What to look for in an SEO company
Finding an SEO company can be difficult. It is not like buying a physical item, it is not something that from the outset you can quantify. You are having to put money into trust and that is something you should not undertake lightly.
With any industry there will be the less discerning companies who will wrap it up with a nice bow, leaving you with a warm glow of excitement, full of promises and guarantees. If this is the case run and for God’s sake don’t look back.
The harsh reality is there are no guarantees with SEO. Any ethical or unethical SEO company knows this all too well, the difference being an ethical SEO company will offer you realistic time scales, won’t promise you world domination and won’t guarantee you will receive an extra 5000 visitors a month after paying for their services.
If someone emails you out of the blue offering to submit you to 1000 directories a month remember link building is not about quantity it is about quality. A common misconception I hear a lot… “well how many links are you building for me a month?”. A couple of industry specific links with a page rank are very difficult to come by but will be much more effective than wasting time submitting to a general web directory.
If they offer to optimise your site for 15 keywords for free, ask yourself who does anything for free… The fact they are offering them for free generally means they would come through naturally because they have no search volume.
If you are spending a large amount of money to outsource your SEO, can you go and visit your consultant, can you call them and speak to them directly? After all how can someone who has no idea about your business, your future goals, your company’s ethos ever be as passionate about your business’ success as you are.
Hiring an SEO firm has to be thought of as bringing in a new employee to your company. If you were creating a new role, you would have a check list of criteria you would expect that employee to meet. Next week I will compile a check list of basics that will put you in good stead when choosing an SEO firm. If you take anything away from reading this, think of SEO as like fishing. You can put the bait in the water but there is no guarantee the fish will bite, if you choose the right company they will find you the right bait.
