Wordpress & On-Page Optimization

[Buddys]

Seomoz,

Our current SEO provider built a squeeze page using Wordpress.

http://www.buddyrents.com/rent-to-own-furniture/spring-hill-34608/

The page has minimal links and the one drop-down menu links to other pages that look exactly the same with the exception of the page name and Google map.

Since the pages were built a 2 years ago there have been zero copy changes or code changes until a few weeks ago, yet the provider maintains that there is a maintenance charge to make sure the pages function correctly and are easily read by Google.

This sounds like a made up charge. Wordpress pages like these should be pretty stable and search friendly. Am I missing something?

Is this common to charge for SEO, On-page SEO and Maintenance for pages that have not changed and only rank if you actually enter the long-tail keywords that match the page title? They also don't create a lot of traffic, but the provider says they are essential to our online footprint. The pages have a PA of 1 and

the below on-page links (the exact same links for all 120 pages)

| Internal Followed Links | 23 |
| Internal Nofollow Links | 0 |
| External Followed Links | 3 |
| External Nofollow Links | 0 |

Thank you in advance for your insight!

[DanielFreedman]

It's really difficult to comment intelligently in the absence of more information about the overall relationship with you SEO Provider or what is spelled out in the contract.

But my gut tells me you are right to raise your eyebrows....

(to mix metaphors and body parts)

[lyndonclix]

I am an SEO provider and this is probably another case of taking the money and doing nothing much for it. What are the objectives here?

[Buddys]

My objective is to find out what charges are bogus vs. real. We have had several instances as of late that has really made me question their practices. Including, when I have asked for a report of the the monthly SEO/SEM. They responded with a link building report. I insisted that the report did not warrant the monthly spend and they replied "We are constantly changing our strategy depending on the competition and it would be like giving our secrets away. We use to spend to as we feel necessary to get results." I know for a fact that is not a good answer.

If the choice is to find a new provider without losing the work that has already been done. What is the best process? Per the partnership agreement, we have full ownership of all online assets created for the company.

Thank you.

[Buddys]

Hi Daniel,

My gut has made me raise my eyebrows a lot lately. I am finding that much of my day is spent trying to figure out if the charges are valid. Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to question SEO practices, when I am not an expert. We have seen "good" results with the main website, but I feel we are paying for "accessories" that aren't really necessary.

The trust is gone and I feel it is time to move on, but don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot.

Thoughts?

[DanielFreedman]

If the trust is gone, it may be time to move on.

Make sure you have a plan in place for a transition.

After all,  however dissatisfied you are now, something is better than nothing.

But why not give it one last shot? Tell the company you are thinking of moving on, and see how they react. if you are otherwise satisfied with the company's performance, and it's just a matter of billing practices, the relationship might yet be salvaged. It could be as simple as moving to a monthly blanket charge, rather than itemized charges for different services.

Again, I don't know what your contract says, so I'm just taking some guesses here.

[Buddys]

You make some good points. So, let me ask you what is the best measure of SEO effectiveness?

If I look at overal traffic for our site, we are up 52% form last year, but compared to our two main competitors our traffic is minimal...competitors have close to 8x more traffic per month. Then in analytics the majority of our top performing keywords are branded. The provider sends ranking reports for 1st page SERP keywords, but the traffic we capture from those keywords isn't that great.

My understanding is that the traffic from non-branded keywords is a better gauge of SEO performance. We have never used PPC.

Thanks again for taking the time.

[DanielFreedman]

What about sales? isn't that the true measure of effectiveness? And the only one that counts in the end?

It's very easy to get caught up in semi-relevant (or downright phony) metrics. What difference does it make if you rank well on insignificant keywords? Or even if your traffic is up, but it's lousy traffic that doesn't generate sales.

A common "trick" used by SEOs of less than outstanding virtue is to optimize for not very competitive keywords. This is quite easily done and presents the illusion of progress. It can also generate really nifty reports with impressive charts and graphs. But to what end?

The fact that most of your traffic is coming from branded keywords is another alarm bell. It means that most of the people accessing your website are already familiar with your brand. But I'm betting that the whole of your web strategy is to reach new prospects.

If your competitors are getting almost all the non-branded traffic and you have other issues with your current firm, it may be time to move on. As mentioned before, you might want to give them one last chance. Talk about your billing issues and concerns with non-branded keywords.

I suspect what you really need is a deep data dive into the whole competitive web landscape. The findings should drive the strategy  going forward.

Is your site by any chance www.c3medianetwork.com? if so, I must tell you there are serious issues on everything form on-page stuff to the diversity of your link profile.

[Buddys]

Agreed. Sales is the ultimate measure. We are not able to complete sales agreements online, consequently lead generation is our key metric.

I have brought up the concerns with the provider. They responded that the branded traffic is part of their SEO results because some users seeing their links don't click, but then search the name. I don't buy it. Then when I asked them for a report of the monthly SEO/SEM. They responded with a link building report. I insisted that the report did not warrant the monthly spend and they replied...

"We are constantly changing our strategy depending on the competition and it would be like giving our secrets away. We use the spend as we feel necessary to generate leads. If you are happy with the leads then that should be the focus, not reports."

I think it is in our best interest to work with a partner who is willing to share information, so I want to move on. However, I want to make sure we have a plan and valid reasons before taking that next step.

Thank you and have a great day!

[Buddys]

Daniel,

Sorry, C3 Media is the agency/ marketing department for Buddyrents.com. This is the site I am discussing.

Thanks.