How much will it cost?

The term search engine marketing (SEM) encompasses both search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC). See my article entitled SEO versus PPC for a detailed comparison of the two methods. Each method has its pros and cons, but the point I want to make here is how most agencies charge for these services and the perceptions most advertisers have about them.

Most agencies price their services as a monthly fee. This has two distinct advantages for them. First, it sets your sites on the longer term, meaning when you can expect meaningful results and second, it commits you to paying that fixed monthly fee even when the campaign matures and the agency's actual costs are much lower, even zero!

My business model is different. I charge by the hour ($100/hr). If you need to keep your monthly expense to a lower fixed cost, that’s fine, it will just take longer to get the job done. On the other hand, if you want to reach your goals and begin reaping the benefits as quickly as possible, we can proceed full speed ahead. Whether the work is done over the course of a couple weeks or several months is largely up to you. Then, when the campaign matures, your costs are reduced because my workload is reduced. Maybe to zero!

So when you ask the question, “how much will it cost?” I won’t be answering with a fixed monthly amount unless you need to stick to a budget. My response is more likely to be about how much work will be required and how quickly you can expect to see results. When it comes to seeing results, see my article on AdWords Conversion Tracking.

Here are some of the factors that determine how much work will be required and therefore what the cost will be:

• How many products do you want to promote or how many ways are prospects likely to search for your product? The implication being, the number of keywords needing to be created and managed.
• Do you already have an established AdWords account with Google? If we need to go through the account creation process it will take additional time.
• What condition is your account in? Should I try to fix what you have or start from scratch? It’s often difficult for me to determine this until I have had a chance to make a thorough analysis of your account. Obviously, the bigger the account, the more time it will take.
• How many search engines do you want to appear on; Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.
• How many networks do you want to appear on? It’s important to understand that the way you create and manage a search campaign is different from how you create and manage a display campaign.
• How involved do you want to be in the process? If you are the kind of person who wants to know what’s going on and why, or you want me to coach you so you can eventually manage the account yourself, it will take longer and cost more.

In many ways, using my service is a lot like receiving counseling or any form of therapy. If you feel like it’s working, you continue on and maybe even increase the frequency. If you don’t feel like it’s working, you stop. I can’t predict how long it will take to reach your goals, what your priorities will be, what path we take or how involved you will be. These all have an enormous effect on the process.

There are so many variables to consider. What issues and opportunities we will discover. What tactics will we use. How in-depth we go. Do we focus on keywords, campaign architecture, ad copy, landing pages or conversion optimization? My approach is a collaborative process and you play an important role in establishing priorities because you know your business better than I do.

My suggestion is to make the commitment to invest at least ten hours of my time. I’m sure you will know pretty quickly whether we are on the right track or not. If it isn’t working for you, just ask me to stop and I will return the unused portion of the retainer.

Any estimate I make as to the number of hours it will take is only as good as the level of analysis I perform and how much interaction I have with you. The right amount of analysis is what I do as part of my consulting. I don’t provide quotations or proposals.

Sorry I can’t be more specific, but it is an honest answer.

It's rare that I can get a client's account created (or fixed) and to a mature state in less than ten hours of my time ($1,000). So if that figure concerns you, it brings into question are we a good fit?