How to Crush Your Competitors
You’re a professional, a doctor or lawyer, with a well-known brand, a great value proposition, and a busy practice. Even so, you’re having a tough time bringing in new clients or patients because lesser competitors are outranking you on the search engines.
The problem is, SEO is only getting tougher.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is always changing. What may have worked before, even as recently as 2019, doesn’t work as well now. The reason is that search engines’ algorithms are becoming more and more sophisticated.
Today, it takes more than just stuffing keywords on a flashy website to rank well. In fact, those things can backfire and hurt your rankings. What search engines want is:
- High-quality content that’s relevant, helpful, and credible;
- On a fast-loading website that’s stable, safe, and secure;
- From a competent, authoritative, and trustworthy source.
5 Key Benefits of Professional SEO
An SEO strategy makes your website adaptive to the ever-evolving nature of the Internet. More importantly, it comes from an SEO specialist who understands professional services providers, like doctors, lawyers, dentists, accountants, and other consultants.
Unlike a typical SEO who serves everyone, or a digital marketing generalist who only dabbles in SEO, a professional services SEO consultant is an expert who is deeply familiar with the complexities and challenges of the licensed professional.
SEO is about having a strong, authoritative online presence that increases your visibility on the search engines and drives organic traffic to your website. But it’s more than just getting high rankings. With better SEO, you also:
- Increase your brand awareness and gain a competitive edge;
- Dominate your market by crushing your toughest competitors;
- Attract ideal clients specifically seeking you and what you offer;
- Stand out without risking your reputation and getting burned;
- And quickly adapt to unforeseen changes (such as COVID).
A Comprehensive SEO Assessment
Professional SEO consulting services looks at multiple areas and SEO signals that search engines look for, from your website’s architecture to your visibility across multiple platforms. It then dives deeper into internal and external factors, from information architecture to competitive gaps.
A comprehensive SEO assessment is more than your typical “SEO audit.” It’s a 360° deep dive into your SEO. Here are just a few examples of what a comprehensive SEO approach looks at:
- Technical SEO: this part of the assessment looks at technical issues that help or hinder your rankings, such as server configurations, page crawlability, mobile-friendliness, structured data, image optimizations, and user experience;
- On-page SEO: this is what most people think SEO is, which include keyword research, topical relevance, internal linking, search intent, content strategy, and content amplification;
- Off-site SEO: what happens outside your website affects your SEO, such as the number of authoritative backlinks, brand mentions, social media profiles, guest article contributions, media appearances, and digital PR;
- Local SEO: to be found locally, you need local SEO, including map visibility (e.g., Google, Bing, Apple, and Facebook), local citations, business listings, and data aggregators;
- *E-A-T SEO: the most important signals for professionals include author credentials, online reviews, source attributions, transparency signals, trust seals, and reputation management;
- Competitive analysis: finally, competitors outranking you are winning for a reason, so the goal is to reverse-engineer common factors that Google likes, winning characteristics, keyword gaps, content opportunities, and search trends.
*E-A-T stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. They're the three most sought-after page quality factors by Google's quality evaluation guidelines, particularly with professional services websites.
Here are some examples of clients whose SEO was fixed or optimized after working with me:
SEO Consulting Service Packages
The Visibility Booster™
$7,000 USD/Each
The Visibility Booster™ is not a typical SEO audit. It’s a comprehensive 360° assessment of your online exposure. The aim is to uncover issues, gaps, and opportunities that, once addressed, will significantly increase your visibility, authority, and traffic.
Deliverables
It starts with a deep dive into your digital assets, activities, and analytics. This provides a high-level roadmap describing the areas in need of improvement, along with recommended strategies and engagements to achieve your goals.
Depending on the project size, allow up to 90 days for the completion of your assessment. Your team can receive a 90-minute virtual meeting within 30 days following its delivery to ask any clarification questions or get any guidance.
Pricing
Price is $7,000 USD (Canadians must add HST). All fees are 100% payable upfront and based on typical sites of up to 500 pages. For larger or more complex sites (e.g., ecommerce), book a discovery call for a quote. Direct expenses are extra.
