I thought it was a good idea to share some thoughts on what to look out for when choosing an SEO company. There are lots of good posts on this topic but I thought I would compose my own version too. I have noticed recently, that the whole SEO and web design market has returned to the 1999/2000 days of everyone saying they can build you a website or get you to the top of the search engines.
I get notes every day from so called SEO companies promising the earth until you ask a few simple questions. I want to stop these guys preying on your lack of knowledge.
Let’s get the biggie out of the way first…
No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.
If anyone and I mean anyone, guarantees to get you a number one position in Google – they are lying! Plain and simple. They have no control over the Google search engine so how can they make these promises?
They can’t.
Look for a company that is open and honest about this. Ask the question, how can you “guarantee” me a number one listing and then listen to the answer.
A good SEO will tell you the truth; there are no guarantees with SEO. There are things SEO companies do to increase the likelihood of a higher ranking but this can change overnight if Google changes its algorhythm.
Show me the money
If you are quoted a monthly fee, ask what is this being spent on? It is easy for some companies to hide this under the umbrella of oh it is all to do with the technical SEO or this or that. Get specific. Ask for a breakdown of what that monthly cost could entail. It could include web content, article marketing, link building, onsite audits, and directory submissions. Whatever it is, a good SEO can break it down and give you a monthly schedule of works!
Are they being secretive and evasive?
This one is borne out of the one above. If an SEO company is being evasive when you ask them what they are doing, this could be for two reasons. One, what they are doing could be considered as bad or a bit dodgy. Don’t for a minute think that your site couldn’t be removed from the major search engines, it could be. And it could take a long time for it to come back.
Or secondly, they don’t have a clue what they are doing!
Please don’t think that this post means that all SEO companies are bad, far from it, there are lots of great SEO’s out there. The main thing is though, you will be contacting them, they won’t be spamming you for business! Check their references, ask for examples of work or the best way of all is to get a referral from someone you trust.
