Would You Hire An SEO Firm?

[lori042499]

The biggest problem I have answering a question like this is that you really kind of need to know what you are buying in order to put a value on it... I am still not 100% clear on what I pay strider for, I never knew what I paid TF for...as far as I am concerned any money I have spent on my website could be too much or could be not enough, just like when we sell people a nice arrangement for 40 dollars, it could be enough for their occasion it could not be, they don't know unless we tell them.....It would be nice if webpeople could speak english and tell us exactly what we are buying and what is included in our per month charge...I know people who have websites for 24.95 a month and people who spent 300 a month, and neither one knows what they are getting for their money except that they have a physical website...this is a problem in the sales departments of web providers..

 

[duanermb]

This is not an easy question to answer. The reason SEOs are SEOs is that it is a very geeky little niche.

In the previous responses it was discussed about market size and the number of competitors, that plays a role in your decision. There are ways that an SEO provider can feed you information as to how they are accomplishing tasks with your site. I've seen several different ways, like Ryan's report and some that are very task oriented. "We added a link to xyz.com".

Either way, the proof is in the conversions on the site. Are people finding it and ordering flowers or calling in to the store. With your site change, you are now seeing less conversions. So it is time to act.

Do you have a marketing budget set?
Have you allocated a good portion of it to online sales and call ins?
Is it enough for a customized website with $ left over to support it?

Define the budget and then allocate funds accordingly. Up front website cost should be looked at with a 2-3 year payback period.

$2000/36 = $56.00 per month, then free.

We pay big money for things like signage, vehicle wraps and store upgrades, why wouldn't we allocate $ for our website?

The good news is that a huge portion of search engine management or more directly SEO can be accomplished in the beginning. If I were to start from scratch, (thank God I don't have to) I would absolutely be willing to pay $1000/month for 6 months and then $500 for 6 months and then a $250 maintenance fee after that. It's a boat load of work, but if we couldn't have done most of it ourselves, it would have been totally worth it and likely cheaper because I screwed up so many times in the beginning.

That being said, we STILL allocate well over $1000 per month to web marketing. Our $39/mo to Epic Flowers doesn't even come close to what we spend on SEO, Pay Per Click, yearly fees and other maintenance costs. Because we budget for it and see results, that doesn't bother me one bit.

To get back to your question, you have to go a little on faith with this stuff and seek trusted providers who are recommended by your peers. If you don't see results, re-think the decision and move on.

Can you actually quantify the payback for a $2000 street sign? With a website, you can absolutely quantify the results!

 

[anytimeflowers]

Good answer, Duane. The best part is, I even understood everything you said ~ and commiserate 1000% with mistakes starting out. This is my third website, (fourth if you count the two month piece of crap I had with Bloomnet).

Lori, part of your problem may just be that Google has not cached enough pages yet from your new site. Go to this to see what they have cached. The first ones must be from your TF site which of course is not up anymore.

I don't have my new site yet, so I'm unfamiliar with the navigation to help you with your meta tags and keywords.

As much of this as I now understand, I'm all about having an expert do it for me. Duane is absolutely right, and Helen touched on it too. You really won't know if you are getting ROI until you start tracking. I can assure you that TF had your site primed for search. This is the first thing you need to look at, to determine whether you are getting less traffic to your site. If you are getting way less traffic, SEO is going to help you tremendously. If you are getting the same traffic but less conversions, it is your product offerings.

I don't see a link to a blog. Do you have one? If not, GET ONE and post something, anything. Google is super fast about archiving those and that will boost your search.

Just some thoughts from a complete novice who will be gladly paying extra for SEO.

 

[lori042499]

That's the thing I am not getting less traffic...I am getting just as much as ever, just less orders...I have started to see some..I am getting some feedback.Maybe somepeople were put off by a really sudden change, maybe they think they were at the wrong place...I am not very sure..I do know I don't like the template I picked and am going to pick a new one..i haven't even delved into meta tags and all of that yet..I don't even know what those are or how they work..I just want to get design and style out of the way...the more I hear the more I want to hide in a hole about websites...I get so overwhelmed by them, it is unreal...even with my tf site and that was all done for me...just to get content organized and sent in was a challenge for me...I don't even know why I thought I would be able to do this and stay sane...

Not sure what the loink is you put up but I can't go there..

 

[anytimeflowers]

Lori,

Of course you can do this! You jumped with both feet at the busiest season of the year with mucho chango! SUPER overwhelming. Don't worry about any of the metas, if your traffic is good, then you don't need to concern yourself with that yet.

You are doing great, if I'd made all of the major changes you have, I'd be drooling at the funny farm ~ give yourself a pat on the back, quit beating yourself with a sledgehammer!

It is VERY possible that people think your site has somehow been hijacked and it isn't really you, it's a far different look. They will get used to it but if you hate it, change it soon!

 

[lori042499]

Yup, waiting to do that...Ryan has said there is 2 coming should have been yesterday, then I will make the decision...and get a move on..I Have about 250 pictures all over the place to go through organize edit and get into enabling condition...I am like a hoarder when info gets put onto a computer..everything is everywhere, no ryme or reason..It doesn't make actual piles so in my mind it is fine until I go looking for something..uugh! I almost can't wait to slow down just so I can get this crap done..Thanks Linda, was have a very self confident moment..I sold a balloon job for today and made a few m istakes with what I sold and not knowing some things that I am beating myself up over that too...not a good week for me...I am sure I will pull up my big girl panties and muscle through once I get going..

 

[master J]

Hang in there Lori. It will all work out. I'm overwhelmed too every day with all the crap I deal with. You have all summer to get it where you want to be. I'm glad I waited until now to go live with my new site , cannot imagine doing it at mday.

I still have a lot to fix too. Hang in and stay strong. You'll be fine.

 

[anytimeflowers]

Lori, yes, those images can get all over the place. I finally came up with a system on that. In my pictures, I created some files.

NOT edited Folder
Rich (rich for me means they are not resized for web) Folder

Then create subfolders in there for each category. For holidays, you can go even deeper. Make a subfolder for MD, then make a subfolder in that for each year.

Pix for upload Folder

Then create the same subfolders for your categories.

I believe the new platform allows you to store unused pictures, the old one does not have that same format so I developed my system in my own computer. If it had, I'd probably be in the same boat.

 

[theRKF]

Yup, waiting to do that...Ryan has said there is 2 coming should have been yesterday, then I will make the decision...

They are close to being ready for preview, a little more time before being ready for live use. I will get you the previews as soon as possible so that you can decide on a new template or one of the older ones.