it because of all the buzz around taking your IM services offline. I know its not REALLY IM, but what the heck!

Mubarak,

Word to the wise.

This thread is getting a little too long/popular.

You'll soon become more well-known than Susan Boyle and then your client will definitely find it.

Martin

Hi Mubarak,

Are you sure about that last one?

Does he know what your name is and what a search engine is?

Hi Mubarak,

Yes.

Consider this -

You've 'done' the 'Whoopee! I'm on the way' thread, inspired others, got pats on the back etc

You could still do these things - report back with progress reports, ask for advice etc.

BUT you don't have to put your cajones on the line - just by changing the way you do those things, word things etc.

I would much prefer for you to learn to preserve your own cajones than for me to have to keep trying to help you to preserve them, after you've dangled them in a nutcracker.

(I don't actually know what cajones are, but if you just substitute the word 'nuts' that should suffice.)

Edit - I do now.

definition of cojones

All I'm really saying Mubarak - you have a lot of talent. It probably wouldn't hurt you to be a little more discreet and professional in public when talking about your clients - regardless of whether you want to speculate about the possibility of them finding you/your words coming back to haunt you.

Make sure they can't backfire on you, and then you have no need to speculate or worry about it.

And your 'courage' will be safe.

Hope this helps.

Hi Mubarak,

You mentioned this in the other thread where I mentioned that my advice had gone in one ear and out of the other.

Let me explain -

a) if you look at the time of my comment, it was in between when I first suggested you remove the link etc. and me coming back here and posting more to you. In other words, it wasn't long after you had removed the link from your original post here, and then come back and made more posts -

* telling us how much money you had made (post#49)

* telling us more of the client's details, EG how much he spends on advertising (post#50)

* telling us that you would post the link to the site AGAIN - 'so you can all see, and for SERP juice' (post#52)

(this last one in bold is what I was really commenting on)

Then you see my comment (post#83) where I explain that you bragging that he won't find you here isn't so clever and likely to be wrong.

b) obviously, if I am going to tell you to be discreet and professional BECAUSE I am concerned that your client might find this thread, then I am also aware that YOU might find MY comments in the other 'offline' thread

If you care to scan through any of my recent posts in any thread, you will see that I am a fan of, and try to use 'tough love'.

What I mean is that as well as offering my advice for free (and also not trying to sell anyone anything) IF I see that someone is being particularly naive, I might give them a little nudge or even a little virtual 'kick' in order to get their attention, and more importantly (hopefully) get them to feel a bit silly and THEREFORE learn the lesson and remember it if I feel it is appropriate.

Obviously, this can often get peoples' hackles up because we don't really know each other.

This is what I tried to do with you. At the time I made the post in the other thread, I felt that it was pointless to post here anymore as it appeared that you weren't listening to advice.

If you notice, my comment there was in reply to Martin, who was still helping you in here, and is someone I know quite well. Perhaps (as I wasn't planning on posting in this thread again) I thought that Martin might pass on the 'nudge'?

As it happened I read more of your answers here and felt compelled to reply.

If you choose, you can consider me a hypocrite for not being discreet or professional and for talking about you 'behind your back' (although I was actually responding to someone elses comment, who had brought you into the conversation.)

Or you can consider all of my advice, and by putting it all together, and considering the time that I took away from my work to make my comments to you, whether overall I was simply trying to help you, in my usual way with a bit of tough love.

Whatever you decide, I'm really not going to lose any sleep over it and I will continue to post in my usual way.

But please consider that I have a son who is three years younger than you, he is as bright as you, but he doesn't live with me all of the time. I wish that he could. I like to pass on any wisdom I can to him, whenever possible. I miss doing that in person when he is not here (I talk to him on the phone a lot).

Perhaps I am just trying to help you and perhaps I'm just trying to do it in a way that makes you feel a little silly (occasionally) ONLY in the hope that you appreciate the advice AND that you retain it AND that you prove this by acting differently, rather than coming back and doing the exact same mistake again.

Then hopefully, instead of taking the hump, you will realise that my advice DID appear to go straight in one ear and then straight out of the other.

Regardless, I will drop out of this thread and I won't discuss you elsewhere from here on - not because I've got the hump, but because I've said enough and any more would be overkill. But I am sorry if you found my comment hypocritical or rude or anything else unpleasant - that was not my aim, therefore I apologise.

Mubarak,

first of all thank you for posting this, it's been like reading a "case study" and the advice from the Warriors/esses has been like literally reading an ebook.

I wanted to ask also, because I'm not sure you mentioned in initially? Did you find your client by cold calling?

Well done on what you've achieved so far, and I'm sure there'll be many more.

On a side note, you might want to ask your client if he has friends in other niches, not Plumbing obviously who might want your services, when you've established what you said you would do.

Brian