How to Choose an SEO Company to Work With
It all begins with an idea.
One in five companies has had a negative experience with an SEO company before finding the right fit. Avoid losing time, money, and headache by having constructive criteria to base your choice on. The following suggestions are based on empirical data and experience from business reviews on SEO companies.
Picking an SEO Company | Key Criteria
What Expectations are they Setting?
A lot of SEO companies set unrealistic expectations with their clients. SEO is an organic marketing strategy, which, unlike paid ads, cannot yield instant results. In general - SEO takes at least 6 months to begin showing significant traffic and sales increases. If a company is selling you on short-term rankings boosts, they are likely using tactics that Google has disavowed. Or they are simply full of BS!
Is the SEO Company Using White Hat Strategies?
Just like in Star Wars, there's the dark side of SEO (black-hat) and the Jedi (a.k.a. white hat). Black Hat involves tactics that Google regulates against and consequentially may drop rankings or blacklist your website. White hat is by the book. How can you vet for this? Here are a few ways:
Ask if they outsource. Overseas labor is often a red flag for black-hat strategies, but not always.
Even if not a sign of black-hat techniques, cheap labor usually produces low quality work. Cheap SEO companies are often unsuccessful - whether they're being cheap with you or their workforce.
Ask if they buy backlinks. Selling backlinks is not allowed by Google and is a black-hat strategy.
Ask for some samples of their backlinks. They should come from reputable directories and editorials, not fake blogs created to boost SEO.
Look at the quality of the blog posts they've published for clients. These should be original - not rehashed or plagiarized versions of other articles.
Company Knowledge and Processes
A lot of SEO companies have skilled experts on their teams and some don't. Look at their company blog and see what kind of information they publish. SEO is subjective, so ask yourself if you like their perspective. Are they being transparent in meetings or do they sound like they're BSing? Ask about their customer service policies (phone, e-mail, hours, etc.) and reporting practices.
Case Studies, Reviews, References
Asking for references from business associates and friends can be helpful as many companies don't know anything about SEO. Also, check the website and review sites (Google, Facebook, Yelp), etc. for reviews and case studies.
If you're reading this article, then you're taking steps to avoid 90% of the issues that could arise when hiring an SEO agency. Having a lens from which to vet these companies will make your search much more effective. As a result, you're going to be working with an agency that can really help you in hitting your company's marketing and sales goals.
SEO for Dummies | What is SEO and Why is it Important?
It all begins with an idea.
Are you curious about SEO as a marketing strategy for your business' products or services? Given its high stock value in the online marketplace, it's a marketing tactic worth investing in. Even if you don't end up hiring an agency or consultant, you'll benefit from having insight as a business owner or marketing professional.
SEO for Dummies | Overview
This short guide provides a brief description of the major aspects of SEO. If you plan to implement an SEO strategy yourself, you'll get the most of this guide if you have a willingness to learn and a drive to execute and test concepts. The basics covered here include how to find terms and phrases ("keywords") that generate qualified traffic, technical SEO (making your site "friendly" to search engines), gathering links to your website from 3rd parties ("link-building,") and marketing the unique value of your website.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization, a.k.a. "S.E.O," is the process of increasing the quality and quantity website traffic through organic search engine results. Organic traffic refers to any traffic from search engines that is un-paid. Alternatively, traffic from advertisements are referred to as paid traffic. SEO develops brand exposure and is as much about people as it is search engines. Technicalities come first with SEO, followed by a marketing strategy that considers what people are searching for online and what words/phrases they are using.
Search Engine Results Pages or "SERPs" have become increasingly advanced over the years as search engine developers gain a better understanding of what people are searching for example. Some of the SERP features that are now offered include "ask" boxes, image carousels, weather forecasts, local packs (the maps that show local businesses, descriptions, and reviews), featured snippets (short descriptions of definitions etc.,) and "people also ask" boxes. It's to the benefit of search engine providers to keep users on the SERPs because it increases the likelihood a user will click an ad, which is how search engines generate revenue.
Why is SEO Important?
The majority of online traffic is generated through search engines as compared to paid advertising, social media and other online platforms. Search engines receive way more clicks than paid advertisements. Out of all US searches, only about 2.8% click on paid advertisements. In brief, SEO has around 20 times more traffic opportunity than pay-per-click advertising on both mobile and desktop.
A significant advantage of SEO is that, when set up correctly, it continues to pay dividends over time. If you provide a valuable piece of content that ranks for the right keywords, the traffic can snowball over time. Advertising requires continuous funding to send traffic to your website.
SEO for Dummies | Should I hire an SEO professional, consultant or agency?
There's no correct answer here. Depending on your willingness to learn and retain information and the complexity of your website(s), you can certainly perform some basic SEO yourself. You might also prefer the help of an expert. Whichever path you choose, either way is perfectly okay! It's important to know that SEO services can vary widely in quality. Moz.com has a great guide on how to choose a good SEO company that you should definitely check out for further insight!