How to Choose the Best SEO Company for your Business
The perennial question among business owners that see the benefit of making their online presence pay dividends: Who is the best SEO company?
This is not the most straightforward task; finding the right digital marketing partner for the foreseeable future means you need to ask the right questions and be prepared.
This article contains a few tips to help you know if the SEO agency you are sitting down with is a suitable fit.
Case Studies and Reviews
A reputable SEO agency should be more than happy to showcase examples of optimised websites and keywords they targeted to accomplish lead generation and push a company on.
More to the point, that company should still be their client today.
Relevancy is everything. You should be looking for current results, not examples of companies from ten years ago, as the internet and its dynamics have changed beyond comprehension in that period. That will let you know that the company you are dealing with are up with the times and current, a key component in online success.
When considering a case study, it’s important to note if it aligns with your goals. Also, the experience of working with a customer within your industry would be a bonus, so why not ask them if they have?
If you are an e-commerce company, your goals will always be lead generation and moving the customer once they have got to your website into the ‘Sales Funnel‘. So knowing they have experience in the e-Commerce field and can prove it is vital.
Results can be interpreted in many different facets. Still, every business seeking a digital marketing company for assistance must be realistic in saying to yourself, ‘What is the first step? What do we need to achieve?’ Usually, that starts with lead generation. Remember, the best SEO company can’t close business for you; their job is to send people to you, and then you take over and convert.
Thinking Beyond SEO
Getting out of the gate is the primary focus, but you need to optimise once that has been achieved. Once you are receiving healthy traffic, conversion optimisation is the next step.
An advanced SEO campaign from an SEO company will show you that they are already thinking ‘post traffic’. This is a good sign that they are confident in driving traffic to the site using the right tools and Google’s Best Practices. Still, if they want to keep you as a client for the long term, you need to see an ROI.
Conversion rate optimisation is a complex scenario. You have AB testing of colours and elements, AB testing of buttons, and testing of placements; therefore, a good recommendation is Google Optimise; it’s a good testing tool and easy to use.
Cheap SEO – It is a Huge Financial Gamble
The internet has surged in use since COVID-19, and this is no marketplace for bargaining, buy 2 get one free. NO, this is a solid investment in your hard-earned money and you and your family’s dream. Cheap SEO is a NO-NO.
SEO specialists do not work on a minimum wage; they are skilled in what they do. With competition hitting the roof, you need dedicated workers, and dedicated workers cost money.
If you see cheap SEO services on offer, turn away from them. The saying goes in life ‘You get what you pay for’.
The amount of money you spend each month will dictate the level of work being done across the board for your SEO campaign. If you are paying for sub-standard services, you risk a company outsourcing to cheaper labour and cutting corners. Neither of which you can afford to do with Google’s advanced algorithm.
Low domain authority backlinks and poor meta descriptions without optimised graphics and pictures will severely damage your prospects.
Sit Down With your Campaign Manager
Local SEO has come to the forefront since COVID-19, and that makes you think…..Why don’t I look local? My Business is local, and a local company would know my area and surroundings.
That makes sense, right?
When hiring an SEO company, you’re making them part of the team, albeit, in an extended version, you are interlinked in business. They want to keep you as a client, and you want to keep paying them for results and help you make money; for them to do this, there must be a thorough interview process.
Every SEO campaign should have a campaign manager. If you live in Canberra but talk to an SEO company based in Melbourne, is that really a smart move?
Engaging the services of the best SEO company in your local area would be the place to start. People who can relate to your industry, your products and services and understand how to market to people they live and work around every day is a huge advantage.
This will lead to more acute content-driven additions to the website and articles for link building, a change on the landing page, specific design changes and a much more common denominator when it comes to rapport.
SEO Guarantees – Be careful
We’ve all heard the saying, ‘If it’s too good to be true, it probably is’.
A thorough analysis is required before any SEO agency can give you a ballpark and timeframe of what they believe they can achieve for you. Organic SEO comes with ZERO guarantees, just hard work.
You are looking for SEO specialists who understand the latest changes of Google, Yahoo and Bing and how their algorithm is now interpreting your information and ranking you as such.
SEO Pricing
Try to be of the frame of mind that it is not about your outlay but what your return on investment (ROI) is.
For example, many business owners would pull back when an SEO agency says $5000 a month. However, when $5000 a month produces an abundance of leads that convert into new customers, who then recommend your services, it’s a lot better than paying $1000 a month for a year that damages your online profile.
The first port of call is verifying that the company has produced results and has genuine good reviews from existing customers.
SUMMARY
In conclusion, here are some pointers to ensure you are on track when choosing the best SEO company:
- Ask for case studies showing successful SEO
- Think past SEO
- Sit down with the campaign manager
- Beware of cheap SEO tactics
- Avoid any SEO guarantees
- Do your research to understand the price of the ballpark in Australia and what you should pay for the level of work you require
It can be a minefield, but it doesn’t need to be. There are many good companies out there, and all you have to do is explain what you require and how quickly you need it. Spend time with them, ask the right questions, and you’ll get the correct answers. Good luck.
