What To Look For in An SEO Company
In the new age of technology, online visibility is crucial for companies seeking growth. Businesses of all sizes are turning to online marketing strategies like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to survive the competition and grow.
When you hire the right agency, success will show through increased web rankings, organic traffic, calls, web forms, and more importantly, sales.
Agencies have been established to help businesses achieve success online specifically.
According to a leading marketing guide, QuickSprout, SEO companies fall into three main groups: in-house SEOs, individual SEO consultants, and SEO companies or agencies. Individual consultants are freelancers offering SEO services.
Large organizations usually hire in-house consultants or teams to help with Search Engine Optimization issues. On the other hand, SEO agencies, like Comet SEO, have teams of experts ready to be deployed whenever a need arises.
How to choose a trusted SEO company
Picking a trusted SEO company in a crowded field can be a huge challenge. This is especially true if you are not well-conversed with the intricacies of Search Engine Optimization.
Before hiring an agency to spearhead your online marketing campaigns, you need to probe the agency by asking the following pertinent questions to gauge their level of competence and practices:
- How do you intend to improve our site’s search engine rankings?
- Which Search Engine Optimization tools do you use?
- What specific areas of SEO do you cover?
- Does your approach conform to Google’s best practices?
- Do you keep yourself updated with changing algorithms?
- Can you guarantee that our site will rank at the top of major search engines?
- How does your payment structure look like?
- Can you share a few experiences with your past clients?
- Have you worked with sites that have been penalized, if so, how did you help fix the problems?
- How will your work align with the other marketing efforts in our domain?
- What are the consequences of terminating a contract?
- How do you evaluate success?
Note: If the company agrees to provide past customer references, you can request for at least five or more references that fall within the last one year.
What aspects should you focus on when choosing an SEO company.
According to the elite digital marketing site Reboot Online, the first thing you need to do is ensure the agency has the right tools to succeed. Follow this up by assessing the company’s professional team, industry contribution, pricing, and red flags.
Having the right tools
An effective Search Engine Optimization strategy of any company should be backed with the right tools of the trade. A broader analysis of the different tools can be summarized as follows:
- Link building tools – an effective linking tool can be used to create hundreds of helpful links.
- Reporting tools – reporting tools combine core metrics like keyword ranking and analytics to provide a complete picture of the situation and what needs to be done.
- Research tools – tools like BuzzStream can be used to collect contact details of many people. The information can then be used for internal research purposes, i.e., capturing the attention of prospects and increasing conversions.
- Technical tools – Screaming Frog is one of the key link building tools in the professional’s toolkit. The tool is designed to make it easy for SEOs to crawl through the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS) of large websites.
Link building is an integral part of any successful Search Engine Optimization strategy. Search engines like Google use many factors, including organic links to rank websites. However, the links should be of high quality and abide by the Google guidelines. There are also bad links to avoid, such as automated links, free site link farms, and mass paid links.
The free site links often contain contents that may be considered spammy. Using this type of content can prove costly may place you on Google’s crosshairs. The mass paid links are systematically created in batches for optimal effect. Since these links are not natural, they may attract a penalty from Google.
The SEO team
A well-constituted company will have a team constituting the technical set up staff, content writers, and outreach specialists. The technical set up team should have access to professional tools and resources.
The content team’s main work is creating quality content. Good content should be useful to the readers; target the relevant keywords, and have the right internal links and potential to convert.
An effective keyword strategy, on the other hand, focuses on key issues like competition, Return on Investment (ROI), and search volumes. The outreach specialists can help a company create relevant content that will attract organic links.
Search Engine Optimization Company contribution
Before picking an SEO company, you also need to check the company’s contribution to the industry to evaluate its industry building capacity and trustworthiness.
You can start by looking at the company’s website to get a sense of originality and know who you are dealing with.
Service pricing
The cost of Search Engine Optimization can vary from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. You should always be wary of very low-priced companies because most could be untrustworthy.
A company can also charge lower rates because it’s unable to hire experienced SEO specialists.
Red Flags
Analyzing the red flags will help you find a trusted partner and avoid costly mistakes. Some of the warning signs to look for when hiring an SEO company include:
- Scare tactics – the company offers technical audits or reports through free websites. Always read the website content carefully to spot auto-generated information that is only meant to scare you into making a hasty decision.
- Avoid suspicious link building packages – if a company promises a certain number of links after a short length of time, you need to tread carefully. Most trusted companies do not guarantee the number links a site will attract. The companies will also disclose the steps they intend to use to help your site gain the desired links.
- Promising keyword results with no search volume – although this strategy can cause your site to rank higher, it can only happen where there is no competition.
- Service portfolio – Some companies specializing in web design services and only offer SEO as a fringe service. You need to be wary of such companies since you may not get what you paid for.
- Neglected website or blog – a company with a neglected website or blog may point to bigger problems. You cannot trust a company that cannot take care of itself to prop your website.
Conclusion on Choosing Search Engine Optimization Company
Choosing a good SEO company will impact your company positively and improve your bottom-line at the end of the engagement.
As you do your research, you may come across companies that give lofty promises that they do not intend to keep. If you are not careful, you may also choose companies that apply strategies that violate Google rules, which may land you in problems.
The way out is to research the companies thoroughly and ask the right questions before making any commitment. Always take time to visit the company’s websites and read reviews posted about them.
Cost is an important factor when a decision. Although expensive services don’t always guarantee the best outcome, companies that offer great services are never cheap.
