How To Tell A Great SEO Company From A Bad One
Chad Faith
Director of Content
Finding the right search engine optimization (SEO) company is potentially one of the easiest and most effective ways to increase the number of your site visitors so that you can boost your turnover and profits. The goal of an SEO company is to get your site high up on the search results and if they can do that, then they can increase your visibility profoundly and bring targeted visitors to your business right when they’re looking to spend money.
Unfortunately though, not all SEO companies are made equally. It’s very easy these days to set up an SEO business and claim that you are an SEO expert, even when you know only a few small SEO tricks. This means you won’t know at first whether you’re dealing with a team of experts with years of experience… or some kid in his basement who’s hoping to make a quick buck.
So how do you tell the difference? And how can you make sure that the SEO company you choose is one that you can trust?
Their Own Website
A good way to get an early impression of an SEO company is to look at their own site carefully. Are they in a good position on Google? Do you like the marketing strategies they’re using themselves? And does the website look professionally designed and read well?
Integrity in Their Operations
While perusing a company’s mission or vision, or any e-mails they may have sent you, be sure to look out for the word ‘integrity’. This should be considered a very positive ‘buzzword’ that often indicates you’re dealing with a good company.
An SEO company with integrity is one that will honestly share with you their plans and intentions as well as will keep you fully informed and updated all the way through. This is important, as it means you know what you’re getting for your money (meaning you can decide if you’re getting good value) and it means you can use some intuition to decide if you think their SEO plan is going to work.
Current and Updated Expertise
One thing you need to know about SEO is that it changes a lot. Every few months, Google will make alterations to its algorithms, introduce new features or otherwise alter the nature of search. A good SEO company should be fully up-to-date with all these changes and should be flexible to meet changing requirements. They should be able to demonstrate this through your communications with them.
Tailoring Their Services
A good SEO company should also offer you a tailored plan that’s unique to your business and that’s fully in-line with your goals. A one-size-fits-all approach may work, but a strategy that takes advantage of your specific industry and business model will likely be far more effective. If the company doesn’t ask any question, then consider yourself warned.
Inter-Disciplinary Provision
Ideally, you should look for an all-in-one package that can combine SEO with social media optimization, web design and maybe even logo creation. A company that offers a range of skills will be better able to create a comprehensive plan that works on multiple levels so that you can achieve inter-disciplinary SEO coverage when it comes to your SEO strategies. It’s alright to get different companies to cover different aspects but when you trust one SEO agency to take care of all your needs, you are essentially saving yourself time and money besides getting results that are well aligned with your online marketing goals.