Stand out

How To Pick An SEO Firm

Choosing an SEO Firm to work with is a key decision that should not be taken lightly. A competent SEO Firm can help elevate your online presence and boost website traffic but if the wrong choice is made it could lead to additional costs and headaches down the road.

One of the biggest complaints I hear from site owners is that they don’t know how to pick an SEO firm.  There is no one regulatory body for this industry and everyone tells you something different.  It’s confusing for a site owner, especially if they aren’t tech savvy or if they’ve been burned before.

When picking an SEO firm, you should consider what is important to you and ask any and all questions that you want answers to.

To help get you started, here are some questions that I think are important (along with my thoughts on what the answer should be).

Do you have any initial or set up fees? How much and what are they for? Are there ongoing fees and how much are they?

They should be able to outline all fees and tell you exactly what is included.  Different firms price things differently.  If they require full payment up front, that may concern me.  Most firms will require some payment up front, and that is to be expected.  You need to look at what they are proposing, make sure it is clear to you and make sure you are OK with it.

Is monthly maintenance necessary?

Any SEO Firm that knows what they are talking about should tell you that maintenance and monitoring of rankings is required to ensure you don’t start losing rankings. If they tell you that you will lose rankings as soon as you leave them, they are lying—or more accurately they are just guessing. They don’t really know for sure. However experience shows us that rankings do tend to maintain until the next major algorithm shift and then if no one is maintaining them for you, they may begin to drop.  SEO is not the kind of thing you do once and then you are done.  To maintain and hopefully even increase your rankings, you need to have someone continually working on your behalf.  Alternatively, you could learn to handle some of the maintenance items yourself.  But the key is to realize that someone needs to monitor your rankings and work on your in order to hold on to your top rankings and grow them.  Don’t forget the engines themselves reported that approximately 25% of searches each month are never before seen phrases.  So, at the very least you’ll want to monitor what new phrases are popping up and make sure you are getting exposure for them.

How long is my term of service?

Typically you should hear anywhere from 6—12 months. Anything less than 6 months isn’t long enough to see any matured results. Six months seems to be the industry standard middle ground. With six months you aren’t locked in too long, but it does allow time for the campaign to mature.

Do I own the work you do for me? Where does it reside?

The answer: yes you own the work (once it is paid for in full) and it resides on your server.  If they are hosting content on another server or another domain, you want to think twice before getting involved.

You should be provided reports once a month and an SEO firm that knows what they are doing should be reporting on traffic. That is what really matters.  Ranking reports are no longer reliable.  “Looking at rankings doesn’t paint an accurate picture of how well your site is performing on Google. Look at the overall traffic that Google has sent you.” – from Danny Sullivan, leading SEO expert

Why aren’t ranking reports viable anymore? SEO experts agree that ranking reports don’t show the big picture and more data is needed to see what is and isn’t working on an SEO campaign.

There are a couple reasons why the dynamics of ranking reports have changed so much and are no longer as reliable:

Personalization of Search Results

Users see different results based on whether they are logged into a Google account or not, if they have personalization features turned on or off and again depending on their geographic area.  It’s hard for one position to truly “belong” to one person (that doesn’t defeat the purpose of SEO, it in fact makes it more important because you have to work hard to come up as relevant for as many people as possible as searchers and algorithms continue to get more sophisticated).  But it does make it hard to report a specific ranking that you “own”

Rankings Fluctuation

While there are tons of options available for ranking report software, none of them are perfect and they all may get different results based on what database they tap into.  But more importantly, rankings fluctuate and what you see in a report you may not see tomorrow.  Getting hung up on a specific word in a specific position is a waste of time.  You are far better to focus on data from web stats that shows what is and isn’t working overall (at a big picture level) and look for an increase in organic traffic (which is ultimately what it’s all about).

The industry is changing and while we can and do still get great exposure for clients, the way to measure it is not by ranking reports but by referrals from the search engines.  By seeing an increase in traffic from the engines.

Even focusing on keywords is not the same as it used to be, with LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) which basically means the engines search based on the “meaning” or “concept” of the keywords and not just the words themselves, which is why the engines look at keywords as a mere suggestion and not as a precise phrase.  So ranking are often made up of variations of phrases that were chosen as the baseline.  Again the goal is not to look at a report that shows certain words in certain positions; the goal is to achieve growth.  It’s growth in traffic that grows your business and not a ranking report for a set of words.

