Search engine optimisation
Discussion
I have a website for my business here in France. It was published in 2012.
It costs me €100 every month. It is never visibly updated, nothing changes.
When I asked why I have to pay €100 every month they tell me it’s to pay for the constant work they do on Google SEO and without that it wouldn’t come up in Google when searched for.
I am dubious. Who’s right?
It costs me €100 every month. It is never visibly updated, nothing changes.
When I asked why I have to pay €100 every month they tell me it’s to pay for the constant work they do on Google SEO and without that it wouldn’t come up in Google when searched for.
I am dubious. Who’s right?
I'd be surprised if they do something every month for a site that doesn't change.
Have you/can you look to see the timestamps on the files? If they've not been modified since 2012 (or recently), then they're not doing SEO properly.
The reason I'm not saying it's bobbins though is that good SEO costs a lot of money, and if they do do it once a month, £100 doesn't buy a lot of time... so is quite plausible. But the file modified dates will tell you one way or another.
Have you/can you look to see the timestamps on the files? If they've not been modified since 2012 (or recently), then they're not doing SEO properly.
The reason I'm not saying it's bobbins though is that good SEO costs a lot of money, and if they do do it once a month, £100 doesn't buy a lot of time... so is quite plausible. But the file modified dates will tell you one way or another.
Driller said:
I have a website for my business here in France. It was published in 2012.
It costs me €100 every month. It is never visibly updated, nothing changes.
When I asked why I have to pay €100 every month they tell me it’s to pay for the constant work they do on Google SEO and without that it wouldn’t come up in Google when searched for.
I am dubious. Who’s right?
Ask them for evidence of the work they are doing...It costs me €100 every month. It is never visibly updated, nothing changes.
When I asked why I have to pay €100 every month they tell me it’s to pay for the constant work they do on Google SEO and without that it wouldn’t come up in Google when searched for.
I am dubious. Who’s right?
Hosting can be a range of costs - from free to commercial at several hundred pounds a year - and anything inbetween...
It is not unusual to have maintenance charges - and $100 is not high for that
however, if they are attributing the cost to SEO, then there are two ways in which that works:
On the website
- structural setup
- core code in terms of meta tags etc.
- opengraph etc. integration
- image / included file (css / js / etc.) optimisation
- making sure that it works on mobile and desktop - e.g. bootstrap and mobile-first coding philosophies
All of these are generally a one-off
- content - fresh and up to date, news items / blogs / etc.
This should be done regularly if possible
Off the website
This is where the biggest SEO impact can be found - as how others on the internet see your site is key to SEO, so a number of things can be addresses:
- social media inclusion
- links to and references from other websites
- relevant news and articles linking to your website
- advertising (e.g. google keywords / facebook / etc.)
and much more - basically, anything outside your website which builds awareness of and links to your site.
So, some of this is static and doesn't need to change - but content and much of the outside stuff should be continually changing and building your online reputation. If they are doing that, then $100 per month is not expensive - small businesses will often spend multiples of that... But, ask them for evidence of what they are actually doing!
Driller said:
Thanks for sharing this info.
How would I get access to the files (html?) to see the time stamps? Presumably I would have to ask them?
Usually you'd have CPanel or FTP access, to allow you to download and upload files (and yes, you're spot on, html).How would I get access to the files (html?) to see the time stamps? Presumably I would have to ask them?
As others have said, you could ask for evidence (sort of calling their bluff), as an alternative. As has been said hosting has various costs, but £100 per month is on the steep side unless it bundles in a -lot- of features that you use.
akirk said:
Ask them for evidence of the work they are doing...
Hosting can be a range of costs - from free to commercial at several hundred pounds a year - and anything inbetween...
It is not unusual to have maintenance charges - and $100 is not high for that
however, if they are attributing the cost to SEO, then there are two ways in which that works:
On the website
- structural setup
- core code in terms of meta tags etc.
- opengraph etc. integration
- image / included file (css / js / etc.) optimisation
- making sure that it works on mobile and desktop - e.g. bootstrap and mobile-first coding philosophies
All of these are generally a one-off
- content - fresh and up to date, news items / blogs / etc.
This should be done regularly if possible
Website is never updated.Hosting can be a range of costs - from free to commercial at several hundred pounds a year - and anything inbetween...
