Low Cost SEO Revisited

Re-reading my initial post on low cost SEO, I realize that I may have overly stressed the negative. I'd like to clarify a couple of things:

1. Low cost SEO is still better than no SEO at all.
What does that mean? It means that adding good meta tags and submitting to the basic search engines is never a bad idea. Yes, the spiders would find you eventually either way, and yes, most of them don't weight meta tags very much these days. However, it is still better than nothing at all... and can be easily upgraded to "worth the cost" if you are willing to spend a little extra money and a little extra time doing some very basic optimization.

2. Don't expect the budget version of SEO to produce the same results as high end services.
Which is really what I was trying to emphasize the first time around. Although doing some form of SEO and trying to play by the rules will always be beneficial on some level, it's unrealistic to expect it to generate the same results as you would get from full-fledged site optimization and an aggressive marketing campaign. $19.95 simply does not buy what $1995.00 does! This doesn't mean it's not worth spending that $19.95. If that's what you can currently afford, it's a great idea, and might give your business the jump-start it needs to generate a bit more income. Even if the improvement is very modest, it's almost guaranteed that it will be worth far more than the $19.95 you originally put in.

My only caution remains: You do get what you pay for. Have realistic expectations. You won't capture all the top rankings for your products and become a millionaire overnight... but you might see a slow but steady increase in your traffic and a corresponding growth to your business, which is absolutely nothing to be taken lightly.

Comments

[Tom]

Hey Great article, but one question you say "Low cost SEO is still better than no SEO at all" but what is low cost? I contacted a local search engine optimization company and the cheapest plan was like $399! Is this considered cheap or is it a rip off?

[Laura Seeley]

Excellent question, Tom.

"Low cost" is an extremely relative term, isn't it? One company might not flinch at spending $5000, while another one would be hard-pressed to come up with $500.

However, more relevant in this case is how much you get for your investment. You did not say what that $399 bought you. If $399 is for a year-long contract, then that comes to $33.25 per month. If that only covers submissions, then they're asking too much, in my opinion. For half the cost, Sharpnet Solutions offers a low-cost SEO program which includes customized meta tags along with monthly submissions (for a full list of our low-cost SEO packages, contact us via email). If they're offering more, then whether or not it's a "rip off" depends on just how much more we're talking about. Personally, I would expect some work on my website, along with keyword research and meta tags, and monthly reports, for that price.

You won't find any kind of effective SEO, low cost or otherwise, at much less than $200 per year. If you are content with getting your site submitted and hoping for the best, then these will do fine for you. But don't believe anyone who promises you first-page listings for competitive keywords in your industry, without asking for more money to make it happen. Read the fine print!