strategist surfboard: SEO: Getting into the top 3 of Google.

I'm really getting into this forum.

UK Business Forums Free Member

Join Date: Sep 2012

Location: London

Posts: 147

Thanked 34 Times in 29 Posts

SEO: Getting into the top 3 of Google.

Hi Guy's,

I'm wondering how SEOers quantify the cost of ranking high for a particular topic.

Hypothetical question:

The owner of business A has X amount of resources available to him (money, time knowledge, staff, etc). He wants to know if it would be possible for him to get his website into the top three rankings of Google for a particular topic with the resources he has available.

What are the key things an SEO guy would be looking at to determine how expensive or difficult it would be to get into the top three within a six to twelve month time frame?

Last edited by Young Recruit; Yesterday at 14:43.

I am part of the furniture here.

...UK Business Forums Full Member...

Join Date: Jul 2012

Posts: 1,321

Thanked 299 Times in 274 Posts

Will depend on the phrase(s) they want to appear under.

If they want something general where there is lots of competition like "Accountants in London" then will be a lot more expensive than "Piano Tuners in Oxford".

Super Moderator

UKBF Voluntary Moderator

Join Date: Jun 2009

Location: Gloucestershire

Posts: 3,927

Thanked 1,433 Times in 1,205 Posts

It's all down to time, and the resources the owner wants to throw at the site e.g.

1 person, working 10 hours a week is cheaper than 5 people working 10 hours a week

The more the client has to spend, the more resources can be used on the project

The time taken to get a site to the project goal, will depend on the competition for the goal, and the resources being used for the goal.

As Paul said, ranking for accounts in london will be harder than something like accountants in Barry (small welsh town).

Most SEO's should be able to give a ball park figure for costings and time to do the project but please remember, it can take longer, you're never guaranteed the position and you can quickly lose the position (especially in competitive keywords) if you stop doing the work on the site.

SEO isn't a quick fix, it's a long term project which should deliver results.

The Following User Says Thank You to Faevilangel For This Useful Post:

I'm really getting into this forum.

UK Business Forums Free Member

Join Date: Sep 2012

Location: London

Posts: 147

Thanked 34 Times in 29 Posts

Quote:

Will depend on the phrase(s) they want to appear under.

If they want something general where there is lots of competition like "Accountants in London" then will be a lot more expensive than "Piano Tuners in Oxford".

Hi Paul,

I understand that some key words are more expensive due to competition.

My question is more about the factors an SEO guy would look at to determine the cost.

Using 'Accountants in London' as an example, how would you determine the cost of getting ranked number one for 'Accountants in London'? What process does an SEO guy go through to come up with a cost?

I am part of the furniture here.

...UK Business Forums Full Member...

Join Date: Jul 2012

Posts: 1,321

Thanked 299 Times in 274 Posts

Someone like OldWelshGuy would be best to answer m8 as he's an expert when it comes to SEO.

@Faevilangel top marks for getting Barry a mention, but it hasn't been the same since the wacky goldmine went :-(

The Following User Says Thank You to Paul_Rosser For This Useful Post:

There are concerns over my Forum/Life balance.

UK Business Forums Free Member

Join Date: Apr 2009

Posts: 2,638

Thanked 303 Times in 269 Posts

The key things are Money and the time it takes for SEO to 'start working' - which is a long time in most cases (for the half-decent keywords) - un-popular words take far longer.

But SEO is just a fraction of what businesses spend time on. Other activities such as advertising actually takes up the most budget with many spending 120k a year on it or more. I don't believe its possible to build a biz on pure SEO alone and you'd be crazy to try, as there's fortunes being spent on this just to own the top spots for the best keywords.

In reality, I'd forget hoping to rank like, for instance, Expedia's or Target.com's keywords, as huge players like these will crush you. The mis-information by many SEO's is frightening, I've been doing the web thing for many years, putting many sites into action and have never, ever seen SEO results like what is claimed by these self-appointed one-man band outfits.

I dont like to brag, but must to make the point. My websites built up a following, attract thousands of page requests and deliver hundreds of thousands of visitors every year - and the great thing is my traffic is virtually all free, without expensive SEO work, seriously, we don't spend squat on SEO, a bit on advertising but mainly we concentrate on building value-added services. Our newest site has gained over 4000 free visitors a month via ZERO spend, these 4000 visitors transfers to our other websites increasing that traffic to 10'000 a month etc etc etc....

Another site we had live was getting over 2000 visitors a month at start. But basically there's a variety of ways to increase traffic without hefty SEO bills each month, for minimal spend outlay.

__________________
National Finalist for Virtual Business of the Year 2010

Regional Finalist for Online Biz of the Year 2010

The Following User Says Thank You to eventdomain For This Useful Post:

There are concerns over my Forum/Life balance.

UK Business Forums Free Member

Join Date: Jan 2007

Posts: 1,647

Thanked 276 Times in 246 Posts

Quote:

Hi Paul,

I understand that some key words are more expensive due to competition.

My question is more about the factors an SEO guy would look at to determine the cost.

Using 'Accountants in London' as an example, how would you determine the cost of getting ranked number one for 'Accountants in London'? What process does an SEO guy go through to come up with a cost?

Using that as an example, you may well find an SEO company in London charges double the price outside of London.

Running a good competitor analysis report should help you find what you are missing to start competing but it's just to find the right person to deliver that.

Different companies / individuals charge different rates with mostly different opinions, methods and so on - I would contact a couple to get an idea of what costings your looking at, and who fits the suit.

There is no life outside of UKBF for me.

UK Business Forums Free Member

Join Date: Apr 2007

Posts: 25,093

Thanked 5,542 Times in 4,086 Posts

Quote:

Hi Paul,

I understand that some key words are more expensive due to competition.

My question is more about the factors an SEO guy would look at to determine the cost.

I would be looking at competition for the terms required and the amount of profit my intervention would bring for a given amount of work,as I only take on projects where I get paid by profit results.

__________________
Cheap Psycho-Analysis- Poverty stricken genius

Last edited by sirearl; Yesterday at 16:45.

The Following User Says Thank You to sirearl For This Useful Post:

I'm just testing the water here.

UK Business Forums Free Member

Join Date: Nov 2012

Posts: 17

Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts

Good seo means you need to work damn hard. There is no easy solution or everyone would be doing it.

The Following User Says Thank You to centredog For This Useful Post:

I am part of the furniture here.

UK Business Forums Free Member

Join Date: May 2008

Location: Bournemouth

Posts: 1,003

Thanked 119 Times in 102 Posts

Quote:

Another site we had live was getting over 2000 visitors a month at start. But basically there's a variety of ways to increase traffic without hefty SEO bills each month, for minimal spend outlay.

in laymans terms would you care to share some things you've done, how they've been done, time taken etc