Anyone ever hear of Astonish Results? (SEM Company that does insurance)

gdubs12345

gdubs12345

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They are trying to get my dad to sign a 3-5 year contract and want 100k+ upfront (plus ppc costs). And he's thinking about doing it.

So, does anyone know of a SEO/PPC company that specializes in insurance, that i could recommend to him as an alternative?

I have heard some good things about this company, a couple bad things. But their contract is bullshit, so i want to see what else is out there.
 


That's a pretty rediculous contract if they're going to do that he should make sure there are performance requirements for them that let him out of the contract if they can't meet them
 
kingfish said:
That's a pretty rediculous contract if they're going to do that he should make sure there are performance requirements for them that let him out of the contract if they can't meet them
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Yeah, i was thinking he should be able to find a company that would do a performance based contract or at least have to hit certain goals to get bonuses.

They just want him to give them 100-120k upfront, with no recourse if it doesnt work out.
 
that's retarded, and you should make sure he doesn't sign.

you should definitely make it performance based - otherwise he's going to get boned.

Unless he's going after the mega insurance terms...it costs a lot less than 100k to get organic traffic. And there's already people out there who have done ppc in insurance that could probably quote you a much more reasonable fee, and tell you a minimum cost per lead they could achieve.
 
Just did some research, looking at the sites that they are promoting, I don't see any SEO tactics worth more than $1000, let alone $100,000.

Looks like most of their PPC is just local keywords: "insurance type in place" so a reasonable management fee is still short of 100k.

Which leaves web design to cover the remaining amount. From what I have seen, you could throw up Wordpress theme with some basic customizations and have something that is just as nice. They add in a couple extras (some flash buttons on a couple sites, and a video spokesperson) but nothing that anyone here couldn't manage.

And finally, there's a cardinal rule that you shoudn't trust an SEO company that requires you to link back to their site from yours.

Not gonna tell you not to sign, since I wouldn't want a competitor doing that to me. But definitely do your research to see exactly what that 100k is for.
 
SniperRyan said:
Just did some research, looking at the sites that they are promoting, I don't see any SEO tactics worth more than $1000, let alone $100,000.
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Yeah, i was checking out the backlinks of one of their sites and i saw a total of 50 backlinks, that were mostly reciprical, and links for their own blog.

I dont really know where the traffic or leads are supposed to come from.

I think my dad is just faling for their marketing. They do a great job marketing themselves. Heres a video the did.
Insurance Marketing - Astonish Results speaks on Insurance Marketing in the Digital Age - AOL Video

They make it seem like if you dont work with them, youre a dinosaur. And my dad doesnt know about the internet, so he's falling for it.
 
SEO isn't a quick fix - most serious SEO companies will insist on a contract of at least a year. I generally recommend 2 years as a minimum.

I sometimes do performance based work myself, but then I insist on full access to the site and server, and I also insist on being given carte blanche to make any changes or additions I deem neccessary.

100k upfront is insane - if high organic rankings will justify the cost for the top end insurance keywords, get a monthly contract with a sensible bailout clause
 
If those are indeed the terms of the contract, he would be stupid to sign it. No real agency would actually attempt to put that in front of a client that they weren't trying to fleece.
 
$100k upfront with no recourse? Tell them to get fucked where they eat.

How many terms are trying to be ranked? Is it some reputation ranking or all heavily competitive terms? Hit me up with a pm and the details and I might be able to figure something out.
 
How much is your dads company looking to spend monthly on SEM?

Is the 100k to do SEO SEM for the whole contract or jsut to get started?
 
I have done a lot of websites and seo/ppc work for insurance companies throughout the US along with other companies like Microsoft, Land's Best... Before we spoke with some of our customers in the insurance industry they were considering signing up with Astonish Results - fortunately they didn't.

What they are offering, and more importantly, what they are charging is ridiculous. They use template-based websites, re-use their videos and then pass it off as custom. No doubt about it, these guys know how to sell but what they are selling, in my opinion, isn't anything that great.

If your dad is interested in talking about alternatives, that are more affordable and higher quality, then we should talk. I have a similar offering for insurance companies called 360 Agent Solutions (360 Agent Solutions - Websites for Insurance Agents and Insurance Brokers) that is launching in Jan of 2010.
 