If within the first 30 days we’re not a good fit or you’re unsatisfied for any reason, I’ll refund my fee in full. After that, there are no refunds, without exceptions.
The Visibility Detox™
$3,000 USD/Each
The Visibility Detox™ aims to fix your traffic drops and uncover issues that are hurting your visibility that need to be addressed. It’s an SEO review that is a lighter version of the Visibility Booster™ above, But it’s not an automated SEO audit, either.
This SEO assessment may take up to 30 days. You get a document with the most important issues to address and a list of suggestions and recommendations. However, this service does not have a review meeting. (See coaching call below.)
Custom SEO Projects
Variable Pricing
If what you’re looking for doesn’t fit into the above, a custom project may be more appropriate. These are ideal for challenging projects you don’t have the time or available expertise to tackle. Custom SEO Projects may include things like:
- Fixing a tricky SEO problem.
- Hiring the right SEO/marketing talent.
- Improving a complex site (e.g., ecommerce).
- Revamping a larger website (e.g., 1,000+ pages).
- Developing a longer-term SEO strategy.
- Auditing other areas of your marketing.
- Developing a new positioning strategy.
- And much more.
Whether it’s dealing with a unique situation or meeting an ambitious goal, together we’ll find the right solution for you.
60-Minute Strategy Call
$500 USD/Each
Unsure about what to do next? Need quick feedback? Got a nagging issue? Want to brainstorm ideas? Book a private 1:1 call, which you can record. I can provide you with assignments, a list of takeaways, and links to resources. Book a strategy call for $500.
Common Questions (FAQ)
“Who will perform the SEO Audit?”
I conduct all SEO audits personally and manually. I don’t automate or outsource them. I may use crawling tools or analytics software to help me, and I may include screenshots for illustration purposes,. But I customize the report for your situation. In very rare cases, I will hire admin support to help me, but they are never involved in the auditing and writing processes.
“How many pages do you audit?”
My SEO audits are priced per domain, and cover a standard-sized website. A standard professional website varies from 10-1,000 pages. For sites over 1,000, please book a discovery call.
“How long does an SEO audit take?”
Typically, an SEO assessment and strategy can take 30 days and up to 90 days or more depending on the size of the project. Once I know the size of your website, and your exact needs and goals for conducting the audit, I will suggest a timeline.
However, timelines are approximations and not guaranteed. If you’re in a hurry and need faster turnaround times, I offer a guaranteed timeframe (or rush) fee of 50%. This is for special circumstances (such as an upcoming website launch).
“Do you guarantee your results?”
As a certified SEO consultant, I cannot guarantee any rankings of traffic. It’s impossible to do so, and Google warns against consultants and agencies that offer guarantees. Search engine rankings are unpredictable and volatile, just as stock prices are.
Also, I only provide SEO advisory services and do not perform any execution work or control it. I follow a fiduciary standard of care where I’m not incentivized by how or with whom you choose to implement my recommendations.
However, I promise to provide you with a thorough audit and the best possible recommendations to increase your traffic and outrank your competitors, and offer a 30-day money-back satisfaction guarantee if the fit between us is not there.
“What do you need to get started?”
I ask 100% of my fee upfront. Once I receive your deposit, and before our work together, I will ask you to fill out my intake form where you can provide login credentials to grant me access to your website, server, analytics, and other related functionality (such as website admin and other third-party services). I also ask for some basic information regarding your business, products, services, staff, and goals to guide me in my research.
“What if I plan on redesigning my site?”
It’s the perfect time, then. Ideally, I prefer to perform SEO audits prior to launching any big changes, such as a website redesign, platform switch, architecture change, and even content updates. This will help prevent any negative effects on your rankings and traffic, which in some cases can be irrecoverable.
If your website is new and soon to be launched, having the proper architecture, technical framework, and content beforehand can accelerate your results and improve your chances.
“Will you implement the corrections?”
Within 30 days of delivering my report, you and your team get a 90-minute virtual meeting to ask questions, request clarifications, or get basic guidance with the implementation process, where I can provide some general examples and outlines.
