International Search Engine Marketing Blog

While I do not want to underplay the importance of an SEO campaign, it is important to have one in conjunction with a well run website. Many times new website owners put the cart before the horse. Sometimes they build and optimize a website before considering what company will process the site’s payments and how to fulfill orders. Business owners often do not realize the large expenses associated with accepting online orders. Depending upon the payment provider selected a company that grosses $10,000 in sales with an average order of $50 can save upwards of a $4,000 per year based upon the processor, which is an amount that could easily cover starting a small SEO campaign. Below are the most common international payment providers and their fees.

PayPal 

PayPal tends to be easier and less expensive for new business owners, but watch out. There are a number of horror stories out there and many people have lost the whole balance in their account, which can cost more than any processing fees. Still many people elect to go with this processor. Those who do should heed this warning. The costs associated with a PayPal business account are vary depending upon the payment method the buyer users. To received payments from individuals within the United States the first $10,000 in sales costs $310.

2CeckOut 

This is an expensive method to process payments and not one I suggest as my first choice. There is a one time fee of $49 and then charges of 5.5 percent plus 45 cents per transaction. Using the parameters above the first $10,000 in orders would cost a company $689. Not a small amount of money in absolute or percentage terms. The upside to this process is that they accept virtually any business and it is a fast way to start selling goods or services.

Authorize.net 

To use Authorize.net you have to go through a reseller, a list of which is found on their website. Fees vary depending upon the reseller, but typically this processor offers the lowest fees and most security. The setup process can take slightly longer, but once that is done it is smooth sailing. Typically money received is swept from the merchant account and deposited into your checking account with a few business days.

SEO and Payment Processors

Now how does this tie into SEO? Quite simply a well chosen payment provider can easily provide the savings needed to launch a search engine marketing campaign. Why spend more than you have to for the same basic service? At least that is Agilis Marketing’s point of view.

One of the most disconcerting parts about working in this industry are all the fly by night operations that pop up and offer prospects unfounded promises. These sites offer website owners grandiose promises and sometimes downright lie. I had the unfortunate incident of dealing with such a website owner. Sadly, this is a common occurrence in the industry. Therefore I wanted to add a few general tips to watch out for, using Graphic SEO as a case study.

Research the company / site owner.

The owner of Graphic SEO is Joseph Alvini, a college student, who has no staff. The only alleged “expert” at the firm is himself. When hiring a firm, my suggestion is to find out more about the company’s owner. Is it a one man shop? Is the owner of that shop an actual expert or simply a self purported one? Before plunking down any kind of money with a firm do your homework.

Is the company a legal entity?

Check with the company’s city to see if it is actually a registered business. For instance, Graphic SEO currently has no business license and is operating illegally. There are plenty of legitimate companies out there. Do not waste time with one that does not even take the time to operate legally. Trust is essential in life and business. I find it difficult to trust any person or company that is operating without going through the proper channels.

Does the website have a phone number?

All reputable websites should have a contact telephone number. It is an indication that they care about customer service. Longer standing companies tend to have a toll free number to further prove their commitment to customer service. I am always weary if no contact number is prominently displayed or upon calling it nobody answers. The SEM industry is convoluted and confusing. Ensure you are dealing with a company that cares enough about their customers to actually speak with them.

There are of course many other common sense suggestions before conducting business with a firm. My hope is that this helps people save a few dollars and prospective clients steer clear of businesses, such as Graphic SEO, that are operating illegally and with little genuine concern for their clients. There are many excellent local and international search engine marketing companies that exist. Please simply be careful before sending one money.

Often when talking to international or local clients and prospects about SEO, they mention their site shows up in the Top 10 search results for a particular phrase under which a million plus other results appear.

However, what many people fail to realize is that it is not the size of the haystack that matters, but rather the competitiveness of the website within it. For instance when’ typing “brown food” into Google, the blue search bar above the listings will include the text “Results 1 - 10 of about 125,000,000”, yet when “SEO company” is typed into the search box Google displays the following “Results 1 - 10 of about 22,100,000” (see the bottom of this post for an image).

What can we ascertain from this? The number of results is not of huge importance. Despite the fact that more results appear for “brown food” it is much easier for a SEM company or firm to optimize a site for this keyword phrase than “SEO company”. Why is this case? Simply, there is little value associated to the phrase “brown food”. Conversely, there is an enormous value in ranking number one for “SEO company”.

The bottom line is that even if a large number of results appear for a keyword phrase it does not mean that the phrase is competitive. Now, how does knowing this help when advertising on the internet? It helps dispel a fallacy that many less ethical or knowledgeable SEO sales people use when selling their services. When marketing a website, either on your own or with a company, it helps to know fact from the fiction. Hopefully this blog post will make it that much easier to separate the two if you are ever presented with this myth.

Agilis Marketing conducted a research study that polled over 300 United States SEO companies and discovered that an increasing number of international firms are turning to U.S. internet advertisers for assistance when promoting a website and its products or services. The study tabulated data from companies across the country and in part included the following questions:

1) How many international prospects are received on a monthly basis?

2) One, three, and five years ago how many international prospects did your company receive?

3) How many of these prospects turned into sales?

4) As a percentage of all prospects, is there in a larger number of international firms seeking SEO assistance compared to one, three, and five years ago?

5) As a percentage of all your clients, is there in an increase in foreign corporations as compared to one, three, and five years ago?

The results of the study showed a 23 percent rise in the number of companies overseas turning to United States’ businesses for assistance. However, the number of international companies that decided to perform business with a U.S. SEO firm increased only 9 percent.

* Margin of error for the extrapolated data based upon the sample size is approximately +/- 3 percent.

Conglomerates and other large overseas companies are turning to Unites States based SEM firms in hoards. This is one reason international search engine marketing discussions will continue to draw an ever growing audience.

When looking to advertise to an American demographic it helps to have U.S. based companies assist with the marketing initiatives. The same holds true of a Unites States firm looking to advertise to India, UK, or another international market. Each country has its own culture and a wise marketer does not overlook that fact.

These cultural dissimilarities also apply to the way people look for products and services on the internet. Different search engines are popular in different nations. To add further complication, the algorithms and methods employed by international search engines often differ. It is crucial to realize this and adjust promotional campaigns accordingly.

Unfortunately, to their own peril, many companies try to use in-house domestic teams to market to an international audience, rather than outsourcing the work. The results are oftentimes disastrous. Misunderstandings can result in wasted advertising dollars with no results or worse a damaged brand reputation and associated negative press. The key takeaway is to realize when outside help is required. A larger number of companies that promote websites abroad are reaching this realization.

This trend is unlikely to change. As businesses learn more from their mistakes and those of others, an increasing number are turning to companies that are located in their customers’ geographical demographic. While this article, site, and blog relate more specifically to the international marketing via websites, a company should consider the same principles regardless of the marketing medium.