Results from an SEO campaign can be tracked by looking at organic traffic in your web stats.  A good SEO company should also set up web stats for you, if you don’t have any in place.

When will I start seeing results?

That is a question that varies from site to site. Your site’s history and competitiveness of the industry are big factors and the SEO firm should try to answer honestly considering what they know about your site. Any blanket statement is just a guess. They could also tell you their average time for other clients and that is a good indicator of what you could expect.

What about past results? Do you provide references and testimonials?

The answer should be YES! They should be happy to show off past results.

An ethical SEO Firm will focus on content and on-page optimization as the foundation. They should also look at whether you are in need of links and may include linking as part of their strategy.  More people tend to get links on their own, but they don’t focus on the on-page portion, so maybe all you need is the on-page work.  The SEO Firm should evaluate that and let you know what your specific needs are.

They shouldn’t hide any text or code on your site, and they should be willing to explain every step of their process and not want to hide any information from you.

If they tell you they have a special relationship with Google, or proprietary techniques that should be a warning sign to you.

Do I have access to anyone on your staff, so I receive personalized service and can ask questions at any time?

The answer should be yes. SEO can be confusing and you need a Firm that will work FOR you and WITH you.

Any SEO Firm that is worth working with should be happy to spend time going over each of these questions with you.  Selecting an SEO Firm can feel intimidating but if you use these questions as a guide and follow your instincts, you should be fine.

One other thing I wanted to share was written by Stoney de Geyter, he’s well known in the industry and I thought even though I didn’t write it, it was an important message to share:

I think businesses get into trouble when they expect their SEOs to have all the solutions. They look at the SEO as the magical ranking provider. They want better rankings, more traffic, increased conversions, and expect an SEO to be able to provide it all… within a few hours of paid time.

Not. Gonna. Happen.

Again, just like any other field, you get what you pay for. Find the cheaper expert you’ll get cheaper results.  Maybe you can find a plumber that charges less per hour he’ll likely take twice as long as the guy who charges a few dollars more per hour. You hire the cheaper lawyer, you may not like the results. Just sayin’.

When you’re looking for your “SEO expert” you gotta know what you want and what you expect. Don’t expect real magic on a clown budget. If you know what you want, then you can select the person, firm or group that will best be able to give you what you expect.”

Plan to spend time talking to your potential SEO firm to really understand what you will get, what you will pay and what you can expect.  Talk about social media and other areas of marketing – don’t make assumptions about what is included and don’t neglect areas that need your attention.

WHAT’S NEXT?

SUPPORT OUR AUTHOR AND SHARE
Interested in Guest Posting?
Read our guest posting guidelines.

7 Responses

  1. I am looking for a really good SEO firm and this post of yours has truly helped open my eyes to the things I really need to focus on while I am shopping for one. The most important question I need answered is “when will I start seeing the results?” Any firm that can give me a satisfactory answer gets my vote.

    1. Hey Harold, seeing results can be as soon as 24 hours and as long as 3-6months. What results are you looking for is the question? Sometimes it can be a Penguin or Panda issue, sometimes it could be a client wants to go local, or some projects could involve an SEO audit, while others could involve link building. Therefore, in order to answer your question I would need to know what you’re tracking. That’s not to say I could give you an exact time frame, but most professional SEO’s will have an idea based on their experiences. No two sites are alike…

  2. Good point well made Jennifer. It is truly informative. Hiring your search advertising for the qualified SEO company might be a tremendous relief while you will enjoy outstanding outcomes. However its not all tale is a story book, which is why you must see exactly what you’re up to and who you go for the job. When you think of all that you will be trusting of unfamiliar people today, then you will certainly hesitate about being reckless.

  3. Before I start, I want you to know I’m SEO professional.
    I want to mention a few things:
    First, My results to the clients are not based upon keywords, they are based upon the number
    of visitors coming to the client site from organic search. I know some SEO professional take
    a low competition, low searches volume keyword and rank first in Google using the keyword.
    Then they say “Here we did our job!”, but the client does see any visitors. So the most important
    parameter is if you increased the number of visitor.
    You have to beware. Many consultants use black hat dangerous techniques, that help rank your site in the short term, but then, at some point, they get punished by Google. Be careful about the company you choose. Instruct them to use only white had legitimate methods.

  4. Hi Jen,

    What can I say? The outline of the whole articles are really based on truth and state very informative and useful. But some of website owners preferred to outsource SEO individual than SEO firm as SEO firm charges lot of bucks. BUt of course same as to the firm if your not really tech savvy you will not know how good the person/firm you will be hiring. One factor that will help is trust as well as good communication to produce better result.

    thanks,
    Marg.

