With a mix of reputable and disreputable companies circulating on the internet professing to be the best SEO company for you, it can be an intimidating task when it comes to choosing one. SEO is a long-term investment that can make or break your web presence depending on how your strategy is organised. It is, therefore, worthwhile to do your research and due diligence before selecting a company to handle your SEO. If you are finding it difficult to work out who will be the best SEO company for your business, read our top five tips below to help you work out what you should be looking for when making your decision.
Referrals, reviews & case studies
Real reviews are one of the best ways to get an unbiased opinion about an SEO company. A reputable SEO agency will have a reviews section on their website that you will be able to read through and will also have testimonials on websites like Google reviews, Yelp (or Glassdoor where you can find out what their employees think about working for them). If you feel that you need more information, request case studies from the agency as you will be able to see what the company is capable of. The SEO company should be happy to provide the SEO case studies and an overview of one of their clients google analytics account, which will show you how the clients analytics have changed from before they joined the agency, up until the present day. A dependable SEO company should also have no problem putting you in touch with a current client so that you can talk with them about their own experience and level of satisfaction.
Experience
Don’t let an inexperienced company look after your SEO strategy. It is important to find out how long a company has been up and running as it is indicative of their level of experience. It is also important to find out where the company ranks for themselves or for ‘SEO agency’ on Google SERP’s. Companies that have been running for longer are more likely to have a wider range of experience across multiple industries and will know what will work for your business and what will not. Experienced SEO companies will have contacts they can use to call in favours when they need quality articles, press releases or valuable links so as to provide you with the best SEO experience possible. You should easily be able to find how long a company has been running in an ‘about’ section on their website. If the company is wary of telling you how long they have been running or does not seem to be giving you a straight answer, don’t trust them. It is also important that you never choose a company who cold calls you or spams your inbox. Established companies get enough work through word-of-mouth and reviews so they should never have to use those tactics.
White-hat practices
It is imperative that an agency you are considering to run your SEO strategy or social media management uses white-hat practices to hit your SEO based targets. Ask the agency to sit you down and explain to you their strategies in terms that you will understand. If anything seems unethical or manipulative, then it should be a red flag. Ethical companies will have no problems answering your questions and explaining to you what they are doing so that you fully understand what you are paying for and how it is being done. Once again, if the SEO company is wary of telling you how they hit their targets or how they will measure your performance, don’t trust them.
How SEO is priced
At KD Web we always get asked ‘how much does SEO cost?’, but the one thing you need to do before you even start thinking about SEO pricing is work out how much you are willing to spend on the service. Understand that SEO is a bespoke service. No two campaigns are the same and every client will require a different amount of SEO work. A professional company will offer you a minimum and a maximum amount for their services based on the type of search performance that can be reasonably expected, including factors such as your site, its code, how much you update it and the level of competition in your industry. This will allow you to tailor the service based on your budget. The quote the company offers you should not fall in to a ‘package’ deal. Make sure that the SEO company you are looking at understands this. When you are thinking about your budget, it is important to not only understand how much you are willing to pay and why, but what you are exactly paying for. Don’t let SEO companies quote a standard based price on packages. Hire a company that allows themselves flexibility to build a campaign on facts and research.
Get multiple consultations
Once you know what it is that you are looking for in an SEO company, meet up with ones that seem suitable and ask them what it is you need to do. Most reliable companies should have no problem giving you a free consultation as it will give them a chance to impress you and show off what they know in order to prove themselves worthy of your business. You should then receive a proposal, which may take a few days as the SEO company will need to do research about your website, your competition and your industry, which would include the services you need and a pricing for them. You should now do this with one or two other companies and compare the proposals. The key to finding the right SEO company for your business is pretty straightforward –research. You need to find an SEO agency that has significant experience working with companies in the same industry as you and are readily available to answer any and all queries you have about your SEO strategy and campaign. SEO success can take time, so make sure you decide to work with an SEO company that is open, informed and relevant. With over two decades of experience, KD Web ticks all of the boxes above and are always happy to have a chat with you regarding your SEO to see if we are the right partners for you.