Wed Jan 09 10:02:47 PST 2019

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Questions: Off the Web & Major Changes
? Why does their company deserve to be ranked as the top resource?
What is their unique sales proposition?
? Is their business healthy? Are other disruptive technologies entering or
replacing their market? Are they continually losing market share?
? Do they plan on launching new site technologies?
? If they contacted you, what prompted them to think they needed a
SEO consultant now?
? Do they intend to use search engine marketing as one of many
marketing channels, or are they expecting their whole business to
succeed or fail based on SEO? Is their site good other than search
engine marketing? Are they willing to accept your feedback on
usability and other issues related to conversion?
Some of the stuff you cannot know fully, but your gut can get a good sense of how
flexible the company is.
Being Your Size
Many SEOs desire huge corporate clients who may have so much red tape that the
SEOs get bogged down and are prevented from doing well. Some small SEO
firms try to act big and, conversely, some large SEO firms try to act small. Usually
it works best if you act your size and attract clients you can handle.
Partner with other firms so that if you feel that a company would be too much of a
research hog or not profitable enough, you can get a referral commission by
sending them to someone else.
Don?t be afraid to mention some of the cons of SEO services. If you are the only
one who they talk to who sounds honest and mentions risks (such as large
algorithm changes or no guaranteed results
, then you may get hired. It is usually
best to err on the conservative side when estimating returns so that you can meet
your goals.
Some of my friends with small firms have beat out larger firms by having better
proposals and being more honest about some of the cons of SEO. Some small
firms also have the advantage of being able to move fast since they do not have the
associated legal and IT related wait times.