What to look for when hiring an SEO company?

Everybody wants to take advantage of search engine traffic because it is widely known that traffic from search engines has a lot more value than traffic from any other sources. The question is how do you get visitors from search engines? There are only 3 answers to this question:

1. You SEO optimize your web site, rank higher and get more traffic
2. You buy search engine traffic through paid search advertising (think Google Adwords)
3. You hire an SEO company to do the work for you

Although our goal with this web site is to give you tips and advice so that you can SEO your web site without further help, there are cases where hiring an experienced SEO firm is the best way to go.

Why hire an SEO company?

Hiring a good SEO company can give you a number of advantages which go beyond getting more visitors to your web site. In particular small businesses or enterprises can benefit from hiring an SEO:

• Save time, money and resources – Use your time and resources wisely, let them deal with your business and let the experts do SEO.  To get results with SEO you need to have good knowledge of how search engines work and this is something to be gained from experience, education and specialization.
• Understand your customers better – One of the good things on the Internet is that everything is measurable.  Your SEO experts can give you a lot of information about your customer, their needs and behaviour.
• Explore new markets – Search engines are not the only source of traffic. With the help of Internet Marketers you can explore new markets and business opportunities.
• Internet Marketing strategy – You need to have a complete Internet Marketing strategy which goes beyond Search marketing. A good SEO company will create your strategy and action plan so that you don’t miss on any business opportunity.
• Create a user-friendly web site – One of the benefits of SEO is that it increases the usability of a web site. A user friendly web site can generate more sales or potential customers.

What to look for in a good and Reliable SEO firm?

One of the dangers of having an open worldwide market like the Internet is the presence of scammers and the SEO industry is no exception to the rule. Unfortunately if you search to find an SEO consultancy company on the Internet, you will also find many fake companies or ‘SEO’ experts that can do more harm to your web site than good.

The following tips can help you find and hire a good and reliable SEO company:

Too good to be true promises – This is a general rule on the Internet. When something is too good to be true then it is probably a fake. If a company promises first page rankings on Google for very competitive keywords by purchasing a bunch of links or an SEO package then save your money and stay away. To get high rankings you need a lot of time and effort and it is not just about links.

Case studies or success stories – Everyone can claim to be an SEO. What distinguishes those who really know SEO from scammers is their history and background. Ask your to be SEO company to give you examples of their SEO work including reports that show increase in traffic from search engines. Look at the examples and do a couple of searches in Google about the particular web site. Can you find them in the Search results in the spots they claim? When did they start work on the particular web site and how competitive is the niche?

Experience in the industry – As I mentioned above, SEO is a fast changing industry and to be able to cope with the changes and stay in synch with the latest developments you need true experts that have the necessary knowledge and experience. When did the company registered, where are they located, what is their experience? These are some of the questions you should ask them before making a decision.

White hat practices – One of the problems faced by many companies who hire fake SEO companies is the fact that those companies are using black hat practices to achieve rankings. While the results may be encouraging at the beginning, very soon the web sites are punished and disappear from the search results. What is important is the SEO Company to use only white hat methods and more importantly you should ask them to give you a report of what exactly they will do on your web property.

SEO is not just about SEO – As weird as this may sound a reliable SEO company will not only deal with search marketing but will create a complete Internet Marketing plan taking advantage of all possible markets available on the Internet today.

Who is behind the company?  – The nature of this business gives you the opportunity to work with the clients using the Internet without having to do on-site visits. This does not mean that you shouldn’t know with whom you are talking. Who is the owner and employees of the company? Is the company respected in the industry? How can you contact them?

Deliverables – What are the exact deliverables of their engagement? Will they provide you with monthly reports showing progress? Do they define a starting point, milestones and specific goals in their agreement? When do they consider a campaign successful?

Your business can benefit from a trusted SEO firm

The point here is that you should hire a company that has a vision about your internet presence. Paying someone to optimize your web site but without having any real gains (i.e new customers, new leads, new sales, new contacts etc) is as good as nothing. A successful SEO campaign usually spans over a number of months and it is certainly not a one time or static process.

The good news though is that a reliable SEO company can open new horizons for your business or web site and all you have to do is choose wisely.