How to choose the right seo company as a business owner
Truth is, there are hundreds of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) agencies out there.
They all have the same spiel on their website. Listing all their features, case studies, statistics, even some guaranteeing results.
That means you want to be able to choose the right SEO agency for you and weed out the bad ones.
If you've ever looked to find an SEO company to get more leads from your website, you've probably cringed going through website after website finding that there are many companies trying to get their piece.
You're probably asking questions such as:
What are the top things to look for when looking for an SEO agency?
How do I discern when vetting an SEO company?
How do I make sure the SEO agency is experienced and reliable?
Is there a way to ensure that I'm getting the best value for my money?
The answers to these questions may be different for you, but we've compiled some tips below to help you find the right SEO company for you.
6 things to look for when vetting SEO companies
1. Know your goals
Before you even start looking for an SEO agency, it's important to define your SEO goals.
Are you looking to drive organic traffic?
Increase the number of leads generated from search results?
Improve online visibility and brand awareness?
Knowing these goals will help you narrow down which SEO agencies are right for you.
2. Look at their portfolio
A reputable SEO firm should have a portfolio that showcases the quality of its work.
It's important to take a look at this portfolio and see if they're able to deliver on your goals.
Have they worked with your industry before?
Do you like the way they craft content?
Are the results impressive?
Does it align with your vision?
3. Ask for SEO Case Studies & Client Examples
Ask for some websites whose optimization is helping them get high keyword rankings and traffic. You're ideally looking for examples that demonstrate good performance.
In fact, remember that the older the case study results were provided by SEO companies, the more important it will appear that the company is up-to-date with current SEO trends. Ask for a case study of a site that has the main strategy of your target.
4. Research the team
It's important to do some research on the team behind the SEO agency. How did you find them?
If you found them through a Google search, how does their landing page look? A common thing that many lower-quality agencies tend to do to rank for searches is to keyword stuff.
Keyword stuffing is when a website adds a certain keyword to a webpage too many times for the text on the page to flow properly or even make sense. And Chances are, this is what they'll do to your website. Also, be cautious of low-cost SEO agencies or firms that guarantee results within a certain amount of time.
Look into their backgrounds, qualifications, and any other pertinent information. This will help you to get an idea of the level of expertise that they possess, and how likely they are to be able to deliver successful results for your website.
5. Discuss strategy
Before deciding on an SEO agency, it's important to have a discussion about their approach and the strategies they plan on using. Not only that but understand how they execute SEO strategies.
This will help to ensure that their tactics are in line with your goals and objectives and that they can provide real value for money. It also allows you to get directly involved in the SEO process, rather than just relying on the agency's decisions.
6. Measure success
Finally, make sure you have a clear understanding of how success will be measured. Everyone's goals are different, so it won't be the same from business to business. Ultimately, most business owners just want to gain traffic to their websites.
Come up with some KPIs that you'd like to see measured throughout your campaign.
Key SEO performance indicators can include keyword rankings, organic growth MoM, or leads from organic search. Other methods of measurement can include conversions from search engines or traffic by page. Be sure to discuss this with your SEO agency before hiring them, so you understand the process from the start.
Things to Consider in SEO
Here are a couple of different things to remember when it comes to SEO services.
There are different types of SEO
Depending on your business goals, developing the right seo strategy is of utmost importance. Are you a small business serving customers within a certain area? Do you have an e-commerce store? Are you part of a national company capable of providing products and services nationwide? Below are some notable examples:
Local SEO
Traditional SEO
E-commerce SEO
International SEO
Youtube SEO
There are different types of SEO designs for specific needs. For example, if you're a small restaurant, ideally you'd want to run a local SEO campaign to target customers around your location. On the other hand, a bigger company that sells products online will have to allocate a bigger budget to its SEO efforts since it'd want to reach customers nationwide.
SEO results are not instant or guaranteed
At the end of the day, no one can guarantee your SEO success. And if SEO companies tell you that they can guarantee results in X amount of time, this can be a big warning sign.
This is a common misconception that a lot of business owners have. SEO will not come in and save the day if you're struggling to reel in customers. It's an ongoing process, and it can take anywhere from 4-12 months to get any noticeable results from an SEO campaign, sometimes even longer! But that depends on what type of SEO campaign you're running and the industry you're in.
So when you're looking for an SEO agency, ask how long their clients usually stay with them. The longer, the better. Client retention is a great indicator of how trustworthy an agency is.
The Bottom Line
Having a reliable agency that can keep up with the ever-changing industry updates and Google algorithms makes all the difference when it comes to ensuring long-term SEO success.
With a good SEO agency by your side, you can achieve higher rankings on search engines, more website visitors, and ultimately, more revenue.
Make sure you have a clear understanding of your goals, budget, and expectations before reaching out to any SEO company.
Take the time to ask questions, review case studies, and check references to ensure that you find an SEO company that aligns with your values and can deliver the results you need. With a bit of effort, you can find the right SEO agency and start seeing the benefits of improved visibility in search results for your business.