How Long Should You Contract For SEO?

Being in the business of search engine optimization, we often get questions about how long things will take, but a question that we also get is "how long should you contract for SEO services?"

As I have mentioned before, search engine optimization takes time, and there are little guarantees in how long something will or will not take.  However, I do recommend to all of clients, whether they are new or long-term, to sign short term contracts unless they are absolutely comfortable and confident in our services.

This may seem like a strange business practice, urging clients to sign short contracts, but in the end I find that it pays off quite a bit.  The reason is simple: Clients want different things on different timelines.  Some are more understanding of the search engine optimization process, and others are a little less patient.  If you are not getting what you want in the time that you want, regardless of the reason, you want to have the freedom to explore the waters a bit.  And, since we are so confident in our abilities, we are more than happy for our customers to take a brief hiatus from us, although we like to ask for at least 3 months to show what we can do (6 months being optimum).  However, I hear tales of people being asked to sign contracts for a year or more, and I just don't think that makes sense from a business perspective.

After all, while search engine optimization is an ongoing process, your needs and desires may change, or you may not be happy with customer service, or any other of a number of variables.  Do yourself a favor - at least initially, keep that SEO contract short - after all, nothing is worse than contractually being stuck working with people you don't like, not to mention the added expenses of hiring someone you do like.  Added bonus:  when you find the right company, you'll know it, and then that long term contract isn't much of an issue as long as you are confident in your business and they are doing their job, but a short term contract keeps you from being stuck with a company that you may not even be able to afford until your search engine stuff gets where it should be.

Best wishes!