If you are looking to hire an SEO agency, then you probably know that there are numerous options to select from. One Google search will give you an endless list of SEO service providers from all corners of the world alongside their charges. Generally, it can be a challenging task for most business owners, especially those who don’t have an understanding of SEO services.
As with any service provider, most SEO agencies will entice you with words that you want to hear. Often, they will tell you how they will rank your website highly on Google by increasing conversions and traffic to it. Given below are some of the things you need to know before hiring an SEO agency.
1. Success Stories and Case Studies
Everybody can claim to be a proficient SEO agency. You can check the background and history of the desired agency to determine its legitimacy. You should consider asking the SEO agency to offer you examples of their previous works including reports showing how they increase traffic to websites. After checking the examples given, consider performing a Google search on them to determine whether they rank high on Google Search Engine. If they don’t rank high as claimed, you should avoid hiring that agency.
2. Check Whether the Agency Uses White Hat Practices
Some of the scammy agencies in the industry utilize the black hat practices to attain high rankings. At the start, the results may be appealing to you, but the websites are regularly punished and even removed from search results. Therefore, always hire an agency that uses white hat methods only. It is essential to ask the service provider to give you a detailed list of what they will do on your website.
3. The Success isn’t Achieved in a Fortnight
Most individuals employ the services of an SEO agency for two reasons; to assist in increasing traffic or to solve an issue, such as a technical problem with the site – manual or algorithmic. Irrespective of your goals for seeking services of SEO agencies, remember there is no quick fix when it comes to SEO services. If you search for SEO agency on Google, you will come across companies that allege to give you exceptional results within a couple of days, sometimes as little as 10 to 20 days. This is far from the truth, as these statements are only coined to lure uninformed and unsuspecting business owners.
Reliable and long-term ranking results require a lot of time and investment. Always select an SEO agency that is straight to the point and tells you the truth. It is advisable to look for a company that promises less but delivers much more. Indeed, look for a company that shoots straight to your eye; for instance, a company that indicates that positive returns will be realized after six months.
4. You Will Spend Money
If you are opting for a cheap service, its better you stop now rather than regret later. In all industries, some agencies give low prices to attract customers. However, most of these firms typically offer sub-standard services. The monthly subscription offered by most SEO agencies ranges from 99 dollars to several hundred dollars. This subscription isn’t practical if you want precise results. Typically, this type of subscription may be more dangerous and harmful than useful.
It is essential to avoid one-size-fits-all SEO agencies since they may direct spammy links to your webpage. Such links can even trigger penalties that will consume a lot of money and time to clean up. Low-quality SEO services can negatively affect your website leading to closure. Therefore, it is essential to opt for high-quality services from the word go to avoid additional costs.
5. Focus on Return on Investments instead of Keywords Rankings
You should avoid hiring an SEO agency that isn’t focused on return on investment. Would you opt to rank first for keywords or would you rather have your website have high returns on investment? Online marketing and SEO is highly measurable. With a proficient SEO agency, you can tell where each conversion originated from, the channel it originated from and whether it was paid, organic, social or paid.
All in all, what most business owners want to hear is the return on investment. It is common to come across SEO agencies that primarily focus on rankings and not the overall revenue and return the SEO effort is giving. The return on investment your firm generates enables you to pay for your expenses and expand your business. Rankings alone won’t help!
6. SEO is More than Just Links
Links are vital, but they aren’t everything. You should doubt an SEO agency that only focuses on establishing links and fails to mention factors such as on-page optimization, page speed, load time, user experience and content.
If the website loads slowly and has undesirable mobile user experience, an increase in traffic won’t help at all. A proficient SEO agency is typically focused on the big picture, and not just the inbound links. Links may be the key to being popular, but they will not instantly translate to revenue and conversions alone.
7. Avoid Placing All your Investment in a Single Basket
A good SEO agency is that which recommends you to establish various streams of traffic. Regardless of how well informed or successful an SEO agency is, it cannot forecast what Google will offer next. For example, imagine investing your time and money into organic rankings and then the traffic disappears overnight.
It is recommendable to drive traffic to your site from extra channels such as email marketing, paid search, affiliate relationships, and social media. This action allows traffic to be driven to your website even if one channel fails. You should hire an SEO agency that advises and assists you to implement additional traffic sources.