SEO Pricing Apples to Apples
We get a lot of phone calls about SEO and what things cost. I wanted to take the time to write a post for potential 3plains customers on what they should expect on SEO pricing from 3plains, how to compare other SEO companies and what questions to ask your potential SEO company.
At 3plains, we don’t hide our prices. When it comes to our SEO prices, we truly need to understand what you’re trying to accomplish as a business, and what you are comfortable spending. With SEO, there’s no ‘silver bullet’ solution out there, but as a consumer, you really need to find a reputable SEO company that can provide the highest return on investment (ROI) for your dollars - period.
For your hunting business, you should be asking your potential SEO company to show your their results. Make them send you results from their existing clients. Ask for referrals from the clients you’re given results for. Be diligent, and don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions.
People can spend $150 to $1500/month on SEO. It really varies a lot based on what your search terms are, what your market is, your competition, location, and ultimately where you’d like to rank in Google. Before you say that’s expensive, it’s important to consider traditional advertising, and what you may have spent in the past for a Pheasants Forever magazine ad, or even a prominent spot in your local yellow pages. People are using the internet to book hunts in 2012. In fact we search Google on our smartphones, before we use it to dial a number these days, so your dollars really need to be spent in the right place.
SEO Client Result Examples
Let’s take a look at a few of our real world 3plains clients as examples for SEO labor and pricing. Taking a look these selected examples should help you understand what goes into it, what it costs, the competition, and where your dollars go.
God’s Country Outfitters (www.godscountryoutfitters.net)
This outfitting business based in Florida guides Osceola turkeys and wants to rank on the first page for “florida osceola turkey hunts.” With our initial research, consultation with the client, and knowledge of the species, we find that can be relatively easy based on a very low number of licensed outfitters as competition. We also take into account the availabllity of the species. Osceolas only being in the north central and south Florida, make the search terms less competitive, which in turn makes it less expensive to rank well for.
Now add in the other multiple species that this outfitter guides: gator hunting and charter fishing. How competitive is that market? Gators aren’t just in Florida, so add up how many more outfitters do it, and inherently there’s more competition. For the charter fishing competition explodes. We could break the fishing down to the region, beach(specific area) or species. So there are a lot of factors involved with the fishing.
Let’s add it all up to see where the labor goes.
The Budget for SEO Labor costs
+ Oceola SEO cost
+ Florida Gator SEO cost
+ Florida Charter Fishing SEO cost
———
= Total SEO dollars
Client Results
- God’s Country Outfitters just signed up with us in May 2012, so look for God’s Country to rank well in due time. It won’t happen over night, but we will be listing updated results here.
Texas 5 Star Hunting Adventures (www.texas5starhuntingadventures.com)
Now what about Texas deer hunting? Texas is a multi-billion dollar industry, so the labor to get to the coveted first page is significantly more. Hence increased cost. In the following example, this client had a variety of species but wanted to focus the SEO campaign on whitetail, no trophy fees, spring rio’s and a nice variety of other search phrases. With this campaign, we weren’t exactly shooting for one specific phrase like “texas deer hunting” because the cost to do SEO labor for the “texas deer hunting” term to me did not justify the amount of leads that would come in. That term does get heavy traffic, but traffic doesn’t always mean bookings.
The Budget for SEO Labor costs
+ texas whitetail hunting terms SEO cost
+ rio turkey hunting terms SEO cost
———
= Total SEO dollars
Client Results
- texas whitetail deer hunts no trophy fees - page 1 (#1 Top Spot)
- texas hunting ranch - page 3
- texas whitetail ranch - page 3
- texas whitetail deer ranch - page 2
- texas whitetail deer hunting ranch - page 1
- texas whitetail deer hunting - page 3
- texas whitetail deer hunts - page 3
- texas spring turkey hunting - page 1
- texas rio grande turkey hunting - page 1
- texas spring rio grande turkey hunting - page 1
UGUIDE South Dakota Pheasant Hunting (www.uguidesdpheasants.com)
What about South Dakota pheasant hunting? There are thousands of outfitters in the state of South Dakota. Combine that with farmers supplementing income with pheasant hunts and putting up websites selling their hunts in addition to their farming or cattle business. Now add in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, North Dakota, and other nearby states for competition on the term of “pheasant hunting”. That’s a lot of competition.
A budget for a new South Dakota pheasant hunting customer wanting to be on the first page in google for the term “South Dakota pheasant hunting” will likely be thousands of dollars due to all that competition. If you don’t have the budget to go after that coveted term of “South Dakota pheasant hunting,” talking with a good SEO company will help you find other phrases that are less expensive and a better return on your investment. Understanding what your search terms should be, and what your competition is key, and the measure of a good SEO company.
Client Results
- south dakota pheasant hunting - page 1
- ** many more high ROI phrases (not shown) - page 1
Bar-Nunn Hunting (www.bar-nunn.com)
This particular Wyoming outfitting customer sells antelope, elk, mountain lion, mule deer hunts and prairie dog hunts. Oh boy, that’s a lot. So we decided to focus on the antelope first, then work to the other spieces based on communication with the client. This campaign continues with this customer because he knows the value of what we do at 3plains, and wants to keep expanding into all the species he works. Results do not happen over night or even in a couple of month. Great results take time and patience is rewarded.
Client Results
- antelope hunting page 1 (#1 Google top spot)
- wyoming antelope hunting page 1 (#1 Google top spot)
- wyoming elk hunting page 2
Picking a Good SEO Company
How do I pick a good SEO company for my hunting outfitting business? Who do I trust? There are a few key traits I feel are especially imporant for a good SEO company to have.
- Honest - A good SEO needs to be honest with their clients. How many SEO companies say “We guarantee #1 rankings”? Run the other way. Guarantees like that are a scam.
- A Communicator - If your SEO doesn’t communicate with you about the work, they’re probably not doing it. Trust your gut, and by all means ask.
- A Good Teacher - if you don’t know what your SEO does how can you ever see value? In the past we’ve produced fantastic SEO results to customers who had no idea what we were doing, and got yelled at as a result. I’ve learned from that mistake, and now we make sure our clients know what’s going on while teaching them the basics. so they help out, and understand the value. A team effort gets you to the top quicker.
- A Planner - Tell your SEO company you want to know the plan. There should be a road map of how they’re going to get there. Ask them what techniques they use, and get a general time frame. Ask them to provide a list of aquired external links as a example.
- A Team player - You and your SEO company need to work together. If you can’t work together, it’s time to get rid of them. A bad relationship between an SEO company and their clients rarely produce good results. At 3plains we won’t take on clients who won’t help us. No SEO company knows your product like you do. Sure we hunt and know the industry, but we don’t write or think like you do.
- Makes Mistakes - A good SEO company has made a few mistakes over the years. We certainly have, and we learn from them every time. SEO has no text book method, and a good SEO company can’t be afraid to try new things and take chances. Good SEO companies need to push the envelope!
Getting Started with SEO
As a customer, you need to decide what you can afford to spend and what you are comfortable with. Just be aware that you are ultimately the one responsible for the results, not your SEO company. A good SEO company can help you decide where to start and how much it’ll take to get going. Remember your website does you little good, if your potential customers can’t find it when they begin their search for products and services you provide.
Consider 3plains. We show real results, design great looking hunting websites and are a one stop shop for all your design and marketing needs. Let us grow your business. Plain and simple, that’s why we do SEO.
Posted in: SEO / SEM