With the huge amount of spam and unscrupulous companies operating online, it can be disappointing and daunting to find the right SEO agency for you. SEO is hardly a one-time investment and can even make or break your presence online, depending on your campaign strategy, so ensure you do your research before you make any major decisions. Below are five critical issues to be considered when using SEO services:
Reasonable Offers
If they make offers that seem too good to be true, they probably are. Find an agency that gives you a realistic projection of potential results. SEO is a process and nobody can promise any rankings, what with search algorithms being changed frequently. If you do get such guarantees, that is one glaring red flag you should take note of.
Industry Experience
Before you seriously consider a particular agency, it’s always wise to know how long they’ve been in the industry. If anything, the total amount of time they’ve spent in SEO and the range of client types they have worked with, reveal their level of experience.
Case Studies
Good SEO companies will not only be prepared with multiple case studies to show you, but they will also be more than glad to have you take a look. The case studies should put their work to fore, providing particular examples of their performance and allowing you to validate their skills and expertise. In short, case studies give you peek into the results you might get based on the results they have given to their past or existing clients.
Standard Certifications
There is no such thing as an ‘SEO certification,” but several legitimate agencies do hold standard certifications for Analytics and PPC. Big search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing all issue PPC certifications, and if an agency has one, it means it has demonstrated expertise in that particular search engine’s advertising platform.
White Hat vs.
Finally, ask your prospective agency to explain thoroughly their strategies while sticking to layman’s terms instead of confusing you with jargon. If you feel that their strategies are manipulative or unethical, then this should be a cause of concern. If your SEO company uses black hat strategies, you might end up with a banned website! Ethical agencies will have no qualms answering your questions and giving you the details of their strategy.
Without a doubt, SEO is a daunting subject for people who are not so familiar with it, and that is why you should at least have some fundamental knowledge and be wise before hiring an agency. If possible, it’s also wise to consider more than one company so you can make comparisons and make a smarter, more educated choice.
