How To Choose The Best SEO Company
In this article you will learn how to choose the best SEO company. Additionally, you will learn a little more about SEO and how it can help your business. You can begin by reading this article on what is SEO and how SEO works so you have better knowledge of the subject. Then, we can get started!
Watch Our Quick Video Below To Learn How You Can Choose The Best SEO Company!
Choosing The Right Company For Search Engine Optimization Is Key!
Before we get down to the nitty-gritty, I want to emphasize the fact that choosing the right company for search engine optimization is key. So it’s not really about finding the best SEO agency as much as it is about finding an SEO company that is right for you and your business. Small business SEO is crucial so I really want you to pay attention to what I say next, ok?!
The Next Steps
In order to determine this you will need to determine what type of business you have that needs optimizations. This is crucial because while one company might be awesome for one type of optimization, another company might be amazing at something else. Finding an agency that specializes in your optimizing businesses of your type is key to finding the best SEO company!
SEO is broad and expansive as you know. So before you go out and try to seek an SEO agency that’s “the best”, let’s figure out what type company and optimizations you will need.
Start by asking yourself the following questions before hiring and even interviewing agencies:
- What type of business do I have?
- Is it important that my business show up in Google Maps? Or does it not really matter?
- Will I need optimizations to a local service area business, YouTube channel, Amazon store or an e-commerce website?
- Does social media play a part in my business’s marketing strategy or is it not really important?
Some Businesses That Benefit From SEO
There are many types of businesses that benefit from SEO services. Here are the business types that commonly utilize SEO and some important notes on the type of SEO company that you will want to hire.
1. Service Area Businesses And Hybrid Businesses
Service area businesses are business that operate within a “service area” and deliver services to customers at their location. Businesses such as construction companies, plumbers, roofers, and cleaning companies are examples of service area businesses.
A hybrid business, such as a law firm, is a business that services clients at their location and also at the client’s location. Law firms, for example see customers at their location but also services clients at a court house or another location determined by the client.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
You will want to hire an SEO agency that has a strong emphasis on Local SEO in addition to organic, on-page, and off-page SEO. In addition, you will want to be sure that the agency you choose works with other similar business types.
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2. E-Commerce Sites And Online Stores
An e-commerce site and/or online shop is a store that takes orders and payments on the website. This is not a 3rd party platform (like Amazon) where sellers sell products.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
For e-commerce websites and online shops, a different approach to the SEO strategy is needed in order to successfully perform SEO tasks. For this type of business, you will want to hire an SEO agency that places strong emphasis on organic SEO and off-page SEO. Be sure that they are also an agency that works mostly in the E-Commerce realm as it’s very different than service area businesses.
3. E-Commerce On 3rd Party Platforms
This would pertain to Amazon store optimization as well as other online shops such as Ebay, Etsy and more.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
Hire an SEO agency with direct experience of optimizing stores on the platform your product is on. This is very significant as an SEO company that works with local businesses may not know how to optimize for sites such as Amazon, Etsy or others. In addition, product listings will need to be optimized so e-commerce SEO services would be a must, at the very least.
4. YouTube Channels
There’s a huge market for optimizing YouTube Channels in today’s day and age. Educational resources, influencers and businesses that seek to attain new clients on YouTube are huge proponents of YouTube optimization services.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
Hire an agency with experience in optimizing YouTube Channels. Keep in mind, they will need to have a strong foundation in working with clients on YouTube and focus on both organic SEO and off-page SEO.
Before Hiring The SEO Company That Is Right For Your Business
Deciding To Hire An SEO Agency
So it’s time, once again, to make a major business decision. This decision might really be sink or swim for your company, so don’t take this post lightly.
You need to select a new SEO agency. There’s a lot of research you will need to do in order to find an SEO agency that’s a fit. And naturally, the first question on your mind is how to choose the best SEO company for your business. I will try to explain the process as best I can.
In order to garner an effective outcome for your company, there isn’t a lot of room for error. Choosing an SEO agency is a long term commitment. However, if you form the correct SEO association, success can be yours and it shouldn’t be so hard!
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What Do SEO Companies Do?
So now for the interesting stuff. What do SEO companies do? Don’t worry, I’ll try to explain!
Well, an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) company provides business SEO services to companies. The do this to assist them in increasing their online visibility and improving their page rank.
They Optimize Your Website
SEO agencies carefully scrutinize your website content and design. If you don’t already have a website, it’s important to hire a web design agency that does this!
An SEO company will look at the structuring of your site to determine what changes need to be made. Their main concern is optimizing your site to benefit most from the search engines.
They Increase Web Traffic
An SEO company’s main purpose, however, is to brainstorm ways of increasing web traffic. They do this by raising the site’s page rank in the search engines. All of the strategies they implement to increase rank are part of search engine optimization.
