Profit Sharing with a SEO Professional

[chris.m]

Hi All,

I have a site that is set up to provide cost comparisons from major vendors and a useful calculator for users to determine their requirements. Once a user determines their requirements they search for the vendor that has the best price for the product that meets their needs. They can then click on the affiliate link and go directly to the vendor's page.

There are approximately 8,100 google searches each month for the phrase that matches the domain name (I have the .net). Before google changed their keyword tool, there were 45,000 'broad matches' for a search of the search terms that match the domain. The products range in cost from about $150 to about $6,000 with affiliate payouts ranging from about 10% to about 15%.

I am currently ranking around 125 in the SERPS, but really need to be in the top 5 to start effectively monetizing the site. It presently makes no money and receives only junk traffic.

I am interested in finding a SEO Professional who is willing to provide services on a profit sharing basis. For example, the SEO professional could be entitled to 25% of all site income for a year after the first commission is earned or 15% for the first two years... something like that. I was wondering if anyone has ever engaged a SEO professional with an incentive payment structure, how did it go, were there any pitfalls to lookout for, and would you recommend anyone specifically?

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Biggie]

FYI:

beware, as their are a lot of "wannabee's" and "callthemselves" out here.

and no one has psychic power to predict goog's "algo-whim" changes, to offer a guarantee of rank or position




a pro wants cash and you're building on a .net, facing an uphill battle

what's up with the .com?

 

[chris.m]

Good tips for sure.

The .com is owned by a reseller, but it is a 301 redirect to a different domain and is not ranking at all for the search terms. I would say that competition is medium to medium-high for the terms. It's not something like "insurance", but it isn't exactly "latvian youth girls handball equipment" either, if you get my meaning.

There are a number of sites that are like [domain]reviews.com, best[domain].com, etc. Not many are developed and the SERPs are, for the most part, ruled by resellers.

I guess that I am really looking for a talented SEO partner who is willing to put their money where their mouth is and partner with me so that we are both incentivized by profits. But like you said, there are a lot of wannabes. And I would hate to have an agreement with someone who flakes out on me.

btw - I don't have any objection posting the domain here, but I didn't think it was necessary and didn't want to appear to be shamelessly plugging.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[iBizStart]

I work full time in SEO. I'm not interested in this but did want to point something out to you. Why would anyone want to help you get ranked really well just to collect a % for a year or two? They do all the hard work and after a year you have a site ranking well and making good money, and the SEO guy gets the boot? Also if someone is really good at SEO, they will likely just copy your idea, use a different domain name and do it themselves. An exact match .net isn't all that helpful for SEO these days

 

[chris.m]

@iBizStart Ahh, good to know, I didn't realize google had less preference for navigational queries than they used to.

As far as why someone would do it, my thinking was simple: We would all be better off. I wouldn't have to make an up front SEO investment, and the SEO professional could make more money on the back end if it is successful. The idea would be that the total payout to the SEO professional could be significantly higher than if he/she simply charged a fee for service. Maybe that means having a longer term relationship or a higher up front %?

I would dispute the idea that they would have done all the hard work. I have already invested a lot of time into industry research, getting approved affiliate relationships, writing articles, and designing an entire site that provides useful consumer tools.

Someone stealing the idea is a fair point and a real risk. Guess that would be why it is important to deal with an ethical practitioner who doesn't steal his/her clients'/partners' ideas. I suppose though that once it is online, anyone who is looking at the competitive online space in an industry can stand up a copycat site.

 

[Humble]

I wouldn't have to make an up front SEO investment, and the SEO professional could make more money on the back end if it is successful. The idea would be that the total payout to the SEO professional could be significantly higher than if he/she simply charged a fee for service.

I also work full time in SEO. Your assumption is only valid if you can guarantee a return on the investment. Anyone in the SEO industry knows it is close to impossible to guarantee a certain high rank position in a set amount of time.

Basically you're mitigating your risk while asking the SEO professional to trust that he or she can rank the site and trust that the site will actually earn revenues.

IMHO no SEO pro would take this offer over a flat fee, no matter how much $$ in returns you predict the site will earn.

 

[chris.m]

@Humble - Thanks for the feedback. I certainly couldn't guarantee a return. If I could, then I would save the money and go for the flat fee! Point taken though, 2 of 2 SEO pros so far say it isn't an economical arrangement. Thank you both for sharing your point of view. This is why I asked, and this is valuable feedback.

 

[bdmunee]

These "partnerships" are a dime a dozen. No REAL SEO pro would even consider this arrangement as they (like myself) are too busy with paying clients and their own projects.

 

[Fabbstar]

Hey Chris. Also be aware, getting people to your site is one thing, making it convert is another. You'll need a well laid out and designed site. If you have time I recommend learning seo yourself. Its quite easy when you know how! Google holds all the answers and helped me to get over 300 visitors a day for an exact match .com.

 

[Tia Wood]

Just wondering why you don't learn SEO yourself? 25% is a lot to give away for something you could learn yourself.

 

[dcristo]

Just wondering why you don't learn SEO yourself? 25% is a lot to give away for something you could learn yourself.

Aye, by that logic, you could learn everything yourself, and not have to pay anyone for anything. I work on this arrangement and get a 50% share of the revenue

 

[Tia Wood]

Aye, by that logic, you could learn everything yourself, and not have to pay anyone for anything. I work on this arrangement and get a 50% share of the revenue

Not saying these partnerships don't work from time to time with good people involved. He could just as easily hire someone but he doesn't seem to want to take that initial risk. It's hard to partner in this way. The only other solution, if he doesn't want to pay someone, is to learn SEO. IMO.