I don’t do implementation work.
Once I deliver your audit and a report with my recommendations, you can implement the changes independently or with my support, either by your team or by outsourcing to a third party.
“Will you work at our location?”
I work on all projects remotely and usually conduct virtual meetings over Zoom or Google Meet, and chats over Slack. However, in some cases (such as for privacy or security reasons, or for larger projects), I can travel to your location if necessary, and any travel costs, lodging, and incidentals are extra.
“Is there anything else you don’t do?”
I don’t do project management.
You will manage tasks, suppliers, budgets, and accountabilities yourself. With an ongoing SEO advisory retainer, I provide guidance and leadership by working with your team more closely.
While I provide guidance with some best practices, I don’t do in-depth training or teach new skills (e.g., web development, content writing, copywriting, etc). But I can provide training separately or point you in the right direction.
What’s The Next Step?
Start with a free exploratory call (about 30 minutes) to see if there’s a mutual fit. During that time, I’ll take a look at your website, answer any questions, and go over your goals and concerns. If there is a fit between us, we can then discuss the next steps.
To higher rankings,
What Do Others Say?
I’ve helped thousands of clients around the world, from solo practitioners with small practices to international franchises. I can help your business grow and scale, too. Out of the hundreds of testimonials I’ve received, here are just a few.
“Michel provided me some highly valuable insights at a critical time, helping me transition from a networking-based sales strategy to an online model. He did so in a very friendly manner and with clarity and simplicity that only comes from deep, genuine expertise. I learned about Michel from a book and I subscribed to his newsletter, which is so good I actually print some of his emails and read them in the evening. If you are looking for an SEO expert, I’m very confident Michel can help.”
Carl Seleborg, CEO, DasCask.com
“Michel Fortin is my favorite marketing expert and copywriter. He is a friend, but I was reading his stuff long before he was a friend. I have paid him a lot to help me get paid a lot. He’s the real deal and has the longevity as a copywriter to prove it. I’ve personally quarterbacked over five seven-figure promotions based on his model, so I am a direct recipient of his work.”
Ed Rush, CEO, EdRush.com
“Very few people can match Michel’s knowledge of sales and marketing. Fewer still can add an astute understanding of basic business principles to that marketing mix. And almost none can have all those things plus the level of integrity he brings to the table. I trust Michel implicitly; I would hire him without hesitation, and I recommend him unreservedly.”
Ray Edwards, SEO, RayEdwards.com
“If you’re ready to take your business to higher levels and sustain continuous growth and improvement, then you must work with Michel! Not only does he share high-value content, but he has the unique ability to connect on a level that instantly changes people’s lives! So do yourself a favor and work with Michel today! You’ll be so grateful you did!”
James Malinchak, CEO, BigMoneySpeaker.com
“I launched my website with a small list of 1,788 subscribers and was able to earn $31,523.97 within the first 24 hours. It was converting at such a high rate you wouldn’t even believe me if I told you. It then went up again and brought in over $1,800 in sales within the next 24 hours.”
David Mizrachi, CEO, TheEmailExperience.com
“I have worked with Michael since 1998 and I can vouch that his copywriting services have increased my business and sales by over $4,000,000 in the course of our relationship. Michel is my “secret weapon” whenever I need copywriting that pulls results and I can wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone (except my competitors!).”
Simon Grabowski, CEO, GetResponse.com
“A huge thank you for doing such a masterful job with Traffic Secrets! You are the author of the biggest launch web letter promoting the fastest-selling ‘how-to’ course in the history of the web, grossing $1,080,496.37 in sales in less than 18 hours of its worldwide release!”
John Reese, CEO, Geru.com
“In the arena of marketing coaches and mentors, Michel Fortin is in a class by himself. Michel’s generosity with both his time and talents are truly remarkable. I am very grateful to learn from him. His insight has helped my company to become a preferred partner providing paid search marketing for some of the largest, most reputable direct marketers in the country.”
Dave Martin, CEO, eSmart Marketing, Inc.