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==> TOPIC: SEARCH WORK REFERRAL SYSTEM
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Originally posted in I-Search #148
From: I-Search <>
Post to Search Return Digest to get free SEO from the consulting community, filtered by Disa Johnson to ensure quality and accuracy. When a question you post does not go answered for a time, Disa will chime in. Post any request for proposal and reach vendors through the Search Return Referral System.
It's that easy. View it as an obvious front for Search Return services, or view it as a great way to get free SEO. View it as a chance to engage discussion with the greatest experts in the world. See previous posts for reference to the roots of the Search Return Referral System.
Stay tuned,
I-Search
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==> TOPIC: SEARCH WORK REFERRAL SYSTEM
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Originally posted in SearchReturn #013
"CONTINUING DISCUSSION"
From: Andrew Goodman <agoodman@gmail.com>
I think this is a great idea!
Yes there is the potential to do this thru SEMPO or SMA, but there are other fish in the sea.
I think you would do a great job.
Andrew
Comment? mailto:digest@searchreturn.com?subject=ReferralSystem
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==> TOPIC: SEARCH WORK REFERRAL SYSTEM
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Originally posted in SearchReturn #013
"CONTINUING DISCUSSION"
From: Lee Odden <lee@toprankresults.com>
Andrew, I am glad you posted about this as you know it's something we deal with as well. So far, picking who to refer to and getting referrals has been fairly informal with a personal network. Overall, it's been very productive. However, for project sizes and types outside of our sweet spot, it would be nice to have a short-list of quality, trusted consultants/firms. In our case, this is especially true with web dev and PPC projects. Everything we do is focused on online/offline public relations, blogs and organic SEO. I wonder how trusted a formal referral system could be? I guess it depends on how the participants are evaluated and how honest they are.
Lee Odden
Comment? mailto:digest@searchreturn.com?subject=ReferralSystem
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==> TOPIC: SEARCH WORK REFERRAL SYSTEM
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Originally posted in SearchReturn #013
"CONTINUING DISCUSSION"
From: Debra Mastaler <debra@alliance-link.com>
Typically when I have a job I know my style of linking won't help, I refer to a list of people I'm compiled over the years. It's a group of people I know personally or have at least spoken to on the phone and/or have a connection to people I know. If that list doesn't work I send them to SEOPros and SEO Consultants. I think both of those sites do a pretty good job describing the abilities of the SEO/SEM companies listed.
Kudos for bringing this up in such a thoughtful manner Andrew. I've never considered how someone might feel to be referred a small job, I typically just barrel away and offer it up!
........Steamrolling away now... Debra.
Comment? mailto:digest@searchreturn.com?subject=ReferralSystem
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==> TOPIC: SEARCH WORK REFERRAL SYSTEM
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Originally posted in SearchReturn #013
"CONTINUING DISCUSSION"
From: Jennifer Laycock <jennifer@searchengineguide.com>
Andrew's post on a referral system really sparked my interest. I'm running into the same problem that he is. As I focus more and more on Search Engine Guide, it leaves less time for retainer deals and consulting. That tends to leave me with plenty of inquiries, but very few places to send them. I have one good size SEM firm that I respect enough to pass the big leads to and two or three individual consultants that I pass smaller projects on to, but I'd really like to be able to more closely match people by specialty rather than simply budget.
On my more ambitious days, I think that I'll actually build something out on www.seomatch.com, a domain that I bought earlier this year when I thought it would be interesting to get into SEM brokering. The reality is that the size and scope of this type of project would be larger than what I care to manage. As I see it, you'd need to have a good system in place as far as reviewing and cataloging techniques, skill levels, price ranges etc. I don't see this as a system limited to white hats or black hats; I see it as a system that matches a business up with the best skill set for what they need. That may mean white hat, may mean black hat, may mean big firm, may mean small.
I think if you had someone that was really familiar with a wide range of companies and could confidently send a business off to one of them, you could set up a decent business model. The service could be free for companies looking to hire a vendor, and vendors could pay a referral fee to the service the same way that they would to a salesman.
I see a true need for this type "match-making" service if search marketing is going to continue to grow. While the industry is starting to mature, there are still valid concerns from companies about who they can safely hire. It's not at all unusual for me to hear from business owners that very much want to invest in SEM but that have simply been burned so many times by bad vendors that they're not sure any good ones actually exist.
Count me in as far as backing or helping with anything that could actually work to solve this problem.
Jennifer Laycock
Comment? mailto:digest@searchreturn.com?subject=ReferralSystem
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==> TOPIC: SEARCH WORK REFERRAL SYSTEM
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Originally posted in SearchReturn #012
"NEW DISCUSSION"
From: Andrew Goodman <agoodman@gmail.com>
I'm sure most of the consultants on this list have worked on trying to figure out what to do with leads they can't or shouldn't handle. Companies may have specific partners they send certain biz to, etc. I'm finding I'm getting a wider and wider diversity of "can't handles" lately (especially smaller jobs), and it presents several problems, because I hate letting leads go begging completely and I hate seeing clients just wandering off not getting appropriate help.
Problem 1: Don't want to offend senior industry people with leads for small jobs;
Problem 2: Want to keep it discreet, but when nobody comes to mind, there is only so much you can do behind the scenes;
And so forth.
What I'm wondering is if anyone has a strategy they've seen others use to tap into some online resource, job exchange, etc., to find appropriate consultants particularly those willing to take on the smaller jobs. Ideally this would not be random blind experience that changes every time, but a way of finding a short list of those who could be counted on to at least take a look at a prospect's request and hopefully fulfil it.
I realize there are a ton of online outlets & avenues for such activity, but I'm looking to shorten my search with suggestions from the group.
Note - I'm not suggesting we do this kind of transacting on SearchReturn!
Thanks d. and all! Looks like SearchReturn is off to a great start.
Andrew
--
Andrew Goodman
Page Zero Media
Author, Winning Results with Google AdWords
(McGraw-Hill, Sept. 2005)
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or use the site feedback mechanism to voice any interest.
Stay tuned.
Comment? mailto:digest@searchreturn.com?subject=ReferralSystem
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