Trusting a company to boost SEO for your website or business is a serious decision. Essentially, you’ll be putting your online reputation into the hands of what may be complete strangers. So how can you know for sure that the results will be worthwhile?
When you pay for SEO services, you deserve to get results. Here, we’ll detail some things to do (and some things to avoid!) so as to find your perfect SEO match!
Pitfalls to Avoid
Don’t Believe in ‘SEO Secrets’
Imagine you’re talking about business with your potential SEO company. While they explain the results that they can bring to your website or business, they fail to explain the details of how these results are achieved.
If any SEO company tells you that they have a ‘secret method’ for attaining results, run the other way! Companies that cannot explain the process of their work are dangerous to deal with. Why?
Here are two possible reasons that they can’t explain the details of their work:
- They’re using underhanded black hat SEO methods that achieve faster results but could get your website penalized by Google in the long term and removed from searches.
- They don’t really know as much about SEO as they claim to.
SEO is not a secret society with secret methods. This is a field that has been very well dissected and understood. Those SEO companies that are truly able to produce valuable results for your website or business will be able to explain their methods plainly to you.
The So-Called ‘Best SEO’ Lists
When you search ‘best SEO companies’, you will find websites that host lists of what are supposedly the ‘best SEO companies’ available.
However, it is highly recommended not to accept this statement at face value.
Most of the time, these websites do their best to rank well for keywords like the ones we mentioned above. Then, they sell the slots on their lists to SEO companies who are willing to pay.
If an SEO company is so desperate for clients that it is willing to pay thousands of dollars to be listed in one of these websites, you can be sure that it’s not a reliable company.
Obviously this is not true of every one of these ‘best SEO’ lists, but it’s something to beware of.
Top-Ranking Google Results
Let’s say that you’ve put in a Google search for ‘SEO company Texas’, or ‘SEO company’ with another place keyword. Or, perhaps you’ve added an industry keyword, such as travel, B2B, etc.
The first results on your search may seem like the best ones. After all, they’ve made it to the top of Google’s search results, which means they know how to implement SEO methods effectively.
While this may be true, it’s not always a sure sign of a good SEO company.
The fact is that the best SEO companies are receiving most of their work by referral. They’re busy with the clients they already have. This means they’re not as focused on boosting their own SEO as much as that of their clients, so they might not be at the top of the search results.
So now that we’ve discussed what you shouldn’t do in your search for an SEO company, what should you do to find a good SEO company?
Steps to Finding an SEO Company that Matches Your Website or Business
1. Determine Your Goals and Requirements
Before beginning your search for an SEO company, it’s time to sit down (either by yourself or with your executive team) and figure out your goals.
Why do you need SEO? If you respond simply with the fact that you want more traffic, this is not a good enough goal. Traffic to you site is obviously good, but it doesn’t necessarily mean revenue.
So what are you goals? You could perhaps have goals such as:
- Targeting a certain group of people who you know conduct searches in that field.
- Boosting revenue through sales.
- Pushing good reviews of your brand to a higher rank.
- Promoting downloads of a free digital product.
- Boosting sign-ups to your website, email newsletter, or service.
- Promoting free trials.
These are all goals that are achievable with SEO. They will also give your future SEO company direction in their work.
Next, it’s time to figure out what needs you might have in relation to your SEO company. Like the goals mentioned above, these requirements will obviously depend on your personal circumstances or that or your business.
For example, maybe your budget is an important point. Perhaps you’d rather have your SEO company close by in order to meet with them in person. Or maybe you want the writer to of the same gender in order to match your own writing style better.
Whatever requirements you have, list them out and refer to them while making your decision.
2. Find Your Potential SEO Company
As we’ve mentioned above, Google searches may not always be a reliable source of potential SEO companies. So how do you find these people?
Often, reaching out within your professional network is a fantastic way to get answers. Ask around to the people and businesses that you are already connected with to see who they use for SEO. Also, try contacting businesses that are within your industry but are not direct competitors to get their opinion.
Make a list of the best options, then move to step 3.
3. Establish The Match
It’s time to ask your SEO company list some questions. For example:
- What is the process you use to reach your goals?
- How exactly does Google ranking work, and how can you influence results?
- What would you do if these methods don’t work?
- What resources will you need from me or my company?
- How often will you report back to me?
The moment of truth is when you find a company that answers your questions well and lines up with the requirements that you listed out before. It will fit your budget, and should come well-recommended by people that you trust.
Conclusion
Finding the right SEO company is not always easy. However, when you avoid the pitfalls we mentioned and walk through the steps listed above, you can find an SEO company that fits your needs. More than that, this SEO company will be able to help you reach your business goals.
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