Posted by Kate Morris
Most respected SEOs will tell you there is no such thing as cheap SEO. You get what you pay for in respect to hiring an SEO consultant. And that remains true. Whether you are hiring an agency, independent consultant, or hiring in-house, the best SEOs are going to know the value of their skills and its impact on your business. Going for the lowest cost option (bad SEOs, scam artists) is what gives good SEOs a bad name. Please, don't be one of those (read SEOmoz!), and don't hire one of those.
On the other side of the coin, I was also a small business owner at one time (independent consultant), and I know that you can't always afford the best in the beginning. There are a number of options available to small business owners on a budget. You don't have to forego quality to get good, cheaper SEO advice. Just remember that the less you pay with these suggestions, the more you might have to contribute your own time and learning. You are going to have to think about each of these in terms not just of cost, but also cost of your time. Doing cheaper SEO options means more time on your part learning. But ... with the right time and dedication, you can get the same results those bigger competitors are getting.
Remember the Marketing
From Distilled's Co-Founder Duncan Morris: If you are not an SEO, running your own business and looking to do this on your own, remember that the best SEO you can do is build your business right. You should network and find contacts, grow a mailing list, deliver awesome customer service, and maybe acquire another company. Do remarkable stuff, write interesting stuff on a blog, and tell people about it.
In the end, it's about getting people interested in your business. SEO is not the answer, it's yet another tool in your marketing arsenal.
Local Conferences
Matt Cutts and Vanessa Fox on a Site Review Panel at PubCon
If you want to get the most bang for your buck and good suggestions for your site in real time, attend a local regional conference and submit to a site review panel. The key here is to find one in your area to reduce the costs as much as possible.
There are many you can choose from, a few from the past year include PubCon South, SearchExchange (no new one has been scheduled), SEMPDX SearchFest, and SXSW Interactive. There are many conferences in larger metropolitan areas, but they tend to be pricey. Look at the agenda ahead of time and make sure they have site reviews. On the day of the conference, get there before the session starts and give the moderator your card with the site address, and sit up front. I can't say that Matt Cutts will be the one reviewing your site, but regardless, these shows offer some of the best and brightest in the business.
Cost: Varies Wildly. About $200-750 for the conference (plus any travel costs)
Time: At least an hour for the session, but plan staying the whole conference, about 2-3 days
PodCamp, BarCamp, WordCamp
These are much like a local conference and meetup, but they are unconferences. They are usually free, day or two day long, with the key being that the content is user generated. Topics are about anything from new media (PodCamp) to WordPress (WordCamp), or really anything (BarCamp). There are many local experts you can meet here and ask about anything you need help on. These are the definition of community.
Cost: Free - usually
Time: A day or two for the Camp, and then applying what you learned of course.
Exchange Services
Exchanging services is one of the best ways to get services that you might not be able to afford right now. For instance, I got some awesome shirts "for free" in exchange for some PPC help for the company that printed the shirts. At the time there was no way I could afford the $500 for the shirts, but in exchange for my time? That was easy. If your company offers a service or product, talk to an SEO about an exchange of services.
It is also possible to offer good links for pro bono work. And on that thought, you could exchange your products and services as a link building tactic. Think about donating your time and services and getting links in return. This is a gray area (hat wise), but if you let them decide what to do ... it's cool. It's all about the intent and if the new link is useful to the users of the other site. Keep that in mind.
Cost: No money changes hands.
Time: It's going to cost in time however much you make the deal for your own time.
Visit Local Meetups
Check for local search marketing meetups via Meetups.com or contact your local chamber of commerce for any possible training that might be upcoming. The other option is to Google SEO group in your location - there might be some that aren't formal groups. Local professionals speak and attend sessions and are usually more than happy to answer questions and give advice to other attendees.
My pointer is to look for those meetups and groups that offer training for small business owners. For instance, in Austin, there is the Austin SEO/SEM Meetup through Meetups.com and that is a more training based group, however the AustinSEM.org group is for professionals only. Just be sure you are in the right group.
