If
you want to get the most out of a city tour, hire the right tourist guide.
The same is true when it comes
to hiring a search engine optimization company to
provide your company with assorted online marketing services. Go out and do a
search on Google for “[your city] + seo” and you will get a list of 300+ SEO
firms offering you their services.
You begin by getting in touch
with the firms, beginning with the top-listed one, since it seems obvious that
the one at the top must know what it is doing. But as you get down to the other
firms at the top, you realize they are saying the same things, or as one reader
commented on a previous article I wrote, “SEO is definitely the biggest scam of
all. How can every would-be Internet Marketer on the planet promise every
client to put him or her onto the top page of Google natural search?” The clear
answer is that some can deliver while others cannot.
If so, how then do you
determine which SEO company to choose?
·
Firstly,
let us remove a few misconceptions regarding SEO firms. A fancy or sleek
website does not necessarily make a good SEO firm. If you need an SEO firm that
can likewise undertake design of your new website, of course, you might need to
consider how good their own website appears. But if your priority is to hire an
excellent SEO firm, some of the best ones have only mediocre or above-average
websites.
·
The
highest-ranking SEO firm in your geographic location is not logically the firm
you need to hire.
·
The “SEO
firm” you should hire need not be one most people will consider hiring. Size
does not always matter. Often and, remember, not all the time, less is more.
The SEO firm suited for your needs may only have a couple of workers down in a
basement office. Or, perhaps, one that has 500 employees on hand. Either of the
two could very well be the right SEO firm for you. You just need to find out
which.
·
“All SEO
outfits are con artists.” Of course, this claim is totally wrong
because it is only 95% correct. Be very careful about the SEO firm
you choose. So many individuals hire a firm only to regret after a couple of
years, wondering if they just wasted their money for nothing.
Finally, the main point – how
do you go about choosing the right SEO firm?
·
List down
the things you require from an SEO firm. Do you require reputation
management, link removal, a one-time SEO audit, link-building,
ongoing SEO, PPC management, content marketing, retargeting, or any of the
other 20 services usually offered by SEO firms? If unsure which of those you
need, begin by assessing the task that needs to be done. Do you need to
increase sales by 20% across a period of one year, or leads by 50% for the next
six months? Is your objective enhanced rankings, or do you just aim for the
boss to know that an SEO company is doing its job for him and
then you can cross off this nuisance of an item from your to-do list? Set a
goal by which you will gage the success of your relationship with your SEO
firm, and make that objective the focus of your interaction with it. Without
that kind of success measurement of the SEO tasks, you are bound to lag behind
your competitiors who do.
·
Make
manifold consultations, but keep it confidential. Once you have
decided what you require, meet with an SEO firm -- face-to-face or via phone or
email -- that seems convincingly capable and inquire how it can assist you
determine what you must do. Many SEO firms are willing to provide a free
consultation, knowing that by doing so they could convince you and get your business.
By doing so, you will also find out if you can work well with the firm and the
people. Through the consultation, which may require several days if the SEO
firm has to conduct a research on your website and industry, you should receive
a proposal with the necessary services and the price. Then, unless you are in a
hurry and will go for the first firm you meet, do the same thing with one or
two other firms for comparison. But do not tell an SEO firm you are shopping
around or talking to other firms; this sorts of dampens their interest for your
business and end up becoming less competitive. This applies particularly to
some of the best SEO firms over which clients are eager to work with rather
than those SEO firms striving to work with a client.
·
Obtain
case studies and references. The number one issue you want addressed
by an SEO firm is: “Will you help me finish my job?” You need an SEO firm that
has had the experience in helping other clients face the same problems you
encounter. If you operate a self-storage company and you deal with an SEO firm
that has done work with 10 other self-storage firms with great results, you
have enough basis to be confident about working with that SEO firm. If your
business is rather unique and you require a generalist SEO firm rather than one
that is highly-specialized, obtain case studies and references from SEO firms
that have done work for clients with comparable business parameters and
parallel tasks as yours.
·
Allow the
firm to narrate stories. An excellent SEO firm operates strategically
and is also highly creative, telling meaningful stories. These stories permit
you to get a more precise picture of what the SEO firm truly is. Case studies
and references are like browsing through someone’s LinkedIn profile. You should
do that before getting an employee; but you would never get someone based
solely on their LinkedIn profile. You would do well to listen to their stories
about their background, track-record, achievements and mistakes. This is one
reason why video interviews from companies like are making points. Ask the
SEO firm how they were established, what their best-client story was, what
their worst-client encounter was and how they managed it, and how they have
developed over the years. Although you might have decided to hire them after
following the first three tips, listening further to their stories may abruptly
turn your opinion into the opposite direction.
Establishing clear goals,
getting a variety of bids, examining pointers to the future, and listening to
stories – these are steps to take to assure you will choose the right SEO firm.
Will there be exceptions? Certainly. We are so busy doing the work that creates
results for our customers, and even though we know we should present case
studies, somehow they are not the highest priority. And I know of some
companies that I would not hire myself or endorse to anyone else, even though
they have very appealing case studies. In both cases, hearing narratives of
firm’s experiences is the best way to appreciate the reality behind the firm.
Have you ever worked with an
SEO company? What steps did you take to ascertain you hired the right one?
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