I’m pretty certain that I was one of the first professionals to term themselves an Internet Marketing Consultant.  Certainly, there were no serious results in search for those three words together before I took that title upon myself, and soon held the #1 ranking for the term Internet Marketing Consultant in the UK search engines I was targeting in 1997.  Not that anyone was searching for one back then.  I just knew it was the best overall title for the skills and knowledge I offered, and planned to build demand for such a profession over time.

What can an Internet marketing consultant do for you?

Obviously, I provide consulting services relating to Internet marketing. That means that rather than be an outsource for Internet marketing activities, I work directly with the companies that hire me, giving them the benefit of my experience and knowledge.  This means that where a client finds themselves lacking in key skills or experience needed for any task, I provide a method to instantly buy in that expertise, and own it, rather than rely solely on outsourcing to providers they may not fully understand or benefit from.

This is in direct contrast with the more common outsource solutions and services out there.  It is a service largely based on direct knowledge transfer, as much as possible.  I don’t hold back any proprietary secrets.  I don’t mystify the already obscure enough processes and strategies of marketing online.  I consult openly and frankly on any matter relating to marketing via the Internet.

You know that old saying that says “give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for life”?  I don’t sell you a fish, I teach you how to fish.  I also teach you how to recognise other skilled fisherman, how to evaluate their skill, how to value their catch, and advise on how to gain the most, valuable, quality, fish in the most economical way given your situation and resources.

To be more specific, what an Internet marketing consultant such as myself can do for a company is provide instant experience and expertise on a whole range of matters.  I am considered an expert on all things relating to search engine marketing, for example.  That means a client hiring me can instantly have an expert viewpoint on all possible strategies, methods, and means to attain their objectives in search marketing.  I have years of experience of all the major issues of hundreds of ecommerce models and businesses.  I have seen first hand what works, what doesn’t work, and why these things may or may not work.

I can advise on all of the 4 P’s of marketing as they relate specifically to the Internet business models.  I can bring a wealth of experience in leveraging brand, or managing online communities, or maximising conversion rates, or values.  I can brainstorm fresh creative marketing ideas on the drop of a hat.  I can suggest many ways to lower overheads or raise profitability.  I can help in evaluating outsources, products, and even basic strategy ideas all based on my experiences with over 600 previous clients, and across every conceivable vertical market sector.

An Internet marketing consultancy allows you to ‘buy’ instant expertise, and then own that knowledge to do with as you wish.

How does Internet marketing consultancy work?

My consultancy services are uniquely tailored to each client, taking in to account their organisation, practices, resources and situation.  In 15 years of providing services to over 600 clients, many of whom bought ongoing consultancy services, I can honestly say that no two consultancy projects have ever been exactly the same.  So, there is no single package, and no exact formula for consultancy.

What is fairly typical is that consultancy will begin with taking a detailed brief of a client’s situation, needs, and wants.  There will be an amount of time spent on researching their current market position, and competition.  There is typically some detailed examination and analysis of their website, possibly their analytics, along with known and previously undetected issues that may be negatively affecting their efforts.

Most consultancies involve a detailed and lengthy presentation and discussion, typically lasting three hours or so.  This face to face discussion typically happens at the client’s premises, and involves the decision makers for marketing, business development, and website development.  Occasionally, this has been the first time that the marketing team and the development team have sat together with a person who speaks both languages and helps bridge the gaps.

The basic precept of all stages of the consultancy are to bring my expertise and experience directly to the client’s own teams.  I  explain things in as much detail as may be required, and ensure that even the least technical person gains an effective working understanding of all issues and principles that they may need or want to.

There is nothing that is withheld, no question to simple or too complex.  Hiring a consultant is bringing the wisdom and knowledge openly to you.  The consultancy is all about knowledge transfer and empowerment.  About giving the client the benefit of an expert in the field on their side, and in their team.  Whether I am hired for an hour, or a year, whilst I am in your hire I am entirely part of your team, and dedicated to your cause.

The Initial Consultancy

For the vast majority of my clients, The Initial Consultancy is an in-depth evaluation of their web site, their business model as realised online, their market, and a detailed analysis of their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (S.W.O.T. analysis).  The aim of the Initial Consultancy is both to provide detailed intelligence of the current situation, and to provide information for strategic planning for their ongoing Internet marketing campaigns.

Typically, the Initial Consultancy that I provide involves several days of research into their market and competition, analysis of the web site, analysis of web site statistics (if available), and general data-gathering and analysis.  This then forms the framework for an interactive discussion, typically face to face, in which I can present the data, query the client about current strategic practices, and discuss ways that we might best use existing resources.

The final part of the Initial Consultancy is the production of a full report that contains all the refined information gathered, allow with strategy suggestions, generally with several options, each of which are uniquely tailored to the client’s own goals, strengths, resources, and market conditions.  It is rather like a set of blueprints which the client owns and can take any outsource requirements to tender with agencies or other freelancers, etc.

SEO Consultancy

My consulting on purely SEO matters is generally for existing SEOs, either agency or in house.  As one of my earliest clients for this put it: Ammon puts in hundreds of hours of research and reading.  We could do the same, or we could hire him to spend a couple of hours talking with us, and gain not only the nuggets he found, but his refinements and analysis on top.

It is incredibly tough for a hard-working full-time employee in search engine optimization to even attempt to keep up with all the ideas, studies, patents, and theories that arise.  There is no single source, and keeping up generally means not only subscribing to many blogs and news-feeds, but also having a few quiet conversations to get the stuff too juicy for publication.

I spend several hours each day on average just reading, researching and testing.  Certainly it is safe to estimate that I spend more than 20 hours every week on pure research and development of practices that work with maximum efficiency.  Several companies and teams of SEOs have found it far more economical to share some of my research than to spend similar amounts of time outside of their full-time work.