While I was out and about cruising the intranets I came across a great post by Rand over at SEOmoz.org! It’s something I’ve wanted to write about for quite some time now and just haven’t gotten around to it. Then I started to type up a comment / response and it became more of a love affair / post than anything… so here goes.

Site seeks Long Term Relationship w/ SEO

What it all boils down to is courtship. Are we attracted to each other? Would we be a good match? What would eharmony.com do if we both signed up, would we be matched? Yes choosing the right SEO can be a lot like choosing the right partner in life. We all know physical attraction is powerful. So do you have a site w/ a product or service I (your prospective SEO) find attractive? I have personally turned down about 50 contracts a year since we started. Some are just ‘Bad Dates’ (I wouldn’t even refer them to other SEO companies because they were looking for BlackHat tactics or they were just generally unsavory business people – Google Assclown awards sometime to find a list of people that earned the nickname!)

Nothing can be more frustrating to an SEO… that’s why I interview my clients too. Sure I could take a bunch more contracts on all at the same time and do par work. Not care, not build relationships, not enjoy success. Ugh! If I wanted that kind of a life I’d go back to junior level corporate management. It’s not all about the money to some of us. I know, I know, everyone wants to make money online… That’s Great! it’s how you make your money – I like to sleep at night So here’s some things that I’ve come across on my end of the spectrum in the SEO contract process.