The image of the "Devil" beckons (click on image to see) when integrity is compromised. "Pay For Some Kind of Performance" SEO compensation is NOT going to work long term, if the "Devil" in the buyer or the seller gets his way.
Recently, Merriam-Webster Dictionary released its 2005 "Words Of The Year" with the number 1 searched word being "Integrity". About 200,000 people went online to find this meaning: "firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values." I bring this point up now because of Danny Sullivan's recent reference to the state of the Search Marketing Community's reputation: "Despite gains, many will still see us as the used car salespeople of the Web." My 12/11/05 post explains better Danny's continuous caring position on how some ("many") people question the integrity of the Search Marketing Industry as a whole. This only reinforces the ancient axiom of "CAVEAT EMPTOR" ("...the buyer alone is responsible for assessing the quality of a purchase before buying.")
Before I examine Benson Shapiro's "Is Performance-Based Pricing the Right Price for You?", I want to mention Shona Seifert's "Code of Ethics" for the Advertising Industry given at a judge's request. Traditional Advertising Agencies have been around a lot longer than 10 years, and have much more complicated and less easily accountable media than just the Internet to deal with. But, my post on "Overstating Agency Fees = Lessons Learned" brings out the need for Personal Integrity no matter what is currently "acceptable" within any industry. Also, SEO buyers have just as much responsibility for Personal Integrity as SEO sellers do, in my opinion. "Performance-Based Pricing" will not be "the right price" unless both parties to the contract are "Living the ethics" as Shona says on page 12 of that pdf document submitted to the court on 8/3/05.
Benson P. Shapiro is the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School. He starts off by saying: "Part of the relationship (two-sided conflict and cooperation) is a zero-sum game between buyer and seller in which one's gain is the other's loss. Pricing is at the center of this part. But, there is a second, win-win part of most buyer-seller relationships, including almost all business-to-business relationships. The win-win part often includes improved products and services that simultaneously provide greater customer value and higher supplier profitability." He goes on to say: "We have searched for ways to move pricing into the win-win category. In some situations, performance-based pricing can make pricing a win-win element of the buyer/seller relationship."
Please notice he says "In some situations"! Let it be known right now that my "one suggestion" to help the Search Marketing Industry grow by helping BOTH SEO buyer and seller is NOT RIGHT FOR EVERY SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES! However, I believe that there are MANY LOST OPPORTUNITIES to take advantage of "Performance-Based Pricing" because of an SEO's understandable aversion TO ANY MORE RISK THAN THEY BELIEVE THEY HAVE TO, and also understandably, to the concepts in the traditional definition of SEO "Pay For Performance" (especially where there are offline sales involved). The SEO buyers lose opportunities since they don't realize they have the option to first learn how & when this can be done, and then ask for it. SEO buyers also don't educate themselves enough to realize the extent to which they may have to cooperate with the SEO Consultant in making changes to their web site.
The bottom line for this post of mine is that outside of "Integrity Issues", fear, uncertainty, doubt, and mistrust, caused by a lack of education, cooperation and "O'HUG" Communication (Open, Honest, Upfront and Good = clear, conspicuous, comprehensive, and completely comprehended) on the part of both SEO buyer and seller is holding back the possibility of "win-win" scenarios. This, in my opinion, is holding back the growth of the Search Marketing Industry. All of my SEO-SEM Category Posts from my 11/2/05 "Honest SEO - Quality SEO - Performance SEO = VALUE" on, lay the educational groundwork for this series on "Performance-Based Pricing = "Pay For Some Kind of Performance".
My next post will explore "Performance-Based Pricing" in the Pay Per Click, Action, Lead or Sale world of Paid Placement as they relate to "SEO Pay For Some Kind of Performance", along with a further in depth look at Mr. Shapiro's featured work for Harvard Business School's "Working Knowledge for business leaders".
Animated image courtesy of www.artie.com.
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