Money Management is Critical for Your Google SEO

[goodroi]

Having good SEO results in Google actually requires smart money management. We really never talk about this but many people should be more aware about this.

It takes money to rank

It takes money to register domains, pay for decent hosting, buy designs & graphics, hire writers, etc. Yes, you can do just about all of this on your own with almost no money. Honestly though you probably shouldn't. It is highly unlikely that you are an expert in every field and utilizing your subpar DIY skills to save money is probably not smart.

Save for a rainy day or a bad update

None of us control Google so we need to be ready for our business to respond to Google when it makes adjustments. Hit by Panda? Having some saved money will help build up better content. Hit by Penguin? Having some money will help clean up the link mess. Hit by mystery ranking drop? Be brave enough to admit you don't know everything and have some money to hire another SEO for a second opinion and help. If you spend the money as fast as it comes in, you will not survive when your business hits a problem.

Learn from the money mistakes of other SEOs

I have seen many people who used to make huge amounts of money from Google rankings (private jets, multiple homes, etc) lose their homes and business. The lesson I learned is not to assume the money you make today will be available tomorrow. Assume you will need to constantly rebuild your Google rankings and that each rebuild will be more difficult and costly. It is wiser to plan for the worst than spending like it will always be the best of Google rankings. Live below your means so you can build up savings that you can invest in your website.

Only you can protect your money

Even if you smart enough to save up for a bad day that is not enough. Invest wisely in your company. Don't spend money on every fad or overspend on good ideas. I remember years ago some of my SEO friends where spending $$$$$ on video and never turned a profit. I know others that lost 90% of Google traffic and then hired an "SEO" who was expensive but stupid and just made the situation worse. I love paid link tools but if you buy all of them you are wasting money. So make sure you spend wisely. No one will protect your money except for you. Every vendor will say buying their product/service will make money but often it is just the opposite.


What words of wisdom do you have when it comes to money management & Google SEO?

[webcentric]

Buyer beware! Buy into just any so-called SEO's BS and you're liable to end up loosing your a** when the technique they use to jack you to the top of the SERPs today, gets you penalized tomorrow. For example, having payed someone to build a bunch of links for you in the past, you're now paying someone else to remove them. And the someone else you're paying now is removing every link to your site on the entire Internet irregardless of the link's validity, how it was acquired etc.

I say save your SEO money for someone who knows how to build a high-quality website, rich with useful content, or at least someone who knows more about marketing than just mucking with Google rankings.

[Planet13]

@ goodroi:

I think you hit the nail on the head.

To be honest, in the past there was so much low-hanging fruit that people didn't need a background in business basics.

Today, far too much competition from people who are far smarter and have far more degrees than the majority of us on webmasterworld.

Everyone here should read Built to Last by Collins and Porter. It is one of the classic books on business strategy. One of the things that they state is that you need to build a business that, if it disappeared suddenly, would be noticed; it would leave a gaping hole in the market - a large void in the consumer mind.

I don't know how many people can say that about their sites / business. I know I CAN'T say that about my own sites.

[goodroi]

@Planet13 You raise a good point.

I think every webmaster should be reinvesting a certain amount of their revenue back into their sites each and every month. There is always something that can be improved or expanded. We don't want to allow our competition an opportunity to overtake us.

Too often we treat our websites like ATM cash machines and are surprised when the ATM machine eventually runs out of money.

[Planet13]

There are a lot of sites out there that are susceptible to disintermediation. Making ones site less susceptible would be a very good place to start.

[McMohan]

I think one can save a lot of money just by taking eyes off the toolbar PR

[Rasputin]

There are a lot of sites out there that are susceptible to disintermediation. Making ones site less susceptible would be a very good place to start.

I take this to mean that a site (or business) should offer a 'unique value proposition' that can not easily be sidestepped

or perhaps that an ecom/affiliate site should think hard about whether they are offering something the manufacturer/supplier doesn't offer directly

or are you suggesting something broader?

My main advice re finance is to learn lots of skills yourself and also get familiar with what is available for free (eg joomla/online tutorials/knowledgeable forums). Unless your idea is very good I think it will be hard to have a profitable site, at least for a couple of years, if you need to pay top dollar for design, maintenance, quality content, social marketing etc.

[Planet13]

@ Rasputin:

Yes, I meant to say what you much more clearly stated than I.

[Planet13]

Also, judging by the Sandbox 2.0 thread on this forum, it is going to take a bit more than just "great content" to get pages to rank well.

Might take things like sending out samples to well respected reviewers / bloggers, or using adwords, or developing apps that people might find helpful.