They say that, “Long after the sweet taste of low cost is forgotten, the bitterness of a poor choice remains”.
When it comes to SEO, this old saying is no less true.
In fact, it ties in with another, “you get what you pay for“.
Pay a little, get a little.
Pay a lot, get a lot.
Pretty simple equation wouldn’t you say?
Well, in SEO circles there is another confusing factor. And it goes like this…
SEO, Ah… What Exactly Am I Paying For?
Most people are not aware of exactly what it is they are paying for when it comes to hiring an SEO company to look after their online promotion and reputation.
SEO companies are famous for fluffing out their deliverables by putting decoys in their client’s paths. Things such as confusing reports, graphs and charts, and other diversionary distractions.
But what did you actually do for me? Is often asked.
And aside from the SEO hirer’s confusion is the fact that the SEO practitioner can get shafted, even when they provide a good service. It goes something like this, “Hey look at us, we are making good money, our rankings are great, so we probably don’t need the SEO guy anymore right?”…
So much confounding fog on both sides of the equation.
For the client:
You got to sell more product – that is what your SEO guy did for you. Anything else is not needed to be known.
For the SEO guy:
You did your job well and got good rankings for your client and through more website visits, connected with more new customers. End of story.
Attention: All Parties!
Both parties need to remember this, SEO is designed to help increase exposure via search. When the efforts of the SEO guy or gal are fruitful, this usually leads to increased sales or leads for the client.
Back to the original point, you get what you pay for. Too often I will lose a prospective client to someone who will undercut my prices. This stings, as no one likes to lose. But…
Undercutting is a race to the bottom, so you need to know your anchor point and remain true to your value proposition. I like to charge my clients in line with what my SEO can do for improving their bottom-lines.
I stick to my guns. My price is fair, especially when your gain is exceptional.
When prospects can see what good SEO has done for someone else, they are getting a glimpse of their own future. To be able to use a case study, to enlighten the otherwise dark and mysterious path of SEO, is one of, if not the best way to demonstrate – what you are actually getting for your money.
Let’s look at an example:
Dr. John (not his real name) is a well respected plastic surgeon who up until his site got slammed by Google, was getting a good amount of new patient inquiries – leading to bookings.
He didn’t know what to do, his site was sinking fast and despite the best efforts of his current SEO company, things just got worse.
His surgery had overheads that were not being met by his current cash flow and he had to do something to stop the money bleed.
He turns to Google Adwords.
It is expensive, with some clicks costing him $60+ each time someone just clicks on an ad in the search results.
Things go well, he stems the financial hemorrhage and the day has been saved. Well, sort of…
He now runs at a considerably high cost per acquisition equation, for finding new patients.
Cost of New Patient Acquisition
Each ad click in the Google search results paid ads section averages $45, and this times 42 equals $1890.
Forty-two is the average number of ad clicks it costs to find and secure a new patient. With an average cost of a procedure being $8,900 he is netting approximately $7,010 and this is before his other overheads are considered.
Each month he gains an average of 10 new patients, so we know he is spending about $18,900 on Google Adwords. Over a year that is $226,800, he is spending on his search marketing efforts.
Now enter smart(er) SEO consultant who comes in and demonstrates a way to start a brand new website on a new domain, all the while leaving the existing site complete with the Dr. John branding in place. This new site cost costs $12k to hand build in accordance with the new Google Panda specifications and his SEO costs him $5k per month.
He begins to now get 15 new patients per month after his site has reached the top of the search results, typically after 6 – 12 months and now he is very happy with the results.
By reducing his Google Adwords dependence over those 12 months down to $0, he is in front of $13,900 per month ($18,900 – $5,000) which ads [sic] up to $166,800 saved each year.
On top of that, his increase in new patients from 10 to 15 each month, means those 5 new patients he adds to his customer list each month, add up to an extra turn over of over $500,000.
Patient = $8,900
x 5 = $44,500
x 12 = $534,000
Who Wants To Bump The Bottom Line Up Another $500k?
Now here’s the question, if you knew for certain this was going to be your outcome by investing in proper SEO that delivers these results time and time again like clockwork, would you risk this by looking for a cheaper alternative to save a few hundred or even a couple of thousand a month?
My guess is, if you are short-sighted and love a bargain, or are always looking to get the best deal, by taking a quote and getting someone to undercut it, then you are probably not going to see the sorts of returns I have demonstrated above. Your peanuts mentality will get you comical results like an unfortunate episode in a Charlie Brown sketch. The only problem is, this is no laughing matter.
“What am I paying for with SEO?” the answer is more patients.
When done right with a proper realistic budget and the right team behind your SEO efforts, you can expect to increase your new patient acquisitions and lower your marketing costs substantially.
To find out exactly what your (current) SEO company is up to, why not schedule a 30-minute strategy call and I can show you not only what you are missing out on currently, I can show actual case studies of doctors who are prepared to share their success stories. So what are you waiting for, your 30-minute strategy call is free, so get in touch today.
