[at] mainstreetroi [dot] com>. In the meantime, read the online version below…

“The Attorney’s Guide to Hiring a Search Engine Optimization Company”

Dear Attorney,

Choosing a search engine optimization (SEO) company isn’t easy.

Why? Because you’re bombarded with misleading advertising, confusing claims, and simply bad information from super-low prices and high-pressure sales to unqualified practitioners and near-worthless methods (that won’t do anything except burn a hole in your bank account).

So, how do you ever find a qualified, competent SEO company? You start by reading this report. In this fact-filled report, you’ll discover how to avoid 2 SEO rip-offs, 8 questions to ask any SEO company, and 4 steps to a profitable website.

We created this report to help you better understand online marketing. With this information, you’ll be able to make an informed, intelligent decision.

Let’s get started by answering this question:

“Why Do You Want Your Website to Be Visible in the Search Engines?”

People are shopping for your services in Google every day. Recent research shows that 97% of people now use search engines to research local service providers (like attorneys). If you’re not visible in the search engines, you’re missing out on a lot of potential business.

 

How to Avoid 2 Common SEO Rip-Offs 

I want to warn you about a very common SEO rip-off, and it involves making guarantees about securing #1 rankings in Google. This scheme has two variations, so I’ll explain both of them.

Rip-Off #1: Worthless Rankings

The most common one goes like this… A SEO company contacts you and guarantees that they can get your website ranked #1 in Google. And they actually do get you ranked #1. But it’s for an extremely obscure phrase that none of your prospects would be searching for with any regularity.

This scheme is a rip-off because it doesn’t gain you any new exposure, and therefore doesn’t provide you with any new prospects or clients. So, you end up paying for nothing.

Here’s a slightly different scenario…

Rip-Off #2: Unethical Promises

Now let’s say a SEO company guarantees they can get you #1 ranking in Google for a keyword that actually is relevant and valuable to you.

For example, if you’re a New York personal injury attorney, they might guarantee to rank you #1 for the phrase “New York personal injury attorney.” That might sound like a really good idea. After all, if a SEO company is willing to guarantee top placement for a valuable keyword, they must be the best in the industry, right?

Well, actually, this is a BIG red flag, and here’s why:

Even the most talented SEO practitioners won’t guarantee specific rankings for their clients. The reason is that they don’t have total control over search engine rankings. At the end of the day, it’s all really up to Google who ranks #1 in Google – not the SEO companies. SEO companies simply do the best they can to respond to and anticipate the latest search engine algorithm changes.

If an SEO company is guaranteeing that they’ll get you #1 placement for a keyword, that’s an unethical promise, and it could mean one of 3 things:

1. They don’t understand how SEO works.

2. They’re claiming to have some inside information into Google’s algorithm chances, which means they’re dishonest.

3. They’re so desperate for a new client that they’re willing to promise anything in order to sign you up. (That’d be like an attorney guaranteeing they’ll win a client’s case!)

Bottom line: If a company guarantees to get you ranked #1, you should think twice.

 

3 Costly Misconceptions About SEO 

Misconception #1. SEO is a simple one-time event.

SEO is actually not a one-time event. Instead, it’s a combination of some one-time events as well as some on-going investment and maintenance activities. Later in this report, I outline “The 4 Steps To A Profitable SEO Campaign,” which explains why SEO is an on-going process.

Misconception #2. SEO is an expense.

SEO should be seen as an investment, rather than as an expense. And my goal in creating this report is to help you make a smart, informed investment decision.

The appropriate investment size depends on your situation and your goals. The key is to understand what resources are required to gain the exposure you want, and then how much new business you can gain as a result of that exposure. That way, you can develop some realistic expectations about the return on investment potential.

Your ROI will vary based on many factors, including the demand for your services in your area, the strength and sophistication of your competition, what resources are required to outrank your competitors, and the skill of the SEO company executing the strategy on your behalf.

Misconception #3. The company that offers the lowest price is the company you should hire.

Maybe – but not always. The price of the provider is only one factor to consider. In many instances, the lowest price company will be allocating the least amount of resources or the least amount of skill and experience to your campaign. So, as with many things in life, you get what you pay for.

If you’re looking to make SEO a significant component of your overall marketing strategy, then choosing the lowest priced provider may leave you falling short of your objectives.

No matter what company you work with, here are the 4 steps to a profitable SEO campaign.

 

 

The 4 Steps to a Profitable SEO Campaign 

Step 1. Choosing your keywords (“Demand”)

Before investing in SEO, you need to know what your target is. What keywords do you want to show up for? You probably already have an idea what your ideal prospect would be searching for. Part of the job of an SEO company is to refine your keyword targets so that they make good business sense for you, based on market research.

