How to Choose the Right SEO Agency: 7 Factors You Need to Consider

How to choose the right SEO agency for your business? If you’re like most business owners, you probably don’t have time to learn about SEO and how it can help your website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). That’s why it’s important to partner with an SEO agency that understands the ins and outs of this complex process. But with so many SEO firms out there, how do you choose the right one for your business? In this blog post, we will discuss seven factors you need to consider when choosing a SEO agency.

How to choose the right SEO agency for your business

SEO is not magic so avoid anyone who talks about it in an overconfident or gimmicky tone.

A good SEO agency will be able to show you concrete examples of how they have helped other businesses achieve success with their online marketing campaigns.

Define your goals and find an agency that can meet them.

Do you want to increase traffic to your website? Improve your conversion rate? Rank for certain keywords? Make sure the SEO agency you’re considering is able to help you achieve the results you’re looking for.

Don’t just go by a Google search for best SEO company in your location.

These lists are often outdated and don’t take into account important factors like recent algorithm changes or your specific business goals.

Find an SEO firm with metrics that work for you.

Not all businesses place the same emphasis on SEO metrics. For some, website traffic is the most important metric while others care more about conversion rate or SERP position. Make sure the SEO agency you’re considering can measure and report on the metrics that are most important to you.

Choose an SEO agency that communicates clearly.

The best SEO agencies are transparent and keep their clients in the loop about what they’re doing to improve website visibility. They educate clients. They should be able to explain complex concepts in a way that’s easy for you to understand and take the time to answer any questions you have.

Ask for case studies and examples of successful SEO campaigns.

Any good SEO agency should be able to provide you with case studies and examples of past clients they’ve helped achieve success. This will give you a better idea of what to expect from partnering with them.

Think beyond SEO & focus on Omni-Channel campaigns

A good SEO agency will also be familiar with other digital marketing channels like content marketing, social media marketing, and email marketing. They should be able to provide a comprehensive plan for how all these channels can work together to help you achieve your business goals.

Visit the SEO company in person or do a video conferencing with the team.

If possible, schedule a visit to the SEO agency’s office or do a video conferencing with the team so you can get a feel for their culture and see if they’re a good fit for your business.

Understand the risks of low-cost SEO agencies.

It’s important to remember that you get what you pay for when it comes to SEO services. Agencies that offer rock-bottom prices may be using shady tactics that could get your website penalized by search engines.

Avoid SEO guarantees.

No reputable SEO agency can guarantee results because there are too many variables out of their control. A good agency will be honest about what they can and cannot do for your website.

Update yourself with SEO pricing models and establish an SEO budget.

There are a few different ways that SEO agencies typically price their services. Establishing a budget upfront will help you narrow down your options. You can also read the Google’s SEO starter guide.

Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to get started on finding the right SEO agency for your business. Use the tips in this blog post as a starting point and don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions. The more informed you are, the better equipped you’ll be to make the right decision.

Some of the questions you should ask your SEO company

These days, the services of SEO company have become the most essential tool not only for the marketing company, but for all the non-profit organizations and professionals as well to ensure their success. There are many benefits of hiring a professional seo company, but the most common are maximum visibility and greater earnings. Besides that, they also increase the credibility of your website and establish your brand image.

A large number of seo companies claim to offer to quick results and charge enormous rates for providing their services. Despite the heavy rates, many companies invest a huge amount of money in their services as it is the only way where customers can turn to your products and services. As a result, they have to end with getting inorganic traffic to their website.

Few points to note

Clients often ask SEO teams (before hiring usually) if ‘white hat’ methods will be employed to get the desired results. They are wary about the use of any ‘black hat’ strategy that might cause irreparable damage to their online marketing chapter.

While this question do hold a lot of relevance in the age of cut-throat competition for those prized search engine ranks, these questions of ethics are not really important for an internet marketing business. What they need to know are:

Quantity or Quality: 

SEO means online traffic: that is what internet marketers feel! However, the fact is that you cannot leverage your online business or earn revenues just by getting truckloads of online visitors trooping into your website.