  5. Deciding on the right SEO firm is more than a matter of cost. It is essential to pick a SEO firm that is qualified in all viewpoints of web index improvement: keyword research, content improvement, website structure and coding and off-site advertising. In the meantime, you’ll need to go with a SEO firm that sets sensible anticipations. Search engine optimization is not a speedy settle. It can take a few months for improved content to procure beat positioning on Google and Yahoo. Depending on if you are once again being told specially or if somebody saying who can surely beat position, then you should concern the dealer concerning their techniques; they might be doing something that truly might get your website penalized or spammed.

  6. This presents such valuable tips. It is indeed very hard to choose what seo firm is the best among the rest. There are lots of things to consider.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe

Informative articles on all things Internet marketing coming straight to your inbox
Search

Follow Us

Categories
Measuring Metrics for Success eBook
Free Measuring Metrics for Success eBook - Get your copy now!

Sponsors

Choosing an SEO Firm to work with is a key decision that should not be taken lightly. A competent SEO Firm can help elevate your online presence and boost website traffic but if the wrong choice is made it could lead to additional costs and headaches down the road.

WHAT’S NEXT?

SUPPORT OUR AUTHOR AND SHARE
Interested in Guest Posting?
Read our guest posting guidelines.

7 Responses

  1. I am looking for a really good SEO firm and this post of yours has truly helped open my eyes to the things I really need to focus on while I am shopping for one. The most important question I need answered is “when will I start seeing the results?” Any firm that can give me a satisfactory answer gets my vote.

    1. Hey Harold, seeing results can be as soon as 24 hours and as long as 3-6months. What results are you looking for is the question? Sometimes it can be a Penguin or Panda issue, sometimes it could be a client wants to go local, or some projects could involve an SEO audit, while others could involve link building. Therefore, in order to answer your question I would need to know what you’re tracking. That’s not to say I could give you an exact time frame, but most professional SEO’s will have an idea based on their experiences. No two sites are alike…

  2. Good point well made Jennifer. It is truly informative. Hiring your search advertising for the qualified SEO company might be a tremendous relief while you will enjoy outstanding outcomes. However its not all tale is a story book, which is why you must see exactly what you’re up to and who you go for the job. When you think of all that you will be trusting of unfamiliar people today, then you will certainly hesitate about being reckless.

  3. Before I start, I want you to know I’m SEO professional.
    I want to mention a few things:
    First, My results to the clients are not based upon keywords, they are based upon the number
    of visitors coming to the client site from organic search. I know some SEO professional take
    a low competition, low searches volume keyword and rank first in Google using the keyword.
    Then they say “Here we did our job!”, but the client does see any visitors. So the most important
    parameter is if you increased the number of visitor.
    You have to beware. Many consultants use black hat dangerous techniques, that help rank your site in the short term, but then, at some point, they get punished by Google. Be careful about the company you choose. Instruct them to use only white had legitimate methods.

  4. Hi Jen,

    What can I say? The outline of the whole articles are really based on truth and state very informative and useful. But some of website owners preferred to outsource SEO individual than SEO firm as SEO firm charges lot of bucks. BUt of course same as to the firm if your not really tech savvy you will not know how good the person/firm you will be hiring. One factor that will help is trust as well as good communication to produce better result.

    thanks,
    Marg.

  5. Deciding on the right SEO firm is more than a matter of cost. It is essential to pick a SEO firm that is qualified in all viewpoints of web index improvement: keyword research, content improvement, website structure and coding and off-site advertising. In the meantime, you’ll need to go with a SEO firm that sets sensible anticipations. Search engine optimization is not a speedy settle. It can take a few months for improved content to procure beat positioning on Google and Yahoo. Depending on if you are once again being told specially or if somebody saying who can surely beat position, then you should concern the dealer concerning their techniques; they might be doing something that truly might get your website penalized or spammed.

  6. This presents such valuable tips. It is indeed very hard to choose what seo firm is the best among the rest. There are lots of things to consider.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

As Seen In

Hello there! Please read to understand how we handle your privacy.

This website uses tracking cookies to help us understand how you use the site and improve upon your experience. We do not share any information collected – either personal or anonymous – with any other parties, with the exception of the reporting programs we use in conjunction with those cookies. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of these cookies. If you do not agree, please close the site.