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Recently I’ve noticed that more and more people are shopping around for prices before they decide to commit themselves to a service provider. People have always asked me, often before they know exactly what I do, how much I charge, but now as more and more businesses are dipping their toes into online marketing, the cheapest option always seems to be their number one priority, particularly in the current economic climate.
However, cheap often leads to a lot of disappointment, and here are a few reasons why choosing the cheapest will probably lead to a less than cheerful experience:
The service will probably leave a lot to be desired, will you ever get hold of your consultant? Will they actually do the work they promised? Will you ever see any results?
You may find that your site’s home page is the only page optimised, or you’re charged per keyword, the cheapest option being 1 keyword. What’s the point in having a website optimised for only 1 keyword?
Your ‘optimisation’ won’t be done on your site but on external pages hosted by the SEO company who will drive traffic to your site from doorway pages. As soon as you decide to stop, the traffic gets turned off and you’re left not only with no visitors but with an unoptimised website.
Generally inadequate SEO, with keyword stuffed pages and meta tags which never really gain good rankings and show your site in a bad light in the search results.
So beware, the lure of a cheap service can lead to a lot of frustration later on, with little or no improvements in rankings and a mess for someone else to clear up afterwards! If you’re still lured by the cheapest then at least get some references before you take up the service.
About Sam
Sam McArthur is an internet marketing consultant with 12 years in the industry. She helps professional service businesses with their internet marketing strategy, helping them to see significant results from their online marketing activities, particularly within the search engines. She also consults on the latest internet tools, technology and best practice techniques.
I tried to go cheap last year by using a VA to set up a wordpress blogsite for me. I checked out some examples & it all looked good but half way through the project everything feel apart. I dont think she liked doing the nitty gritty, having come from a design background. So unfortunately we parted company and had to start from scratch with someone else. So, yes going cheap was not a cheap option in the end!
What have I done differently? Stuck to my website guy who. yes charges more, but I know the work is quality and it gets done to the spec I want.
Yes, often you end up paying more in the long run by trying to save money! I find I tend to use the people who I know will do a good job, but think many of us small business owners (including me) have fallen into this trap at some point!