SEO by the Hour? I Don’t Get It
I noticed quite a bit lately that some people don’t understand the concept of SEO services by the Hour. It’s actually a really popular question potential clients ask me. So, I figure let me take a stab at answering the question here in a blog post.
First, let me add, that I hate my domain SEObytheHour.com. I feel it limits what people think I can offer them. Plus it’s rare you can really charge SEO by the Hour. I just bought the domain some years back (because it sounded cool), built some links to it, played around with it and viola, it’s getting action.
But here’s how it goes anyway…
To my knowledge, Google’s SEO algorithm is proprietary. No one can crack it. I’m also willing to bet that some of the smartest, technical minded gurus are working behind the formula to do 1 main thing; deliver the MOST RELEVANT results for its users, so it continues to be the best search engine ever.
That being said; I don’t know SEO.
But I do know 2 things. 2 things that I feel are the core to everything I do. The understanding of these 2 things is what I feel sets me apart from he rest.
- Google is the most used search engine because when people ask/query what they are looking for, they rarely have to go past the 1st page. The sites Google is picking to be #1, 2, 3, 4.. are picked for a reason..
- The best way to figure out how to rank #1 is to dissect the competition; the top rankers. Why are they #1? Is it because they answer every who, what, why, how question there is about your target keyword? Is it because of their links? Check where their links are coming from. How did they obtain them? What do they say? What kind of content is surrounding those links? HOW MUCH WORK DID THEY HAVE TO PUT IN TO RANK #1?
Performing proper keyword and competitive research and utilizing web tools that make virtually everything your competition does transparent allows you gauge how much work you will have to do to compete. I can literally find out everything there is know about your competition and what chances you have to rank for those terms. The questions are, what keywords do you want to go after? Who’s ranking for those keywords? And how much work is needed to compete?
Asking those questions makes it easier to understand SEO by the Hour.
After years of hands-on experience working on all types of web platforms and structures and professionally recording how long everything takes, page by page I can guesstimate how long it would take to optimize your website, no matter the size or how it’s built. Normally, full-fledged SEO is implemented once really strong in the beginning and overtime you will make various changes here and there based on what Google tells you through its rankings.
OK, so onpage is covered. But what about offpage you ask.
Well, when really analyzing your competitors, you can determine why they are number one by using SEO analysis tools and link building tools that give you heaps of information. For some keywords, you can learn that the top guys got away with just doing free directory submissions utilizing their anchor text links. Sometimes the #1 site just did a bunch of articles and guest posted in several niche blogs. Sometimes you find out the top guy has been doing a monthly press release through PR Web for over a year. Or even worst, the top guy is an author of some book that was a New York Times Best Seller that has guest featured in all the top authority and news channels.
Again, I record how long it takes for me to do everything and the cost of what ever is needed. I know how long it takes for me to write a press release or how much it cost to have a professional write one. Same with articles and blog posts. I know how long it takes for me to email 100 webmasters. I know how long it takes for me to guest author in a blog. All in all, I know how to determine how much work is needed to compete with the top guy(s).
Most of the time if someone is coming to me for help, they are going after terms that require WORK. Terms that require 100′s of hours. This is why sometimes SEO has to be performed naturally over a period of time. Luckily I KNOW how long everything takes me to do.
Overtime, you’ll realize that SEO take hours and hours and is an ongoing campaign. After all, isn’t the keyword you going after valuable (to more than just you)?
Still, the most important question to ask yourself is; how can I be the most relevant site to the next 1 million people that type in the keyword I’m targeting?
Read MoreLocal SEO Tips PT 4 of 3 – “san diego seo”
Almost a month ago I created a website called SEO by the Hour. I created this site because I am in the SEO/internet marketing community and I felt the need to possess a website that represented my resume or skill-set. I love my current job and make plenty of money to get by. However I figured it couldn’t hurt to create a site adverting my skills (it would also be nice to be the #1 SEO Specialist; at least according to Google & Yahoo.)Two weeks ago (between 2 of my Local SEO posts Off-Profile SEO Linking & Finalizing Your Profile) I decided to apply everything I blogged about by creating a page targeting “San Diego SEO” and here are the results if you Google search “san dego seo” (at least w/my ip);
Let me explain to you exactly what I did:
Referencing my San Diego SEO Business Profile on Google & my San Diego SEO webpage on SEO by the Hour.
One Page Optimization
- Title Tag: San Diego SEO: SEO Specialist in San Diego, California
- META Description: Freelance SEO San Diego – James Harrison; a San Diego SEO Specialist has been providing excellent customer service and superior SEO services to many local San Diego companies. Contact SEO by the Hour today for a free SEO quote. – San Diego SEO Specialist -
- META Keywords: seo in san diego, san diego seo, southern california, san diego ca, 92109, seo specialist, seo, james harrison, sunny san diego
- Headings: <H1>San Diego SEO Specialist</h1> <h1>Call SEO by the Hour Today!</h1> <h1>Where in San Diego Am I located?</h1>
- Under the 1st H1 I mention San Diego in bold in the 1st sentence (prominence). I also mention San Diego in the 2, 4 and 5th sentence also with the last San Diego bolded. I also tried to add content that supported San Diego like ‘Sea World’, ‘California’, ‘beach’, etc.
- Under the 2nd H1 I made sure San Diego was in my first sentence and I bolded SEO (because SEO was in the 2nd H1 tag. Get it? SEO heading San Diego SEO content). I also mentioned 2 phone numbers, both with San Diego area codes. I made sure these numbers matched my business profile.
- Under the 3rd H1 I mentioned San Diego and surrounding areas just above a map from my local business profile.
- ***Notice how I keep bolding phrases that relate to the H1′s. Also note that the map is a Google map ;)
- Under the last H1 titled “Where in San Diego Am I Located“, I have a link pointing to my SEO business profile, a “where” link pointing to my business profile map and an internal link to another SEO page with “SEO” in the anchor text.
- In the Footer I added my address and made sure the zip code was listed.
Off Page Optimization
- I linked to it from my San Diego SEO blog. The link’s anchor text was “SEO Specialist located in San Diego, CA.” The title of that post is “SEO Specialist“. The URL is http://blogoptimizer.blogspot.com/2008/09/seo-specialist.html
- I linked to it from the home page of SEO by the Hour with a link titled “San Diego SEO“. Simple, right?
- The domain has several SEO and San Diego SEO related links pointing it and some of those pages have ‘san diego’ in the title tag.
- You can visit my SEO Business profile on Google to see how I optimized it.
So, there you go. If you are a business with an actual company location, build a page strictly for local biz and start getting biz through Google fast!
I’ve done this for several websites, but I never done it this fast, it was pretty awesome though, to see positive results so quickly.
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