Five Smart Questions You Need to Ask when Searching for an SEO Company
By now, you no doubt realize that if you want to get noticed on the worldwide web, you have to find search engine optimization services. With Google fielding more than 100 billion searches a month, according to Search Engine Land, and eCommerce spending expected to reach more than $1.5 trillion globally by the end of 2014, taking steps to get yourself noticed in search engine results has never been more important. SEO services can give you what you need to achieve that added visibility.
The problem, of course, is that choosing an SEO company is much easier said than done. In the United States alone, there are thousands of SEO companies. How can you possibly tell the good from the bad? By asking smart questions.
Five Simple Questions to Ask Before Hiring an SEO Company
- What Search Engine Optimization Strategies Do You Use?
- Do You Guarantee Results?
- How Do You Pick the Keywords for My Campaign?
- How Do You Make Money?
- Can I See Your Portfolio?
As MOZ writes, choosing an SEO company that still relies on black-hat SEO strategies, e.g. keyword stuffing, link spamming, etc., will put your company on the fast track to being banned from search engines altogether. That’s why you need to ask any SEO company you’re considering what methods they use. Do they rely on content marketing and other white-hat techniques, or are they stuck in the past?
This one is a trick question. You should know that regardless of their skills or reputation, no SEO company, as Forbes suggests, can ever guarantee results. If a firm promises a number one spot in Google, Bing, or elsewhere, they’re spinning you a web of lies to help get your business. Move along.
Even though SEO has moved more into the realm of content optimization, keywords remain an important part of being found online. The problem, however, is not every business does their foot work when choosing the keywords for their clients’ campaigns. Ask your potential SEO company how they choose your keywords. The only right answer is “research.”
The simple fact is that SEO firms aren’t altruistic. They exist to offer you a service in exchange for money. However, as Inc.com points out, the best SEO services believe enough in their products to tie their success to yours. Ask your service whether or not they’d be willing to take their payment as a percentage of revenue earned thanks to their services. If the answer is yes, you know they have confidence in what they do and in the effect their work will have.
Would you ever hire a photographer, cake decorator, or any other creative service without first seeing their work? Ask any firm you’re thinking about to see their portfolio. If they’re reluctant to comply or flat out won’t give you any work samples, move on. You need to know what you’re getting before you commit.
An SEO company can give your business the jolt of marketing energy it needs to thrive online, but that’s only if you know how to find the best. Ask the questions, weed out the lesser services, and find your way to success in the eCommerce age. More research here.
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