Your brand deserves to work with the best SEO company in your industry. In a world where businesses are trying to secure a spot at the top of SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages), great SEO practices will give you a competitive advantage. After all, 70% of marketers believe SEO drives sales more effectively than PPC. They ensure that you create great content and that the content reaches the intended audience.
A great SEO company will also provide services that help you deliver a seamless experience when using your website. Your site visitor will never have to be frustrated by slow loading web pages, error 404 messages, or insecure shopping experiences.
In addition to helping you resonate with your target audience, the best SEO company will ensure your website content meets all the requirements search engines are looking for. The reward? Your rankings will improve. Satisfying search engines involves eliminating broken links, embracing keyword optimization best practices, solving crawl errors, and avoiding plagiarized content, among others.
Leveraging the best SEO services will improve your success rate in all these factors. Here are some helpful tips to hire the ideal SEO agency for your business:
Avoid the Most Common Mistakes
It can be easy to make a few mistakes when searching for the best SEO company for your business. Avoid:
- Committing to fixed packages — SEO needs differ from one company to another. What works for another company might not work for you, which makes committing to fixed packages and pricing unwise. The SEO company you choose should take a look at your SEO needs and charge accordingly. This ensures you get what your site deserves without over/undercharging the company.
- Accepting long contracts — long contracts could keep you working with the same SEO agency despite poor performance. Think twice before signing long contracts, even if they come with a discount. Embracing short contracts, on the other hand, allows you to assess the performance of the agency and decide whether or not to keep doing business with them.
- Assuming that high ranks translate to an agency being the best SEO company for you — all SEO companies can provide case studies of improved rankings, but that doesn’t mean that they are best suited for your business. They could have achieved that high rank through “black hat” SEO practices, which are not best practice and could lead to penalties. In other cases, a company’s services might not be targeted to the specific needs of your business. Some companies specialize in particular industries and may be less effective for businesses outside their specialization. Do your due diligence before you work with any company.
- Believing misleading credentials — some SEO companies claim to be Google SEO partners, but those positions do not exist. Sadly, it’s common for innocent business owners to fall into this trap. Learn to identify false claims and steer clear of SEO agencies that make them — these are terms you will never hear from the best SEO companies.
Set Clear Goals
Why are you seeking the best SEO services? Do you seek to improve your rankings, get a one-time SEO audit, or optimize your pay-per-click management? Make sure to set clear goals. Businesses that set goals see as much as 20-25% improved work performance. That’s as true for SEO as for any other field! Understanding what you want at the start of the campaign will ensure a far more constructive working relationship. It becomes easier to communicate with a potential SEO agency and measure success. If you are having trouble creating SEO goals, you should consider getting a one-time SEO audit first to identify potential areas for improvement.
Request a Free Consultation
Many SEO companies offer free consultations to potential clients. You can use this opportunity to get acquainted with several different companies and identify the best SEO company for your business before starting a working relationship. This consultation can be invaluable in learning about the SEO agency, its team, and its culture. Best of all, you allow the company to vouch for their services with hard evidence and data.
Look at the Company’s Past Clients
You can learn a lot about a potential SEO partner through their past customers. For instance, big brands tend to be very focused on their SEO needs and only hire the best SEO companies. If your ideal agency has worked with such a brand, you can rest assured they know what they are doing.
On top of that, be sure to look at testimonials and reviews from these past clients. Pay attention to both positive and negative comments. If what the past clients say about a potential SEO partner feels good to you, proceed to work with them.
Focus on the Company’s SEO Techniques
SEO is dynamic — search engines are always seeking to improve their algorithms for ranking websites. Google regularly updates its ranking factors; in 2018 alone, there were 3,234 updates! The best SEO companies keep tabs on these changes and embrace them. They will also have let go of legacy SEO practices like keyword stuffing. Ask any company you plan to work with about their typical SEO techniques. This information will protect you from unwelcome surprises.
Take a Look at Their Portfolio and Case Studies
Agencies that claim to offer the best SEO services should have the data to back it up. You can find more about the success rate of an agency’s services through case studies or their portfolio. These will give you a feel for the company’s services and how they integrate general SEO with other services like PPC, web design, and social media.
Most companies will have their portfolio and case studies on their website. If a potential company doesn’t, be sure to request the information directly from them. Take a deep dive into what they have done for other companies and compare it to how it can translate to your goals.
Follow Their Social Media and Read Their Blogs
Social media and blog posts will help you discover what the best SEO company looks like beyond its official face. These platforms will show you the kind of tone these companies use and how they approach their services. You can also learn about their priorities, which can be especially helpful if they prioritize the aspects of SEO that will help you meet your goals.
A Great SEO Company Means Great SEO for You
It might take some time and research to identify the best SEO company to work with. However, you should avoid cutting corners when searching for the best SEO services. What might feel like a price cut at the start could easily lead to future complications. Prioritize value over the price tag to give your business a competitive advantage online.