It’s a question I’m wondering as I receive more and more calls from various businesses, both small and large, who are suddenly finding themselves in need of some marketing.  People aren’t buying like they have been in years past, and some businesses are smart enough to realize that the future of marketing is on the Internet.

So as I continue to receive these calls, the industries are starting to overlap.  A landscaper calls, a lawn maintenance company calls, a pool builder calls.  While these industries are different in their respective ways, they are also the same.

So it got me wondering - are other SEOs receiving more calls, and if so, are they able to be more picky and/or command a higher price for their services than they were say a year or two ago?

I should preface this by saying that my company personally will not take on more than one client per industry.  If a landscaper hires me, and another calls, I have to turn them down.  The biggest reason is ethical - I can’t get both businesses to rank #1 for competing keywords.  Perhaps other SEOs will take on more than one client per industry, but I don’t see how they could do it and still sleep well at night.

Now, if a landscaper and a lawn maintenance company hire me, they are similar but aren’t really competing over the same rankings, so I wouldn’t have a problem with it.  Even better, they could cross-promote each other and make a bit more money/get more referrals that way.  It’s a win-win.

So back to my question - which I guess is actually two quesitons.

1. As an SEO, are you finding that you can be more particular about which clients you take on?  Are there more than one business per industry considering your services?
2. And if so, are you raising your rates because of this demand?  Or, are you finding that there is more competition (since there are more customers) and you are having to lower your prices to stay competitive?