How To Choose Your First SEO Company

Posted on Aug 29 2014 - 7:51am by Alana Burton

Web

Now we’re firmly planted in the 21st century, it’s time to sit up and start paying attention to the online world. Maybe you’re creating an online presence for your established business or you have a brand new idea that the world simply must see. Either way, if you’re making the fantastic decision to take your business online, there are certain things you should consider when you choose the SEO company who will help you in the early stages in building your online presence and reputation.

Do They Have The Technical Ability?

Firstly, you need to make sure that your SEO company knows all about the technical aspects of websites. Just because your web designer says that they will optimise your site for search engines, the priorities of a web developer and an SEO team are very different. You might have the best SEO team in the world, but without knowing whether or not your site is structurally sound and genuinely optimised for SEO purposes, you might be throwing money away on a project which is doomed to fail as a result of some simple technical flaws. If your SEO team has the technical expertise, this can be sorted right away so your internet marketing has the best possible chance of success.

Who Are Your Competition Using?

You should also check out which SEO companies other similar businesses are using. At the bottom of many websites you may often find a link to the SEO company providing the services for a particular website. You can then use this to research what that company offer so that you know what you need. If you have friends with similarly-sized companies or those in the same industry, you could always ask if they can recommend anyone. Most site owners have had a bad experience with one SEO company or another, so find out if there is anyone you should absolutely avoid as these companies often prey on newcomers to the SEO world.

Communication and Transparency

Much of the bad experiences heard about relate to simple lack of communication and transparency. SEO can be a baffling world and as an as yet unregulated industry, it can also mean there are huge variants in standards and service offered. Always look for transparency in an SEO agency, in the work that they do and in the reports that they should provide you with.

Feedback and Reporting

When you approach an SEO company, one of the first questions you should be asking is how their clients know what is being done for them. Some companies choose not to issue any feedback about their work, which can come across as secretive but there are many aspects of your SEO that are open for you to access yourself along with the report the SEO company may provide, Google Analytics is one such tool that you can access and use yourself with little instruction.

If a company doesn’t want to tell you what they’re doing or claims that their techniques are ‘private’, alarm bells should be ringing as this implies that they may be taking your money and doing very little with it. You may find that your SEO is actually being outsourced to providers. While this is not uncommon and not necessarily a bad thing, you should still expect that the company you are dealing with has an Account Manager for you who is familiar with all work being done for you and by whom. Companies offering comprehensive reporting and support will be far more useful, as they will help you learn about SEO as you go and you will also be reassured that they are doing what they say they will.

RecommendedArtemis Internet Marketing, a digital agency located in Haywards Heath, Sussex

About the Author

As a parent of a pre-school age child, Alana Burton has a keen interest in early years education. She writes about relevant issues for Red Box Teacher Recruitment, providers of temporary teachers as well as auxiliary staff for schools in London.