Since we are talking to potential SEO resellers every day we hear all sorts of things. Some say "wow you guys are a great bargain" and others say "man, you are too expensive." As you can imagine, we want to have the more competitive SEO reseller program on the Internet, so we try to hear all feedback as objectively as possible. But it can be confusing and difficult.
Why is this so hard to understand? I've said it many times, and I'll say it again, the field of SEO is so new and confusing to most consumers that they just don't know exactly what they are buying. They have heard on the radio, in the newspaper or perhaps on TV that SEO is a new field and those who use the techniques appropriately see great rewards for their business. A very compelling concept. So people flock to search engine optimization with the hopes of boosting their business. And at a time when revenues are sagging for even the largest of companies, people really need a bump.
But you know the problems associated with buying a product you don't really understand. It is easy to get taken for a ride. So when a prospective SEO reseller tells us we are over-priced our first reaction is to, calmly, ask what exact SEO activities are we comparing? This is critical - and it is the first step in turning a mysterious product into a simple one.
We have found time-and-time again that once you get down to apple-to-apples comparisons the Semify SEO reseller program is very competitive. But the problem is that it takes time and knowledge to get to that point. You have to pull away all of the window-dressing that many SEO firms put on their products in an effort to sell to get. Until this point, you won't have a true point of comparison. For example, we were comparing one of our SEO plans the other day to a competitor. They listed "w3c validation" as one of their SEO activities. And we don't have that in ours. Why? Because we have never seen it ranked on the SEOMoz survey of most important search engine activities that drive rankings. So taken out of context, you might look at our plan that does not include w3c validation and another that does and conclude that ours offers less. (FYI - You can get w3c validation for free from several sites in about 30 seconds).
Big sigh......
Our position is simple: The truth is a beautiful thing. Allow me to be less esoteric and slightly more practical. At Semify we do more of the things that really matter for SEO and don't try to artificially inflate our plans with worthless activities just so we can say "look, our list is longer than the competition." This puts us at a disadvantage with customers who are just learning the SEO ropes or potential SEO resellers who have not really tried their own hand at search engine optimization. But we feel that we make up for lost ground when people start to study the topic and consult with real authorities in the field. As they discover what is really true about SEO and what is fluff, they will see that our plans are laser-focused toward success.
This is what give us the confidence to do our work with full transparency (something we also offer to the members of our SEO reseller program through our portal). It is also what has permitted our little website here to rank so well on wildly competitive terms such as "SEO".