2nd Edition. MarketingSherpa. A review by Mike Grehan.

Back in 1997, Danny Sullivan, largely regarded as the leading expert in the field of search engine optimisation (SEO), published what was then known as: A webmasters guide to search engines. It grew to become Search Engine Watch and is, without doubt, the most visible online resource focused on search engines. During that same year, software developer Brent Winters, launched a product called WebPosition Agent. The product grew to become WebPosition Gold, the leading software package of its kind in the SEO industry.

Coincidentally, at the same time, Frederick Marckini “teamed-up” with Brent Winters to help promote the new software product, and also formed his SEO firm Response Direct. This grew to become iprospect, one of the most highly respected firms in the SEO industry. All three have been major influencers in what is now a burgeoning and credible industry sector. Initially, the art/science of SEO as an online marketing tactic was viewed by many as the “dark side” and much associated with some kind of technical “Voodoo” or “smoke and mirrors” trickery.

These days, you’ll find Danny Sullivan presenting highly respected international industry conferences (with participation from the search engines themselves). Brent Winters is CEO of an award winning software company, and recently launched WebPosition Gold 2 with plaudits from leading industry players. And as CEO with iprospect, Frederick Marckini has set professional standards which attract world leading companies as clients.

From “cottage industry” to credible industry sector, SEO has become a vital component in the online marketing mix. Yet, it’s an industry sector which lacks the cohesion of many others. No real governing body exists. Standards and practices belong to the integrity (or lack of it in some cases) of the individual practitioners. And as for pricing structures: “how long is a piece of string” really is an understatement.

In September of last year, MarketingSherpa produced a long overdue, first of its kind, with their buyers guide to search engine optimisation firms. The new second edition has just recently been published, and boy: was I glad to see it. Not that I’m in the market for an SEO firm (I kind of have that base covered already), but because so little marketing intelligence exists relating to the pricing and practices of SEO firms. Just run a search through any of the major search engines on “search engine optimisation” or “search engine marketing” as it’s more currently referred to, and you’ll have SEO firms “coming out of your ears.” Then try to do some comparative research on services, methodology, pricing, etc. Not only are you less than likely to be able to find some close matches: you’re less than likely to find such detailed information. Most of the larger SEO firms only give a broad outline of services and very rarely actually give an indication of how much they charge for their services.

For the uninitiated marketing executive, who understands that better visibility at search engines is important, he’s still largely left with the dilemma of who should do it, how will they do it and how much should it cost.

This is where the MarketingSherpa guide comes into its own. Sure, there are many websites and newsletters and “how-to” guides (including my own), but for a busy executive, the simple notion of having to learn “all that stuff” and then actually put it into practice is a distant one. As Alexis Gutzman, Managing Editor of the guide puts it: “SEO is like plumbing. You could learn how to do it yourself, and do it fairly well. But not everyone has the time, money or interest to do so.” Thanks Alexis - I spend the first part of this article explaining how SEO has become respectable in online marketing terms and next thing we’re plumbers! Seriously though, Alexis makes a very valid point. If it wasn’t a fact, then I would very likely be in the ranks of the unemployed.

So, to the “nuts and bolts” what’s in the guide and what can you expect from it? If you’re new to the whole issue of SEO, it’s easy to get lost in the industry jargon, so the guide provides a useful glossary of terms to begin with. The first part of the guide then focuses on information received by direct contact with some of the major search engines and directories, including Google and Yahoo! (transcripts of the interviews are included in the appendices). This is very much an overview of the search engine standpoint relating to the practice of SEO, and what are deemed as acceptable practices and those which are more likely to be frowned upon. Not surprisingly, the general consensus is that marketers should find credible, reliable, non-spam-generating firms to work with.

The next section is a “Business Backgrounder” covering the benefits of SEO and explaining the difference between pure SEO and marketing services which can be paid for and provided by third parties, such as Pay Per Click. This “dovetails” perfectly with the section on how to pick the right SEO firm for your company. Now this is extremely valuable information and advice for any company which needs to know what questions they should be asking a potential SEO supplier; what kind of answers to expect and the risks involved if you do select the wrong firm. Just going back to something I mentioned earlier, when talking about pricing structures within SEO firms, Alexis Gutzman sums it up quite nicely again when she simply states: “SEO pricing is all over the map.”

The real “meat” in the report comes in the main section which profiles 55 search engine optimisation firms in the US and Canada (in a later edition firms from the UK/Ireland/Australia/New Zealand will be able to nominate themselves for inclusion). There’s no charge for inclusion but firms do have to fall within the qualification criteria:

- The firm must be an SEO firm not a technology company.

- The firm must have at least one full time employee who focuses 75% on SEO services, and who has at least 3 full-time years of SEO experience.

- The firm must derive a significant proportion of its revenue from SEO services.

- The firm must be in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand (the rest of the world is not featured as yet).

Each of the firms nominated and eventually featured in the guide were required to complete a 92-point questionnaire carried out by phone. The questionnaire covers areas of specialisation, tactics used and general philosophy. Of course, when it comes to the very important aspect of budgeting for SEO, as has already been mentioned, it’s almost impossible to compare one firm to another because of the variation in services provided, and the size of the actual firms themselves. However, the guide is able to determine a number of things, such as:

- What the least expensive package costs.

- What the most expensive package includes.

- Whether the least expensive package includes any number of keyword phrases, and if so, how many.

- What services are available in a larger package.

Information relating to maintenance, contracts, ownership, page creation and reporting is also included. The firms included were given scores based on several different criteria. The most important criterion was the effectiveness of the techniques the SEO firms used to achieve high rankings. Each of the firms was able to include comments from their existing clients, who also had to carry out a short survey relating to the services provided by their chosen supplier.

The report has proved to be a major success for MarketingSherpa, which is testimony itself to the requirement for such a guide. Trying to set industry standards within the field of SEO is much of a fruitless task at this time, as many would-be “self regulating” organisations appear and then disappear just as quickly. Certainly, the buyers guide doesn’t appear to set out to establish standards, it’s more a case of observing if they do exist and in what form. Perhaps the most important and valuable aspect of the guide is that, it’s not just a list of firms who do SEO and an overview of what SEO actually is. It’s an eminently useful reference tool for professional marketers who need to make informed decisions.

Who should buy it? Both sides. Marketers who need to put together a sensible and realistic brief to provide to potential suppliers. And those potential suppliers (the SEO firms) who are usually starved of marketing intelligence and competitor analysis data.