When you are choosing an SEO firm, there are several factors that one needs to consider. Choosing a monthly SEO package or service provider is not a simple decision or process as many people think. In fact, the people that think that it is an easy decision are the ones that end up making the wrong decision. The decision has a lot of consequences for both your company as well as your bank account. The choice will also determine whether you online traffic dwindles or whether you observe a rise in Google rankings. The wrong choice of SEO agency will have bad consequences on your bank account because you will continue having the same advertisement budget or even more.
In this article, I am going to look at some of the tips that one should use when they are selecting an SEO service provider to ensure that they don’t make a mistake.
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Avoid anyone who talks about SEO abstractly
SEO refers to the collective efforts that one takes to optimize their website with the goal of driving traffic through the roof. The process is difficult, something that has made it one of the issues that are not well understood by most people. In most quarter, the concept of SEO is outright misunderstood. Because of this widespread misunderstanding of SEO, you are likely to across some people who claim that they have some kind of special insight into Google’s algorithms and that they can make you and SEO success in no time. Some people play the mystique surrounding card. Well, if you come across such people as you continue to search for an SEO company that can serve you, it is important to be careful because you are being lied to.
Instead, when you are searching for an agency, you need to look for someone who understands how search engines work and one who has a keen eye for detail. Google changes its algorithms on a weekly basis or more frequent, which means that SEO rules change at the same pace.
You also need to stay away from agencies that use tricks to get around search engine algorithms. Some of the tricks that are commonly used include keyword stuffing, cloaking, and link buying. All these tricks will lead your website being demoted by Google. These are black hat SEO because they usually violate the rules set forth by search engines.
Have specific goals and find a firm that can meet them
Secondly, when you are choosing an SEO service provider, you need to have clear goals in mind. This goals should be communicated to your service provider to ensure that they understand them. When a service provider understands your goals, they can make plans for meeting them. Some people usually make vague goals such as “increasing organic traffic”, which is often not very helpful to organic SEO goals. What is wrong with the vague goal mentioned above is that there are several different kinds of organic traffic. This means that increased organic traffic doesn’t always mean that revenue will also go up.
You need to get your team around a table and set clear goals as to what you intend to achieve from SEO efforts. Here are examples of goals that you can use:
- Looking to increase product sales
- Looking to reduce website bounce rate
- Looking to increase conversion rate
- Looking to boost revenue
- Looking to improve social media following
All of these goals should then be coupled with clear plans for achieving them. You can pass these plans along to the Seattle SEO agency so that they can help you implement them. This makes work easier for the SEO agency you find and improves the chances of you getting what you want. In simpler terms, it makes your work finding an SEO agency easier.
Don’t go by a Google search for ‘best SEO company’ lists. Go by word of mouth
The simplest and most common way that people use to find number 1 SEO company in Ireland is by simply typing “best SEO agency” in a search engine’s search bar and then hitting the ENTER button.
From there, most people then proceed to choose an SEO company they think will work miracles for them from the list. You could also try your luck with typing in web design and seo services to get some good hits. Well, this is the wrong way of approaching your search for SEO agency.
Instead, you need to start your search by the word of mouth. You need to ask around from your fellow business people for recommendations. You can talk to your suppliers, corporate buyers, or even manufacturers. You can also talk to people who run businesses around you. However, it is important that the person you ask has experience actually working with an SEO agency. If you can find a few business people who had a good experience working with SEO agencies, then you can go ahead and hire the company. This shows that the agency you are hiring has a proven track record and is likely to replicate the results they achieved for the person who referred you with your own business.
I am telling you to avoid results from Google and other search engines because it is only a new firm that hasn’t been around long that will bother putting too much effort into ranking for keywords such as “best SEO company in XXX”
Choose an SEO company that communicates effectively
Lastly, you want an SEO company that has clear understanding of why communication is important in business. It is true that when you hire an SEO company, they should grant you access to the tools they use to measure the performance of your business online, it doesn’t mean that communication should be neglected. You still need someone to effectively explain to you what the metrics mean. You need to understand that SEO is not a one off deal. You can easily end up working with the same SEO company for several years into the future and if that happens, you want to ensure that you are dealing with someone who communicates with you effectively.