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Where To Find The Best SEO Companies
The number one answer to the question of where to find the best SEO companies is to search for them on Google. Any SEO company worth your time has rankings high enough to be listed on Google.
Google is excellent when it comes to helping local companies get more visibility. So if a company has large name recognition locally, this can be a great advantage for them.
However, it’s a bit more difficult when it comes to companies which are strewn over many locations. This shouldn’t discourage you, however. It is certainly worth giving an SEO company a try if you see that it’s ranking in one or two of its locations.
You can read more about why use Google My Business and how to list a business on Google before we dig deeper.
Places To Avoid When Searching For The Right Agency
When searching for an SEO company, there are places you should steer clear from. Here are a few and the reasons you should avoid hiring an agency you find in these ways.
Facebook Groups
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told by clients that they were pursued by a company in a Facebook Group. A lot of agencies who claim to specialize in search engine optimization join groups that business owners can be found in.
For example, if you have a carpet cleaning company, there are tons of Facebook Groups for CEO’s of carpet cleaning businesses. Now many times in these groups they ask the group questions about marketing or how to get leads. If you join a group like this and post a question, it’s almost inevitable that 30 different SEO specialists will send a message to your inbox claiming they can solve whatever problem you have come to the group with.
Now, I’m not saying that all of them are inexperienced. I’m just saying that there’s no way of knowing. Anyone can join one of these groups and find clients in this way. And there’s no way of knowing if they are really good other than through putting your faith in the person.
For that reason, Facebook Groups are a terrible way to find an SEO agency. So do yourself a favor and don’t respond to anyone who solicits you on Facebook!
Email Marketing
Email marketing is another terrible way to choose an SEO agency. If the agency was one that you found through better means and they are blasting you with emails because you reached out to them, then that’s a different story. But if you’re randomly getting emails from agencies you know nothing about telling you they can help you with SEO, you should avoid these so-called experts at all costs.
The reason being is you know nothing about them. You don’t really even know where they are located, and many will lie. So there’s really no way to judge whether the company is any good.
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DM’s On Social Media Platforms
Direct messages on social media platforms is just like Facebook Groups. Perhaps they saw activity on your profile that suggest you may be looking for small business SEO services. Whatever the case may be, they’re taking advantage of being able to reach out to you and sell you on their services.
Google Ads
Google Ads is another place I would not choose an SEO agency. Just about anyone can run a Google Ads Campaign. So who’s to know if they are really any good. However, what I would do is hire someone running a Google Ads Campaign to run my own company’s Google Ads Campaigns. They are already showing you that they know how to do it so it may not be a bad idea to hire them for that service.
Things To Look Out For During Your Search
So we discussed the importance of an agency’s online presence. At least for my own agency Bizmap LLC, before I ever got any real customers I had time to rank my own business in the local maps snack pack and in the organic results.
Now, this may not be true for everyone of course. However, as a general rule of thumb, an SEO company should at least have a website that is set up properly. This means that their on-page SEO and site structuring should reflect that they have some knowledge and expertise.
Now, you may be wondering how to figure out if a website is set up intelligently with good SEO. If you don’t know what to look for, do yourself a favor. Form a list of potential SEO agencies you are interested in, then take it on over to Upwork or another freelancer website and hire an SEO expert for a very small fee to audit each of the sites. You could ask them to literally rank the sites from best to worst and write out a paragraph on each explaining why they have been ranked in this way.
You don’t need to see any metrics. You probably won’t understand them anyway. But get an opinion (or 2 or 3) from someone who knows a little bit about SEO. This will help you out hugely!
6 Crucial Steps To Choose The Best SEO Company For Your Business Or Brand
If you’re looking for some guidance, here are some of the most important factors for how to choose the best SEO company. Above all, remember that teaming up with an SEO company is a partnership. It is based on the company’s dedication and skill at meeting your business’s needs.
Additionally, you should be able to trust them to be honest with you. The company you choose should do their best for your business without using any underhanded online tactics to get you results. Whether you are doing marketing for real estate agencies, SEO for enterprise companies or SEO for movers, you can follow these guidelines for choosing an excellent company to handle your search engine optimization needs.
So, let’s get right into our 6 steps for choosing the best SEO agency below.
Step 1: Do a Google Search
If an SEO company is not ranked on Google’s first page, warning bells should go off! Conducting a Google search is a vital step to finding a reputable company.
Google’s search engine receives more searches than any of the other search engines. This makes it essential for an SEO company to have their website ranking at the top of Google. That’s the only way they will receive the ultimate in traffic, visibility and sales.
If they aren’t listed there, then they aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. If an SEO company isn’t promoting itself the way it should, you should see it as a big, red flag. How would you ever expect a company like this to promote your business effectively? Read more about how to be found on Google here.
Step 2: Look at Case Studies
A case study for an SEO business is basically a report. It explains how it successfully accomplished things that have lead to ranking businesses (and making them more money). When it comes to hiring an agency, be sure to read a few case studies first.