Step 2. Making edits to your website (“Relevance”)

If you want your website to rank for keywords, your website must be relevant to those keywords, and that typically involves modifying specific elements of your website. A common misconception is that this type of website tweaking is what SEO is all about. However, this is only the starting point of an SEO campaign. This is kind of like the foundation, in a way, because it’s hard to rank well without doing this step. But in most cases, this website editing activity will not be enough to overtake your competitors. You need to do more.

And that’s why we’ll talk about…

Step 3. Attracting links to your website (“Authority”)

This step is really what competitive SEO is all about. In order to rank for competitive keywords – or in other words, keywords that have real value, and which your competitors are also trying to rank for – you need to do something a little counter-intuitive.

You need to get other websites to link to your website because Google sees those incoming links as a sign of authority. And generally speaking, if you want to out-rank the websites on the first page of Google, then you need to accumulate more links than those websites have.

The point is, this link-building activity is an on-going activity. If you haven’t made any investments in SEO, and you’re not ranking in the Top 10, then chances are you have some catching up to do in terms of link-building — and that can take several months.

Now, fast forward to when you actually have a Top 10 listing, or even a #1 listing. That’d be great, right? Yes, but that doesn’t mean you should stop your investment in link-building. If those rankings are valuable, then you’ll want to maintain your position and keep your competitors at bay. All of this requires on-going investment – not just a one-time setup.

And then the final step is…

Step 4. Tracking return on investment (“Analytics”)

This part is critical. You need to make sure that your investments are paying off. So, specifically, you want to look whether your website rankings are improving and whether you’re getting more website visitors. But even more importantly, you want to know whether the phone is actually ringing and you’re attracting more clients as a result of your SEO investment. After all, that’s the whole point of this, isn’t it?

So to recap, SEO is not a one-time activity, but rather a longer-term investment. And the key is to make sure you’re taking all the right steps, including tracking your return on investment.

If you’re thinking about hiring a SEO company, I offer these three recommendations:

Recommendation #1: Make a commitment to get started. The longer you wait to invest, the stronger your competition grows, and the more resources it’ll require to catch up. More importantly, you’re missing out on potential new clients every day, week, month, or year that you’re not gaining that valuable exposure in Google.

Recommendation #2: List your specific objectives. Do you want to move from the fourth page to the first page of Google? Do you want to double your revenues as a result of SEO? Do you want to work with an honest, reputable company – or are you willing to risk working with the company that offers you the lowest price – known that company might not be in business tomorrow.

Recommendation #3: Ask questions. The way you learn about a company is to ask specific questions and listen carefully to the answers. Below, I’ve listed eight questions you should ask any SEO company before hiring them.

 

8 Questions to Ask Before Hiring Any SEO Company 

1. How many people are searching for the services I offer in my area, and what exact keyword phrases are they using?

2. How strong and sophisticated is my competition and what specifically will it take to out-rank them?

3. What specific SEO strategies do you recommend, and in what order?

4. What investment of resources do you think will be required to achieve this, and over what time frame?

5. How many new leads/month and how many new clients/month do you think I could generate from an SEO campaign?

6. How long might it take, and what would happen each month during that ramp-up process?

7. What’s your estimate for my potential return on investment (ROI)?

8. How are you going to measure and track the ROI?

By following these recommendations, you’ll gain all the information you need to make an informed, intelligent decision. If you want a cheap SEO company, many companies can help you. You may already receive several emails or phone calls every week from various SEO companies offering their services. Or you can research SEO and try to do the job yourself, or delegate it to a member of your team.

But if you want to start an SEO campaign that it designed to meet y our marketing objectives , while freeing up your time to serve your clients without worrying about where the next client will come from, I invite you to call me.

I’ll be happy to answer your questions, and provide you with an assessment of your SEO opportunity and an estimate of your potential return on investment over the phone, without any obligation of any kind. To reach me, call 646-470-7201.

 

Here’s one last point: I know that many attorneys are skeptical about SEO companies. So that’s why we offer an iron clad satisfaction guarantee with all of our clients.

 

100% No-Risk Guarantee 

If you’re ever unhappy with our service for any reason and want to stop – NO PROBLEM! You simply let us know and we will politely and immediately refund your last payment and never bill you again. We either deliver top quality service and results or you can leave no questions asked. What could be more fair?

Thanks very much for reading. I hope you found this report helpful. If you have any questions or comments – or if you’d like to schedule a free website SEO audit and consultation, please call me at 646-470-7201 and I’ll return your call promptly.

I thank you for your kind attention.

Sincerely,

Phil Frost
Main Street ROI
646-470-7201