I have $5k per month to spend on SEO. Where should I spend it?

[jonathanwashburn]

Hey Robert,

My long time philosophy is that Google is really smart and your best bet is to make amazing content that people want, and then trust Google to do their job."

However recently I've seen a compelling line of argument here on SEOmoz that argues on page seo is good, but it's much easier to move the needle off page.

I am absolutely here on SEOmoz to learn, and I recognize the amazing group of SEO experts here.

Here are my thougths regarding your quotes from the experts:

Kulver / competitive SEO analysis: I'm doing this myself.

Kent / RETS & Mobile: From a user perspective, there is theoretically no difference with how I receive the data (rets/idx) if it is displayed in the same way. In practice there are slight differences, since I am using a word press based IDX provider, I have some limitations to how I can display the listings.

Mobile: Agree 110% - something worthwhile is needed there.

**Copstead / Market size to big: **I have this general line of thinking that comes in handy with whatever startup I'm working on:

"What we are trying to do is impossible. Rationally it can't be done (too little money / resources etc.). But I've seen magic happen time and time again when big goals are set."

One strong SEO opinion I do have is that I don't target "keywords". Even before the term was coined, I've always been a strong proponent of the long tail.  I want to build the site's domain authority, and structure the site appropriately so that the SEO work we do lifts up the site across the board.

Bottom line is that I will not be happy if this site is not a top 3 site in Western Washington. (As ranked against all of the listing sites)

Norquay / Investment breakdown:

I like everything about this budget. I am looking for someone to execute on this type of thing. I should say that Social Media and content building must be built holistically within your organization for it to be successful (genuine, interesting, etc), but spending $1k + $1.5k on SEO based social media & content could be a good investment.

**EGOL / granular: **For reason stated above (Copstead) I don't want to focus on granular. (This doesn't mean that I won't use care when selecting anchor text.)

I appreciate the tip of list organization (vertical vs horizontal). We will make that change.

Fisher (you!)/ local & other things:

1. I agree on local.

2. Large pics on the top = travel site: It's true that no other real estate listing sites show large pics on the top and a user could be confused. However, I believe a user thinking about relocating would like to get the flavor of different neighborhoods and cities. I know I would. However, we do plan to also feature specific listings in those large marquee images over time.

3. Competitive keyword analysis. I've spent a lot of time researching this recently - too much to talk about in this format.

4. Site flawed - high bounce rate: We will continue to modify the site until the bounce rate is low or we are getting a 10%+ visitor to lead conversion rate. Depending on where we set our longer term goals.

5. Open source plugins: We are just getting started on the site and I think we've already paid $1k+ to plug in developers. I agree with you on this.

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SEOmoz: I love the concept of a peer learning organization.

I'm a big big advocate of on page SEO but want to work more on the off page SEO.

Of course I'm always happy to share what I know and I'll share when I have something good.

I truly do appreciate the advice and insight from everyone!!

[RobertFisher]

Good luck, I think you will be fine. Would love to talk re RETS and IDX, etc. And about building a cool RE blog. If I can be of assistance at anytime, please ping or email me.

Best.

[sansonj]

As http://activerain.com/blogsview/1526736/meet-jonathan-washburn-ceo-and-co-founder-of-activerain- I am amazed you are in here as you would have some amazing SEO people at your finger tips to help you, but right one. The one things I am confused about is the need to disclose this, because how does it help solve your equation?

[jonathanwashburn]

Sansonj,

It seemed like some of the responses were directed towards basic SEO strategies. I was trying to clarify by background (since the question was very vague) in order to get non-basic SEO strategies.

~jon

[Guest]

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[RyanKent]

Forgive me if this is too blunt, but your writing here is quite bad. It is difficult to believe someone who represents a quality writing service could write with poor spelling and grammar.

I took a look at your website and there are grammar errors throughout your content. If you cannot even write properly at your own site, how can you write well for others?

1500 word articles for $42 is a very nice price though! The problem is, for that amount of money it is simply not possible to write anything remotely close to a quality article.

You claim to be a "UK based writing service" but your About Us page offers no physical address. I could go on but all indications are your services are not for anyone who cares about SEO or the quality of their site.

[Guest]

This post is deleted!

[EGOL]

We at www.contentwritings.com provide seo content writing service as well as business plan writing service. I recommend you to visit our website and also give us chance to serve you in right direction.

In current Google algorithm, Content of website is the major role of gaining top rank. So for good content you may contact us as info@contentwritings.com

Your post was self-promotion.  Not allowed here.

Also, if you are selling English language content it is very poorly done.

[KeriMorgret]

Hi Kashif,

If you would like a complete audit of your website, I would suggest you contact Ryan or another provider via private message and set up a contract for services. Ryan is a paying member of SEOmoz, just like yourself, and volunteers his time in here to answer questions. A request for a full audit is a bit beyond the scope of what people normally provide here.

I am an employee of SEOmoz, and am stepping in to suggest that it isn't usual forum behavior at SEOmoz to come into an older question and immediately offer your services. You may want to read a few more Q&A questions and read recent questions to get a bit of a feel for the community. Do feel free to send me a private message if there is anything I can do to help you out with using Q&A.

[vedantcreations]

Dear Jon,

I have visited your website and also created the SEO analysis report.

Please give me your email id so I can send you the report and we can discuss how could we can work on your website.. Please reply me on [removed by staff] or add me in skype: [removed by staff]

Regards,

Nilesh

[KeriMorgret]

Hi Nilesh,

Welcome to the SEOmoz forums! As I wrote in response to someone else, this is not the place to offer unsolicited business deals. Thanks for understanding!

[vedantcreations]

Hi Keri,

My sincere apologies.

I will take care next time.

Regards,

Nilesh

[eyepaq]

Nice topic - really nice read.

Someone should promote the chat as a blog entry - really good case study here !