A case study should be like an interesting story with a beginning and an end. Additionally, it should answer all your questions such as:
- How is this company going to help you achieve a search ranking in the top ten?
- What exactly did they do for this particular company?
- Do they have a specific strategy?
- Has their strategy been successful?
- Will it also work for your company?
It’s also important that a case study go in depth when discussing strategy. It should give you a thorough explanation of what the business has done for a specific company.
In addition, there should be statistics to support any claims of success. And if there were failures, there should be explanations for those, too.
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Step 3: Ask for References
Don’t be afraid or shy to ask an SEO company you are interested in hiring for references. You are entitled and they should be open to giving them to you!
Money is hard to come by and you will be paying for certain services that will affect the future of your business. Therefore, it is perfectly logical to ask a company to give you some references from clients they have previously done work for. If they can’t or won’t do this, then there is cause to be suspicious. In such situations, you should probably move on to another SEO company you are interested in hiring.
Also, remember that it takes more than just getting a list of references to prove that a company is reputable. You must use these references and follow up with them to learn what the opinions and judgments about a particular SEO company are.
Finding out if the SEO company you are considering has managed to live up to their promises to other business organizations is essential before you hire them. Reaching out to references is a great thing to do for your own peace of mind.
Step 4: Get an SEO Audit
Getting an SEO audit prior to getting any work done is essential. An SEO audit is basically an assessment of your website and its weaknesses and strengths. It should also explain the possibility of long term growth and success.
An SEO audit is a good way to ascertain how your website can be improved to raise it’s rank in the search engines. By having this done, you can note whether your company of choice understands the needs of your business adequately. Additionally, you should be able to tell if it is capable of doing what’s necessary to gain you customers and increase your profit line.
If you don’t get an adequate explanation of the shortcomings and merits of your business, then you can’t expect the SEO company to be able to help you do better.
Bizmap LLC offers a free video SEO audit of your website. In your free website audit, you will be guided (via webcam and display capture device) through all of the parts of your website. Everything effecting your online presence and SEO will be pointed out and explained in great detail.
Step 5: Get a Phone Consultation
By getting a phone consultation to determine whether or not you want to hire an SEO company, you can get a better picture of whether or not they can help you. You can ask specific questions related to your website and its rankings or lack thereof.
Additionally, you can decide to pay for the consultation, but not to hire the company full time. This can prove to be a huge money-saving move, particularly if you’re the owner of a small business and don’t have a large budget for marketing your company.
The company you choose to consult with should have an experienced team of SEO workers. They should be adequately trained in the SEO processes and techniques. Additionally, they should be constantly trying new strategies to rank businesses in creative ways.
Creativity is a vital element when it comes to hiring an SEO company. They must be able to foresee events and design novel ways of raising your company’s rank in the present circumstances.
Many companies offer free phone consultations. However, if they do not, a phone consultation should be relatively inexpensive. There should also be an agreement that states if you don’t receive the answer you need, you will not be charged for the consultation.
A consultation should touch on subjects such as:
- Reporting
- Installing Google Analytics and Search Console
- Link building strategies
- On and Off-page optimization strategies
- Use of social media to raise SEO
If an SEO company does not touch on these things, you should find another company to work with.
Step 6: Ask Them Questions
What this step boils down to is this: If you are choosing an SEO company for your business, you should be able to do a type of over the phone or online interview. They should make it clear that you are free to ask their consultants any questions about the company and their services.
Your prospective SEO company should cooperate in full. They should describe what sort of strategy they will use to lift your company in the search engine rankings. Additionally, they should tell you how and when you can expect to see results.
Here are some pointers and questions to ask a prospective SEO agency your are considering hiring:
- Ask them specifically how they will rank your business
- Find out whether they will do on-page SEO, local SEO, off-page SEO or all 3
- Learn if the tactics they use are white hat or black hat SEO techniques
- Find out if they are willing to give you references (if they are not, take this as a red flag)
- Ask them what happens to your website and online presence if you were to terminate SEO services with them (and try to get this in writing)
- Try to get a timeline on when you can expect to get results
- Find out how easy it will be to get in touch with them if you have any questions
- Be sure to inquire and learn whether or not you will have access to analytics
In this sense, you can have all of the information that you will need to determine if they will make the best partners for your business.
Conclusion: Choosing A Stellar SEO Agency
In conclusion, the process of choosing an SEO company for your business can be frustrating and time-consuming. However, it will all be worth the time and effort expended if you find a great SEO company that can benefit your business and offer the best SEO package that will get you results.
The above steps, if followed correctly, will help to mitigate the pressure and ensure that you make the appropriate selection for a long term partnership with your company. That is what hiring an SEO company is. Forming a partnership that will lead your business to prosperity and allow you to see all your hopes for the future come to fruition.
We truly hope this post will help you in how to choose the best SEO company.
