Everybody has a budget that they have to stick within. I totally get that. It is the same for me. But let me tell you a little story about how budget SEO services has cost a painting contractor thousands of dollars in business in just the past month alone.
About 6-7 weeks ago, I was approached by a painter (we will call him Ted) needing online marketing service. He understood the value of being found online. He knew that it was important to be more visible. Most if not all of his keywords such as ‘painter city name’ etc. were on page 5 and lower.
He went on and talked to him about how he values high quality work. He understands that cheapest typically doesn’t mean the best service. He mentioned how he isn’t the cheapest painter, but he is affordable and provides a high quality work. He was leaning towards going with me for his SEO services….
Let’s now move on to another painter. This painter contacted me about improving his online presence a couple weeks after the Ted had. This painter, we will call him Ed had been a painter for 20+ years and had advertised some places online, but by and large he did his own online marketing, his effectiveness had been so so.
Ed asked me what I could do for him. I prefaced the conversation with the ‘ol “Ya know, I’m not cheap, but I will make you more money”. He was fine with that and after discussing pricing he ended up procuring my local SEO services.
Let’s go back to Ted. I followed up with Ted after giving him my pricing. I didn’t hear anything. Followed up again. Nothing. Hmm, I know what this means, I thought. He decided not to buy and went elsewhere. That’s not a biggie. Notifying me that he decided on somebody else would have been nice but not a big deal.
Okay, fast forward to now.
I finally got a hold of Ted. Ted ended up deciding to go with a budget SEO company out of California. They made him prepay for 6 months of SEO. His price was about $150 per month less than what I would charge him. But, he was getting all these keywords! Keywords like: ‘who is the best painter of custom made cabinets in rambler homes that uses Behr stain that has a white truck…’ Well you get the point. Worthless keywords with no search volume that won’t bring him business, but hey, it’s a keyword, right? Looks good on paper to sell to a potential customer. This budget SEO company threw out all this garbage to him, and sucked him in.
Now a direct quote from Ted:
Thanks for the followup! Its actually not going so well. I never get any calls whatsoever. They haven’t followed up with a lot of things they said they would and I paid for 6 months in advance.
Another…
Yep, I’ve been upset about the whole process once again. I will have to figure this out really soon.
I ask him what his analytics reports look like to his website, his ranking reports, etc. And he goes on to say that they haven’t been providing him with any of that though they said they would.
I look up his main search terms and he still isn’t ranking for any of his ‘money terms’. Painter City, Cityname Painter, etc.
But he did end up saving $150 per month, right?
Let’s get back to Ed. After working with Ed for a month and he is clearly flourishing.
I ask Ed how business has been good, here is a direct quote from his email:
Yes, got a couple. I got 5 calls yesterday and today and I know they came from online….
Another:
Hello Tyson, just so you know, I went on 20 estimates from last Saturday until yesterday. That’s the most ever over the same period of time in 25 years.
And now, take a look at his search engine rankings (only money terms, not worthless terms added to inflate the value):
Just a reminder, that it is extremely difficult to compare SEO and anything else online apples to apples. My SEO service? No it isn’t cheap. It is affordable. But who do you think is getting more business? Ed, who I have helped get to page 1 for ALL of his main terms? Or Ted who is stuck on pages 4 and beyond getting no results whatsoever? Who do you think is making more money now?
Just a reminder to look at all aspects of a SEO Company before you make a choice. Don’t just compare the number of keywords being presented. Don’t just compare the total price. I can guarantee you that Ted has ended up with a negative ROI while Ed has made an extremely positive ROI.
Are you looking to grow your business? Do you need a local SEO consultant that ‘gets’ it? Somebody that is responsive and actually takes ownership of your project as if it was his own? Do you see the value in marketing online and aren’t so concerned with your budgeting dollars, that you won’t spend $1 to make $2 back? If that sounds like you, contact me. Keep in mind, I don’t work with everyone. If you’d like to see if we are a good fit, fill out the contact form and let’s get started.