You need quality traffic, not quantity. You need to optimize with the relevant keywords so that people who want to come to your website are your only visitors. Deceiving or misleading users into your ‘Services’ page will take you nowhere. Focus on getting relevant traffic that will generate online leads and eventually sales.

Long-term or Short-term: 

SEO plans can be of two types. One is the short-term blitzkrieg that gets you into the scheme of things, make as much as you can and then get out with the spoils. The other approach is more measured where you are concerned about the bigger picture and long-term prospects.

You want the internet marketing community of your domain to consider you as a serious player in the arena. SEO plans for both these terms vary in the sense that for the former, you can play with abandon and care a fig for consequences. You are willing to risk being thrown off Google indexing as well as opposed to the latter one where you want to play by the rules of the game.

High or Low Risk: 

SEO cannot get you instant results. While hiring an external SEO team or backing your own in-house SEO department, you have to be prepared for higher risks if you want bigger rewards. You have to target high competition keywords, stretch your keyword packing to the limit and bring your resources to the best they can do.

This can backfire and derail your SEO plan completely. On the other hand, you have the sedate, low-key SEO plan that will give you mediocrity and at the same time keep you out of harm’s way.

Here are some of the points that you need to ask, when choosing an SEO company:

– How long have you been serving the clients in the SEO business?

Professionalism is one of the most important aspect of SEO company. Being able to get places in Google Index, needs a lot of expertise and efforts. So, it is better to hire a firm that is able to learn your business better and follow effective strategies to maintain a positive image.

– Is the team or consultant enough experienced to handle my project?

Experience matters a lot in SEO. If the website is handled by the one, who is inexperienced  then it will affect the growth and expansion of the business negatively. An experienced seo company only has the expertise to promote the business effectively and to improve the conversions in terms of sales, profit and better return on investments.

– Are you also focused on highly competitive terms rather than just long tail?

Though long tail keywords played a significant role to improve the performance in organic listing, it is equally important for a website to rank for highly competitive keywords. These are the keywords which gives you clear idea of what exactly your visitor is looking for.

– Are you using automation tools to build links?

As link building needs lot of time and energy to complete, many entrepreneurs are finding new ways to complete it in a short period. Out of them, one is automated link building which is considered as an unethical process by the major search engines and is not effective enough to maintain higher rankings.

– Are the strategies used by you, meet the requirements of Google Webmaster Guidelines?

Many companies, knowingly or unknowingly understimate the importance of Google Webmaster Guidelines. This creates adverse effect on their reputation and lead them to face penalties. Following the guidelines always ensures a website to be found and ranked well by the search engines.

– Is your team working for any of my competitors?

If the same seo company provides their services to two direct competitors, then it only creates conflicts of interest. That company only works with the purpose of earning more profits, but not for your website. This will not bring you the desired results even if the company is offering better services or prices.

– What are the success stories or accomplishments, you are most proud of?

SEO is not a profession in which you can expect results by giving a chance to newbie. You need to ask their experience and portfolio before hiring them. This information gives you lots of answers about their expertise and knowledge.  If in any case, they refuse to disclose it, that means they are probably faking it.

– Can I get the client references, once the selection process is complete?

If any seo company is able to produce excellent references upon request, it shows their efficiency and professionalism. They provide a clear identification of their qualifications and experience and also gives you an assurance that you are dealing with a reliable company.

– What kind of results can we expect in the future?

No matter what is the size, staff and status of the business, it always expects some fruitful results for its growth. Before hiring a seo company, you have to make sure whether it will meet the requirements of your business or not.

– How do you manage at the time of latest seo developments?

It is obvious that anyone would not like to hire a firm which is not able to cope with the latest updates by the Google. So it is very important to acquire the services from those, who provide consistent training to its staff and is capable to follow all such new trends.

– How do you define success?

In order to measure the success of the seo campaign, its main characteristics are highly analytical, responsive to the clients, flexibility in using different strategies, consistency, accepting new techniques and challenges and delivering timely results.