Second and biggest piece of advice: Don't go there for advice, hound the speaker, and then leave. They are people too. Be a friend, get to know before launching into your issues. Never expect free advice. Go there to learn and maybe you might get some good free advice as a bonus.
Cost: $0-$25 typically
Time: Substantial. An hour for the meetup generally, but there will be many of these over the year, you'll want to attend most of them you can find. And then you have to apply the knowledge.
Twitter (Read: Social Media)
Put simply: Get onto Twitter and make friends. Join in the conversation, don't be creepy, and be genuinely interested and interesting. There are many intelligent SEOs on Twitter that are happy to help friends. But you can't just get on there and ask. Building the relationships is what takes the most time and why this is one of the free options. You have to spend the time conversing and learning from what is being tweeted in addition to building the relationship. This cannot be automated, but once you are friends with an SEO, they are more likely to take time out of their day to help you out.
Cost: Free
Time: This one is all about your time. Hours, months, years is what I am talking here.
Simplest: Read
Read SEOmoz, SEOBook, Google Webmaster Blog, Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal, BlueGlass, Distilled, and so many more. For the most part (at Distilled this is true but I can't talk for everyone), we don't hold much back. If there is something new and cool that can help others with their campaigns, we share it via blogs. You just have to take the time to read them and apply the knowledge to your situation. This isn't easy as examples are not usually just like your situation, but with the right time and dedication you can learn much just reading.
Cost: Free
Time: Less than building relationships, but still high in personal time involvement.
Join a Community
Become a member of a forum or other Q&A type community like Webmaster World, SEOmoz Q&A, SEOBook, SEODojo, StackOverflow (more technical), and ExpertsExchange.
Webmaster World is free to use and the community responds to the questions. Each section has a few moderators, but your question isn't guaranteed to be answered. So there are pluses and minuses to that setup. I learned a lot there when I started, and the community is fantastic. They even have Google and Bing employees drop by to answer sometimes.
SEOmoz Q&A on the other hand comes with your membership to SEOmoz at all paid levels. Your level determines how many questions you can ask per month. At the PRO level, you get two questions a month. These questions are answered by SEO/PPC/Local/Mobile specialists at SEOmoz, Distilled, and across the globe by associates hand picked by the SEOmoz team. All the people answering are true professional experts and your question is guaranteed to be answered by an associate.
While I don't know much about SEOBook and SEODojo, I can tell you that there are many friends of mine that love these communities. They provide an area where you can ask questions and get answers from some of the best minds in search. I hear that Aaron Wall responds to many of the questions himself on SEOBook.
Check out all your options before committing but a community is very helpful at every stage of business or your career.
Cost: From Free to $300 a month at the lowest levels
Time: Good amount. You get direct answers in communities like these to questions about your specific situation, but you still have to learn and apply the advice you are given.
Adopt an SEO
If you have family and friends that are SEOs the chance is that you can get SEO services for free or at a highly discounted rate. So why not adopt? I kid. I kid. This isn't a suggestion for everyone, but if you do have a friend or family member in the business, you can make it their Christmas present to you for life if they will help you out. Most will be more than willing to help, unless this is your 17th "great money making opportunity."
Cost: A Lifetime - no really, you can't buy this one, sorry.
Time: Nurturing for an estranged SEO takes a lifetime, this is a big dedication on your part.
Look to your Family/Friends
Stock Photo Courtesy of Shutterstock
So if you have family and friends that are willing to help out but they aren't search marketing professionals, fret not. Enlist family/friends for help in content generation and link building. Everyone has a talent, and your family and friends can research and write about a number of topics. They can help you contact local businesses for linking opportunities. If any of them are interested in search marketing, you might even get them to read and join the communities we spoke of earlier. It's a win-win for anyone looking for a new career (maybe hire a student!) and your business that needs help getting the word out.
Cost: Minor
Time: Minor. It's your family and friends that are learning, so they get a benefit as well as the satisfaction of helping you.
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