Huge newbie question: If I want someone to do a basic SEO job for me, what should I expect to pay? Can I get good results from India/Romania? How do you know who is going to be good and who is bad, and especially who is using techniques that are black hat and will get me banned in the long run? Thanks, T
You'll need to expand on "basic SEO job". If you're not familiar with the difference between onpage and offpage SEO and what practices they consist of, then that's something you should grab an understanding of before hiring. If you don't know what it is you're hiring for- you WILL get ripped off. Here's my old highschool project that will explain some basics: polytechmtd.spectrumfire.net
You need to define what you mean by basic SEO? If you are just talking about some basic on-page optimization, you can probably find someone for a minor fee. If you are talking about quality link building, the very top SEO sites have a $5K minimum per month. 99% of people who claim they are SEO professionals, aren't and will likely be a waste of money. Ask for examples of their work and keywords. Use a tool like http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/ to see how many actual searches are done per month for the keywords they rank in the top 10 for. If they give you examples of keywords that have very little search volume, then pass. If an "expert" could really rank well for a highly competitive keyword, they could make a lot of money building their own site-- and that is why the really good professionals charge a hefty fee for their work.
I use SEO Elite and it didn't cost all that much. Check it out at http://www.themeekermall.com/seo-elite.html and see what you think.
With SEO elite there is (or at least used to be) a free downloadable ebook. It showed you the basics of SEO and gave some good advice on title tags link building etc. It may be a little out of date on the link building - if it has not be kept up to date but it was the best free SEO how to book I have read. Once you know what you want your SEO company to do you can keep an eye on progress on page, do it yourself or at least have an understanding of the time it takes to change the alt tags, or the page titles - if you have 10 pages it is not a big job - if you have 100 these all need to be checked and changed so it will take much longer.
The most important thing is finding a TRUE SEO company, one that can get results. Then worry about the costs. There are so many 'experts' out there, you will get taken if you are not careful. All of them 'guarantee' results until you get to the final negotiations and the fine points of the Project. Good luck with your search.
They are good (india/rumania) and cheap. The problem is that you get what you pay for. A high ranking in google india. Most don't know that GEO source of the backlinks is a big factor.
Try to hire on contract basis from freelance sites like odesk where you have the options of interviweing the candidate, test his skills, check out how far he knows about SEO etc before hiring him. You can hire him for a week on hourly basis and see the trial. It is cost effective also.
My seo buddy is from india and i have known him for 3 years. He has a portfolio of mostly american clients that he has gotten into googles first page. He has a verifiable portfolio which i can send to you so u can verify his work with his clients. He has gotten some super tough keywords in googles first page and thats always his goal. He is pure pure white hat and has never gotten a site banned ever. Pm me and i will send you his portfolio