I am an agent in Orlando and I signed up with Astonish Results just over a year ago. I honestly have never looked back. They have done so much for my agency, I can't even condense it all in this post. The contract IS ridiculous, but I can honestly tell you that they back up their product with actions and results. We get tons of leads (both organic and ppc), but even more we have branded our agency like never before and our retention is actually up in this crappy economy. They train our staff on sales and marketing best practices, they have unbelievable cutting edge sales ideas and techniques that actually work, super slick emails, auto emails, and more sales campaigns than I can remember. If you are looking at this company as just an SEO company then you are right, save your money and buy a phonebook ad. If you are looking for a cutting edge marketing consultant with proven sales and retention results, then Astonish Results is the best bet for your dollars.
 
nmwando said:
have him call convert2media or any other cpa company around here.. i am sure they would love to work with him.. they seem pretty forward and pretty crazy about pushing only legit leads.. :)
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This is a better route but im guessing the guy only services only one city right?
 
360as said:
I have done a lot of websites and seo/ppc work for insurance companies throughout the US along with other companies like Microsoft, Land's Best... Before we spoke with some of our customers in the insurance industry they were considering signing up with Astonish Results - fortunately they didn't.

What they are offering, and more importantly, what they are charging is ridiculous. They use template-based websites, re-use their videos and then pass it off as custom. No doubt about it, these guys know how to sell but what they are selling, in my opinion, isn't anything that great.

If your dad is interested in talking about alternatives, that are more affordable and higher quality, then we should talk. I have a similar offering for insurance companies called 360 Agent Solutions (360 Agent Solutions - Websites for Insurance Agents and Insurance Brokers) that is launching in Jan of 2010.
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Nolz28 said:
I am an agent in Orlando and I signed up with Astonish Results just over a year ago. I honestly have never looked back. They have done so much for my agency, I can't even condense it all in this post. The contract IS ridiculous, but I can honestly tell you that they back up their product with actions and results. We get tons of leads (both organic and ppc), but even more we have branded our agency like never before and our retention is actually up in this crappy economy. They train our staff on sales and marketing best practices, they have unbelievable cutting edge sales ideas and techniques that actually work, super slick emails, auto emails, and more sales campaigns than I can remember. If you are looking at this company as just an SEO company then you are right, save your money and buy a phonebook ad. If you are looking for a cutting edge marketing consultant with proven sales and retention results, then Astonish Results is the best bet for your dollars.
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Can you two reps also post on these threads

Where can I get car insurance Leads?
SEO my car insurance site.

Thanks :smilie_weihn_winki:
 
Nolz28 said:
I am an agent in Orlando and I signed up with Astonish Results just over a year ago. I honestly have never looked back. They have done so much for my agency, I can't even condense it all in this post. The contract IS ridiculous, but I can honestly tell you that they back up their product with actions and results. We get tons of leads (both organic and ppc), but even more we have branded our agency like never before and our retention is actually up in this crappy economy. They train our staff on sales and marketing best practices, they have unbelievable cutting edge sales ideas and techniques that actually work, super slick emails, auto emails, and more sales campaigns than I can remember. If you are looking at this company as just an SEO company then you are right, save your money and buy a phonebook ad. If you are looking for a cutting edge marketing consultant with proven sales and retention results, then Astonish Results is the best bet for your dollars.
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This doesn't sound solicited at all. 1 post, just registered. Hmmmmmm.
 
Say what you want, but I am not an employee of Astonish or a paid advertiser, just a customer. I have been an insurance agent in Orlando for over 16 years. I am a bit of a geek and I happened to see this thread so I decided to ad my 2 cents. I am proud to stand behind them because they have done so much for me and my agency. send me a pm and I will be happy to give you my contact information. I would post my web address and email in this post, but I'm not sure if this site allows that or not.
 
Nolz28 said:
Say what you want, but I am not an employee of Astonish or a paid advertiser, just a customer. I have been an insurance agent in Orlando for over 16 years. I am a bit of a geek and I happened to see this thread so I decided to ad my 2 cents. I am proud to stand behind them because they have done so much for me and my agency. send me a pm and I will be happy to give you my contact information. I would post my web address and email in this post, but I'm not sure if this site allows that or not.
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ayo how much for the deepthroat ?
 
a brilliant post dieze. intelligence exudes from your explicit use of the English language.
 
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