October 19, 2011

How to choose the right SEO company

October 19, 2011

How to choose the right SEO company

How to choose the right SEO company

We posted this article on our blog in 2009, and again in 2010, and it’s still extremely relevant today.Choosing an SEO company can seem like a daunting task, with the market place flooded with companies guaranteeing results – but how do you know they can actually deliver?SEO is a specialised field that has been around for some time, yet to most executives and business owners, what SEO is, what work actually takes place and choosing an SEO company that you can trust is a challenge. We’ve put together a list of things to consider in choosing your SEO Perth provider to make you more informed and hopefully save you time and money. Unfortunately there are cowboys in this industry and “SEO” companies that can pull the wool over unsuspecting business owners eyes, so this check list will help set the good guys apart from the cowboys.When choosing an online marketing company for your business it is important to check that the potential prospects have some basic qualifications:

Practice what they preach

An SEO company needs a website. Moreover, an online marketing company needs a website that ranks well in search engines. How high in organic search engine results an SEO company ranks for related keywords is a great indication of the company’s abilities when it comes to optimising their clients’ sites. For example, if your business is located in Perth, Western Australia, try searching for “Online marketing Perth” on Google.com.au. Does the name of the online marketing company you are considering appear in at least the top 30 results on the page, or is it buried among the rest of the pages, or worse still – is it missing from the index entirely?

Proven SEO experience and examples

How much experience does your potential search engine optimisation company have? This pertains more to how many clients it has provided its services to since its inception rather than the company’s age. An SEO company does not have to be 10 years old to provide a quality service, but it should have some satisfied customers under its belt and be able to provide you with client testimonials. The company should be able to show examples of client sites it has successfully optimised. Choosing an SEO company with no proven professional experience in search engine optimisation is a hit or miss decision (too often a miss). Web design companies usually do not excel or specialise in SEO. Ensure you are not funding someone’s “learning process”.

Focused on your business objectives, not ranking “guarantees”

Be wary of SEO companies which make unrealistic promises. An SEO company cannot guarantee top placement on Google or any other search engine, and Google itself backs this statement up. “Guarantees” some unethical SEO companies provide is “We will get you to #1 on Google, or your money back” etc etc. In most cases they will get someone #1 on Google, yet for a keyword no one searches for ie. “pots and pans techniques perth”If an online marketer promises one or more of the following, be cautious:

  • “We will make your site rank in first place on Google”
  • “Your search engine rankings will improve within a week”
  • “You will beat all of your local competitors”
  • “Your site’s search engine rankings will never go down again”
  • “You will see instant SEO results”

Overall, when choosing your SEO partner, you want to have a company that is fixed on reaching your business objectives. SEO is part of an overall marketing strategy – the SEO company should be asking you what you want to achieve, and work backwards from there.

In house SEO

Some SEO companies actually do not optimise your site themselves, but outsource the work to overseas companies, where they can pay cheap prices for mediocre work. Before hiring an SEO company make sure that SEO is done in house and that the work is not outsourced to someone else.

Online marketing specialisation

Choose an SEO provider that specialises in online marketing/SEO. Many companies such as standard web design and web development companies, and marketing agencies now, are touting that they provide SEO services. Search Engine Optimisation and Web development are two very different services, often companies that provide SEO as an “add on” service are not going to have the specialised skills and experience to bring a high standard of SEO to your website.Do they have an SEO expert that you can discuss your requirements with? Is this their only role? The online landscape changes at lightning speed, so someone who is also the web designer, graphic designer, or social media expert is not going to have the time or the inclination to keep up with the latest developments in Google.