Predator Companies That Target Dentists
The nature of predators is to circle round their victims sizing them up, looking for weaknesses, finding easy targets to prey upon.
If the dentist isn’t well-informed, he’s an easy target. You should know there are marketing companies that depend upon the dentist being naive and ignorant about websites and SEO.
Your best defense against a rip-off is to arm yourself with some basic knowledge.
The three most frequent questions asked when dentists call are:
1) I’ve been paying xyz company 3 years x $300 a month for SEO to position my site in the search engines; I’m still not ranked well at all; should I stop paying them?
2) How can I know if you, or another SEO are doing what I pay them to do?
3) I’m paying xyz company $79 a month for hosting plus $59 a month for maintenance of my site; does this sound about right?
Answers:
1) If your website has been online for 1- 2 years, in most cases it’s fairly easy for any competent SEO to position it in the search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN) for your most competitive keywords. The process will usually take approx 1 - 2 months. That given, it’s a no-brainer to dump the company if they haven’t helped you in several years time.
2) The SEO you hire should help you determine:
- the most competitive keywords for your geographical market
- the most profitable treatment keywords you want to target
- how they intend to accomplish the task of positioning your site for those keywords
More importantly, there must be an end-goal in mind — a clearly defined destination (and cost). This is most easily accomplished by establishing keyword benchmark positions for where you are today, to then compare against progress and position improvements as the campaign continues.
An open-ended contract with no fixed goal in mind (or price) enables the company to bill the dentist indefinitely — and in many cases, since the dentist doesn’t know how to measure results, without ever actually doing anything to improve the dentist’s website positions in the search engines.
3) First of all, if you’re paying more than about $50 - $100 a year for hosting, you’re getting burned. As for “maintenance,” that’s just a ploy to bill you extra. A website’s files simply reside on a host server (computer); they require no maintenance or upkeep. Every hosting company on the Internet has about the same security precautions and 99.9% uptime guarantee as the next.
In conclusion…
Prices seem to jump off the charts when certain companies offer to “help” dentists position their sites in the search engines and/or build and host their websites. Don’t become a victim — be informed.
April 5th, 2009 at 5:24 am
You’re right most dentists don’t know what the seo would or should be doing they pay just hoping it will work. Good information for sure.
June 6th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I wish I’d read this article when I was starting my practice and naively believed most of what I was told about setting up a site.
June 6th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Personally, I wish you hadn’t found easybacklinker, Tom.
Say hello to Andy for me.
John
April 21st, 2010 at 11:07 pm
I’d disagree on point #3 as long as the website (company) meets some qualifications.
If you did not have to pay a large up front fee (such as if the website required only a small < $200 setup fee or was free), then $79 per month (although a bit on the high side) is not exactly a rip off.
If a company charges, say $5000 to create a site then $5 per month, or charges you (in this case) $79 a month but no up front cost, I don’t see this as anything other then a different business model.
Of course, charging BOTH ways is, as you said, a rip-off.
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:30 am
Sounds like the discerning words of a California man;
and alas, it’s none other than Jeff of the Gladnick clan!
Hi Jeff!
Yeah I hear ya — these are just general guidelines, mainly
just representing my particular service model of building,
hosting and optimizing websites for a single one-time fee.
One-off fees and guaranteed work to specs have become
my calling card and hallmark — so to speak. The prices I
listed above for #3, as you may know, refer to those
outfits who first build a website for a few grand, then charge
outrageous, on-going hosting/maintenance fees - sometimes
as much as $400/mo. or more.
I think you’re talking about something more similar to your
operating model where the monthly fee + plus any set-up
charge is the total cost for everything; which of course enables
the client to have a website presence while stretching their cost
out over a period of time via monthly recurring payments.
We’ve experimented with different payment models and while
I occasionally cut a special deal for a guy, or offer entry specials,
our on-site sticker prices and one-time fees seem to work best.
Fortunately too, I’ve reached a point in my career where I don’t
have to low-ball or argue price points to secure clients.
Knock on wood!!!
Good to hear from you again — don’t be a stranger.
John