It is not unusual to have maintenance charges - and $100 is not high for that
however, if they are attributing the cost to SEO, then there are two ways in which that works:
On the website
- structural setup
- core code in terms of meta tags etc.
- opengraph etc. integration
- image / included file (css / js / etc.) optimisation
- making sure that it works on mobile and desktop - e.g. bootstrap and mobile-first coding philosophies
All of these are generally a one-off
- content - fresh and up to date, news items / blogs / etc.
This should be done regularly if possible
akirk said:
Off the website
This is where the biggest SEO impact can be found - as how others on the internet see your site is key to SEO, so a number of things can be addresses:
- social media inclusion not done
- links to and references from other websitesnot done\not allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- relevant news and articles linking to your websitenot allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- advertising (e.g. google keywords / facebook / etc.)not allowed
and much more - basically, anything outside your website which builds awareness of and links to your site.not allowed
So, some of this is static and doesn't need to change - but content and much of the outside stuff should be continually changing and building your online reputation. If they are doing that, then $100 per month is not expensive - small businesses will often spend multiples of that... But, ask them for evidence of what they are actually doing!
My replies in bold This is where the biggest SEO impact can be found - as how others on the internet see your site is key to SEO, so a number of things can be addresses:
- social media inclusion not done
- links to and references from other websitesnot done\not allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- relevant news and articles linking to your websitenot allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- advertising (e.g. google keywords / facebook / etc.)not allowed
and much more - basically, anything outside your website which builds awareness of and links to your site.not allowed
So, some of this is static and doesn't need to change - but content and much of the outside stuff should be continually changing and building your online reputation. If they are doing that, then $100 per month is not expensive - small businesses will often spend multiples of that... But, ask them for evidence of what they are actually doing!
Driller said:
akirk said:
Ask them for evidence of the work they are doing...
Hosting can be a range of costs - from free to commercial at several hundred pounds a year - and anything inbetween...
It is not unusual to have maintenance charges - and $100 is not high for that
however, if they are attributing the cost to SEO, then there are two ways in which that works:
On the website
- structural setup
- core code in terms of meta tags etc.
- opengraph etc. integration
- image / included file (css / js / etc.) optimisation
- making sure that it works on mobile and desktop - e.g. bootstrap and mobile-first coding philosophies
All of these are generally a one-off
- content - fresh and up to date, news items / blogs / etc.
This should be done regularly if possible
Website is never updated.Hosting can be a range of costs - from free to commercial at several hundred pounds a year - and anything inbetween...
It is not unusual to have maintenance charges - and $100 is not high for that
however, if they are attributing the cost to SEO, then there are two ways in which that works:
On the website
- structural setup
- core code in terms of meta tags etc.
- opengraph etc. integration
- image / included file (css / js / etc.) optimisation
- making sure that it works on mobile and desktop - e.g. bootstrap and mobile-first coding philosophies
All of these are generally a one-off
- content - fresh and up to date, news items / blogs / etc.
This should be done regularly if possible
akirk said:
Off the website
This is where the biggest SEO impact can be found - as how others on the internet see your site is key to SEO, so a number of things can be addresses:
- social media inclusion not done
- links to and references from other websitesnot done\not allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- relevant news and articles linking to your websitenot allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- advertising (e.g. google keywords / facebook / etc.)not allowed
and much more - basically, anything outside your website which builds awareness of and links to your site.not allowed
So, some of this is static and doesn't need to change - but content and much of the outside stuff should be continually changing and building your online reputation. If they are doing that, then $100 per month is not expensive - small businesses will often spend multiples of that... But, ask them for evidence of what they are actually doing!
My replies in bold This is where the biggest SEO impact can be found - as how others on the internet see your site is key to SEO, so a number of things can be addresses:
- social media inclusion not done
- links to and references from other websitesnot done\not allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- relevant news and articles linking to your websitenot allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- advertising (e.g. google keywords / facebook / etc.)not allowed
and much more - basically, anything outside your website which builds awareness of and links to your site.not allowed
So, some of this is static and doesn't need to change - but content and much of the outside stuff should be continually changing and building your online reputation. If they are doing that, then $100 per month is not expensive - small businesses will often spend multiples of that... But, ask them for evidence of what they are actually doing!
