"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. 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. 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, Ah… What Exactly Am I Paying For?
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.
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. But undercutting is a race to the bottom. I like to charge my clients in line with what my SEO can do for improving their bottom lines. 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 the best ways 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. 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 haemorrhage. But he now runs at a considerably high cost per acquisition for finding new patients.
Cost of New Patient Acquisition
Each ad click averages $45, and this times 42 equals $1,890. 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 before overheads. Each month he gains an average of 10 new patients, so he is spending about $18,900 on Google Adwords. Over a year that is $226,800 spent on search marketing.
Now enter a smart SEO consultant who comes in and builds 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 costs $12k to build in accordance with Google's specifications, and SEO costs $5k per month.
He begins to get 15 new patients per month after his site has reached the top of the search results, typically after 6–12 months. By reducing his Google Adwords dependence down to $0, he is in front of $13,900 per month ($18,900 − $5,000) which adds up to $166,800 saved each year.
On top of that, his increase from 10 to 15 new patients per month means those 5 extra patients add up to an extra turnover of over $500,000 per year.
Who Wants To Bump The Bottom Line Up Another $500k?
"What am I paying for with SEO?" The answer is more patients — and more profit.
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 it by looking for a cheaper alternative to save a few hundred or even a couple of thousand a month?
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? I can show you not only what you are missing out on currently, I can show actual case studies of clients who are prepared to share their success stories.