How to Choose the Right SEO Company

Search Engine Optimization is a powerful tool to build your digital brand and web presence for your online business. Giving your customers the ability to search for your company online is an absolute must for any businesses in these modern era of the Internet.

Here are things you need to consider when looking for your SEO firm to help you achieve your biggest return on investment from your improved search rankings.

Be clear on your goals

Before you get busy shopping around for an SEO firm, consider what work that needs to be done. Are you starting from scratch with no web presence and would like to know how to get on board? Increase traffic or conversions for your site? Grow leads or sales by 30% in the next quarter or so? Need someone to do an audit for your SEO strategies? Tap to a new market from other digital platforms like mobile? Or perhaps you want to clean up your bad reputation online?

Whatever that is, make sure that you have a list of goals you want accomplished from which you’ll base the success of your engagement with an SEO firm and use that goal as the focal point of communication with them.

Sometimes your SEO firm might have better ideas on what needs done. So to put everything into perspective, you can ask them what they think your goals your company should target and blend that with your own.

Places to find the best SEO firm

There are a few places you can start with:

1. Network -- Ask referrals from friends, business owners and SEO-savvy influencers you know and trust. Make sure that you provide as much detail about your SEO goals so that they’re able to assist you better.

2. SEO forum sites -- To name a few, you can check out Moz, Warrior Forum and Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization.

3. Local search -- Typing in “best SEO company” in Google can overwhelm you with millions of search results. You may want to narrow it down by searching for SEO companies working locally. Don’t just settle for companies on page one, do a bit more research on each firm (read their blogs, social media profiles, list of clients and reviews) and make a shortlist of those companies that you think that would be a best fit for your business.

Background Check

Nowadays, it’s fairly common to see testimonials posted on an SEO website but they’re not exactly the type of referrals you should consider since the firm is likely to filter only their biggest and most successful stories. You want to also include unknown clients to determine how the SEO firm performs across different clients. Request for the names and contact numbers of least five companies for their honest point of view.

Ask them the length of time before they see any satisfactory results, if they were satisfied with the kind of communication they received and if they were able to reach their goals. If you’re speaking with a successful client, found out how much they’ve paid to reach that level of success and in maintaining it.

Just by searching the SEO firm’s name in Google, you might get a rundown of reviews that should alert you whether or not the firm uses any dubious techniques.

Talk to them

Calling them on the phone or meeting them in person should give you an idea the people you will be working with. Most of the time, you will be endorsed to the sales executive who won’t be doing the real SEO work for you so it’s best to meet the entire team so you would know how you can collaborate with them.

Include in your discussion the frequency of updates, point of contact and level of detail you can expect within your scheduled communication. Remember, SEO will take time before it can see adequate results in the search engine results page (SERP) so it’s essential to have a well-defined communication plan that’s built on mutual respect and trust.

Think long term

Normally, it will take 6-7 months to see better results with your SEO efforts since competition can be tough and search engines will take more time to process data from each website. So it’s best to have a long term plan rather setting for quick fixes that may not generate results.

Choose one who knows SEO in terms of Return of Investment (ROI) scope for your business. If the SEO agency can’t estimate the value of an SEO campaign to your business, then it’s likely they have no solid understanding of the business enough to provide long term successful SEO services. It’s best to set realistic benchmarks and goals based on your ROI as another way to measure the success of your SEO campaign.

Budgeting for SEO

Before looking at the fees, consider how much is your budget for SEO. It makes sense to look for a reliable SEO firm who can work around your budget.

Fees may differ across the board. Agencies who are starting out might charge a monthly flat rate while other firms may charge per hour, webpage, campaign or ask for pre-determined amount that can help cover for the cost associated with their work.

Note that SEO is an ongoing effort so ask the firm how much is the cost in maintaining the site while the big changes are done.

Measuring Results

One of the significant aspect of the internet is that everything can be measured. There are metrics and data analytics that can be monitored and measured such as search engine rankings, lead or conversion rate, volume of incoming visits, pages visited, time spent on a website and so much more.

You need to ask the SEO firm how often will they provide progress reports and the strategies they have in place to track your ROI. These strategies may include email subscriptions and lead conversions.

Conclusion

Success in SEO campaigns requires long-term effort. Choosing the right SEO firm is mostly about preparing for these long term effort and understanding what these effort will entail. Making the right choice will help establish your online success for your business---so choose carefully.

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