On that basis I would give them an opportunity to explain what they have done - a gentle query... and if the answer doesn't satisfy you - move the website...
Intrigued though about the draconian dental rules - surely if someone writes a review in a lifestyle magazine about the latest trends in oral hygiene / dental implants etc. - and their online article linked to Mr Driller as an example of where to go - how would that be prevented? That would be good SEO implementation and is the ideal way to build an online reputation
akirk said:
Driller said:
akirk said:
Ask them for evidence of the work they are doing...
Hosting can be a range of costs - from free to commercial at several hundred pounds a year - and anything inbetween...
It is not unusual to have maintenance charges - and $100 is not high for that
however, if they are attributing the cost to SEO, then there are two ways in which that works:
On the website
- structural setup
- core code in terms of meta tags etc.
- opengraph etc. integration
- image / included file (css / js / etc.) optimisation
- making sure that it works on mobile and desktop - e.g. bootstrap and mobile-first coding philosophies
All of these are generally a one-off
- content - fresh and up to date, news items / blogs / etc.
This should be done regularly if possible
Website is never updated.Hosting can be a range of costs - from free to commercial at several hundred pounds a year - and anything inbetween...
It is not unusual to have maintenance charges - and $100 is not high for that
however, if they are attributing the cost to SEO, then there are two ways in which that works:
On the website
- structural setup
- core code in terms of meta tags etc.
- opengraph etc. integration
- image / included file (css / js / etc.) optimisation
- making sure that it works on mobile and desktop - e.g. bootstrap and mobile-first coding philosophies
All of these are generally a one-off
- content - fresh and up to date, news items / blogs / etc.
This should be done regularly if possible
akirk said:
Off the website
This is where the biggest SEO impact can be found - as how others on the internet see your site is key to SEO, so a number of things can be addresses:
- social media inclusion not done
- links to and references from other websitesnot done\not allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- relevant news and articles linking to your websitenot allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- advertising (e.g. google keywords / facebook / etc.)not allowed
and much more - basically, anything outside your website which builds awareness of and links to your site.not allowed
So, some of this is static and doesn't need to change - but content and much of the outside stuff should be continually changing and building your online reputation. If they are doing that, then $100 per month is not expensive - small businesses will often spend multiples of that... But, ask them for evidence of what they are actually doing!
My replies in bold This is where the biggest SEO impact can be found - as how others on the internet see your site is key to SEO, so a number of things can be addresses:
- social media inclusion not done
- links to and references from other websitesnot done\not allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- relevant news and articles linking to your websitenot allowed due to draconian dental rules in France
- advertising (e.g. google keywords / facebook / etc.)not allowed
and much more - basically, anything outside your website which builds awareness of and links to your site.not allowed
So, some of this is static and doesn't need to change - but content and much of the outside stuff should be continually changing and building your online reputation. If they are doing that, then $100 per month is not expensive - small businesses will often spend multiples of that... But, ask them for evidence of what they are actually doing!
On that basis I would give them an opportunity to explain what they have done - a gentle query... and if the answer doesn't satisfy you - move the website...
Intrigued though about the draconian dental rules - surely if someone writes a review in a lifestyle magazine about the latest trends in oral hygiene / dental implants etc. - and their online article linked to Mr Driller as an example of where to go - how would that be prevented? That would be good SEO implementation and is the ideal way to build an online reputation
A dentist in the area had the word “Clinique” (clinic) in the name on his website and he got ordered to take it down so now he only has his name (Dr K…) on the website.
phil4 said:
Have you/can you look to see the timestamps on the files? If they've not been modified since 2012 (or recently), then they're not doing SEO properly..
To be fair doing SEO "properly" isn't about changing the site. It could be perfectly reasonable for a company to charge for SEO activity without even touching the site. Beyond the basics which only need modifying once there's a very limited amount of SEO value to be added by modifying existing files on the site - Google are smarter than that. Only things that count are rankings. List out say the top 20 terms you're targeting - where are you last month vs this month?
Stick analytics on the site and look at growth in organic search traffic - is it going up down or sideways?
Unless there's movement in traffic (ie it's going up) you're not getting value.
Edited by jonsp on Wednesday 1st December 18:01
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