MICHAEL KEESLING | SEO CONSULTANT

MY APPROACH:  There are certain basics that almost every good SEO consultant does, but to me that is just the starting point.  For SEO to work best, it has to be custom tailored for each client.  Just as your business is unlike anyone else’s, the SEO strategies, tactics and execution for your website should be different from anyone else’s.

  •       This is the reason I never take on more than one client per niche.
  •       This is the reason I choose to limit myself to a maximum of six clients at any given time.

This is why I prefer to work with smaller companies ($1 Million to $15 Million in annual revenues) because they are more willing to be transparent about their business.  By so doing, I am able to turn weaknesses into strengths and find the sweet spot that resonates with your customers.

MY PERSONALITY:  I will be straightforward with my recommendations.  There can be numerous reasons why you, the owner, might disagree.  As long as we can have an honest and amicable back-and-forth on your reasons for objections and my thoughts on why I recommend certain strategies, I guarantee we will end up agreeing on the next steps.

I love challenges.  I’ve been doing SEO for over 25 years—before there was even a name for getting ranked in the search engines and before Google became a thing.  It used to be necessary to explain what SEO is because up until about 4 years ago, most businesses had never heard of the term.  Now almost everyone knows the term, but few really understand how it works and what must go into it.

The best time to hire an SEO Consultant is before you begin creating your website.  That way your content  and site structure can be mapped out in a way that Google will embrace.  WordPress is far and away the platform of choice if your goal is to get great SEO results.  WIX, SquareSpace, Shopify, all claim to have SEO tools.  Use them at your own peril as they most often do more harm than good.  And don’t worry, I have access to programmers who can fix some of the complicated SEO problems they create.

WHAT ABOUT PPC?:  As a long-time SEO consultant, I have always been biased in favor of SEO and against PPC.  However, with the advent of mobile devices being the dominant source of website traffic, organic search results require you swipe six or seven screens to get to the first organic search result.  First you get the shopping ads (with images and price), then you get the first two organic search results, then you get the snippets, then you get the local 3 pack (GMB), then you have another row of shopping ads with image and price, then finally you get to organic search results 3-9.

Google Shopping Ads are a great deal.  It takes time for Google AI (which is really good) to take effect but ROAS of 10x-15X are achievable ($10 to $15 in revenue for every $1 in ad spend).

TRUST:  SEO takes time to accomplish results and quite frankly it’s still the Wild West when it comes to SEO.  Essentially, I’ll be asking you to pay me up front and it will be several months before you see any meaningful results–that’s where the trust factor comes in.  SEO is like a fine wine, it gets better with age and done correctly and consistently your results will improve over time.  There’s a reason my average client retention rate is over eight years–my clients trust me, and I deliver results.

A WORD ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA:  For years I’ve been hearing that SEO is dead and it’s all about social  media these days.  And yes, I’ve seen a few cases and a few niches where social media can work wonders.  However, I also believe that social media is more hype than results, especially for big ticket products or services.  There’s logic to support this belief:  when a person is searching for a product or service their intent is to make a purchase.  Social media is not driven by the same buyer intent–it is much more of an impulse purchase mindset.  For these, and other reasons, I do not do social media marketing (with the exception of Google My Business and YouTube optimization.)  However, if you are determined to have a social media presence I have several colleagues I can recommend.

FINAL THOUGHTS:  I am not the right fit for everyone.  I am not cheap (nor am I exorbitant).  What I do have is a lot of experience and won’t take on a client who has unrealistic expectations or one that I don’t think I can help based on my analysis of what they bring to the table and the competition that’s already well established.   When I do take on a client, I treat them as if I were working on ranking my own website and give them the full range of my experience, abilities and creative approach so they have the best chance of becoming successful.  In other words, when it comes to results, I under-promise and over-deliver almost everytime.