Search Engine Marketing - ongoing

Structuring an ongoing service

[feeder]

I'm doing some work around restructuring my search engine marketing service. I want to include some form of on-going option.

At the moment I have:

- monthly reporting
- monthly link building

Anyone got any further suggestions on possible on-going services I can offer in this area?

[Robert Charlton]

Tuning results.... Google is re-indexing fast enough that it's possible to do this to some extent... probably Fast/Lycos as well... and if you have some paid Inktomi pages, you can play with these too. It's not like the good old days of InfoSeek, but tuning is possible.

Also, in looking at monthly reports, you may see hits for terms that you could be bringing up in the rankings. You may also have to react to new competition and adjust pages. You can also build additional pages to target terms that you didn't cover first time around.

I'm curious how people charge for link building. My experience tells me it takes a lot of time to establish a good link. I also know that I'm uncomfortable delegating many parts of the process, at least for prime links. What is a link worth in dollars?

[Marcia]

Ditto about the link-building, it's very time consuming and it can't be left up to clients. I'm also curious about the best way to approach suggesting extra pages for good search terms that show up without seeming like it's giving a sales pitch.

[Robert Charlton]

>>...the best way to approach suggesting extra pages for good search terms that show up without seeming like it's giving a sales pitch<<

Marcia - Though I prefer to do a full optimization on the first pass, clients these days are spending less money upfront, but are willing to continue if they see results. So I try to plan out the whole structure, optimize the home page and several additional pages, and then add on in subsequent months. I'm just beginning this, so I'm not sure how it will affect theming. The client is aware of the plan from the start.

[agerhart]

I agree with you Robert, most are reluctant to go full out at first, and prefer to pay once the results start to pour in.

As for ongoing promotion and optimization:

- link pop building
- monthly or weekly reporting on traffic, ranking, and possibly links
- maintenance
- keyword optimization

[dwedeking]

>>...the best way to approach suggesting extra pages for good search terms that show up without seeming like it's giving a sales pitch<<

Sometimes on a reluctant client I'll build a few extra pages to show how the system works and get the results. Then it's an easy sale down the road for additional pages.

Um, by the way, it is a sales pitch (technique) :)

[feeder]

Thanks all :)