I want to hire someone doing keyword research for my sms portal listed in signature. ( Will use adwords) How much should i pay and how to quote pricing? Paying to a seo company will be quite expensive but will it be more effective? How to check quality of seller previous work. (I just have basic info., i can do keyword research but i have less time)
I just launched a website to promote my own keyword research services. I am offering much lower rates than other seo companies and seo consultants. My packages range from $19.95 to $99.95. Since I just launched the website I don't have any testimonials, but I assure you that I would go above and beyond what is expected by clients.
the keyword research is the easy part. keep those yourself. As previously suggested use google keyword search tool. Look at couple of keywords related to sms and I would pick the keywords that have medium level of competition. You never want to go for the highly competitive because unless you have a team of seo experts you'll get nowhere. Once you find a one or two keyword phrases then invest your money on an seo expert that will do the hard work. That's the important part.
Never under-estimate the work of others Optimizing is not only about link building , link builders are part of seo team.
Another good trick if you already have a web site is to register it with Google Webmaster. It tells you -- month by month -- which Google searches caused to your site appear and at what position (impressions) and whether people clicked on it (click throughs). For example, if you get a lot of second page #11 thru #20) "impressions" for a certain keywrod but not many click throughs, then you can consider doing AdWords for that keyword.
I never worked with companies that provide seo work so I can't really suggest anyone in specific. You can check the buy, sell, trade section, I'm sure there is someone here that provides it.