Comments on: Traits of a Great SEO Client: Commitment

By: Matt McGee

Matt McGee — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:49:52 +0000

Thanks, H.E. If you use the search box in the upper right, type in “sbs flashback” and you’ll see all the once-a-month posts I do that introduce new readers to old material.

BTW, please also read the comment policy. It’ll explain why I edited your name above your comment.

By: H.E.

H.E. — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:23:13 +0000

Hey Matt!
Really nice post. I’m sorry for not reading it sooner. Today I start to read all your old posts and there are gems in here. you can do some post to let the new commers of the great old content

By: KCWD

KCWD — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:09:11 +0000

I agree - if customers aren’t going to implement what is given to them, and don’t have patience in seeing the results, then it’s really hard to provide them with the quality of work and time that is needed to make a site SEO successful.

By: How to Deal with Your SEO Project « ShowMeLocal.com

How to Deal with Your SEO Project « ShowMeLocal.com — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:46:27 +0000

[...] Matt McGee from the Small Business SEM blog, wrote a good article, Traits of a Great SEO Client: Commitment. [...]

By: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:02:15 +0000

As a consultant, when writing a contract, I always have a section that outlines the responsibilities of the customer. Here is where I get agreement on the parameters that define commitment. Every contract should state clearly how we expect both the consultant and the customer to behave.

By: rhaden

rhaden — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:10:40 +0000

Thanks!

By: Matt McGee

Matt McGee — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:48:07 +0000

Thanks for your comment, rhaden, and welcome to SBS.

The answer to “what to measure” is “it depends.” You mentioned “orders”, so it sounds like you’re working for an e-commerce company. That tells me you’ll probably be wanting to look at a fairly standard set of numbers:

- number of orders
- revenue and profit
- unique visitors
- bounce rate

The first three you want to be high; the last one you want to be low. You might also look at Page Views, but that can be tricky because higher page views might mean people are struggling to find what they want on your site.

Most importantly, you want to be able to tie the stats you look at to either natural search (SEO) or paid search (PPC). How much revenue came from natural search? How much came from PPC? That will help your company make smarter decisions going forward.

I have probably not done enough writing on analytics (confession: spreadsheets make my eyes glaze over), but you might find some helpful information in the MY BEST POSTS category in the upper left sidebar. Probably better would be the 2007 BEST POSTS, where I’ve collected the best posts I’ve read from other blogs during the year. Some months will have links to metrics/analytics reading; some will not.

I hope this helps, and if you have specific questions, fire away. I like to do Q&A occasionally on the blog.

By: rhaden

rhaden — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:08:50 +0000

I’m with you philosophically. But have you written before about how to measure results? As the (unqualified) person assigned to do SEO and online marketing for a small business, I am learning all I can on the subject, and sure enough, our page rank and orders and all that are increasing, so I figure some of what I’m doing is useful. However, I don’t know what is most effective, or how to measure it in order to focus on the most effective approaches. Can you point me to a spot in your archives? Thanks for all your helpful articles!