Finding an SEO company that fits your organization, simplified!
SEO is also known as search engine optimization. It’s the process of enhancing your company website’s rankings in organic (or natural) search results on SERPs (search engine result pages). SEO is irreplaceable for every business, especially if you are operating in an industry where many companies offer similar products or services.
What can a good SEO company help you with?
A good SEO company will help you meet the following requirements:
– Increase your website’s organic search engine rankings
– Make sure the content of your website is easily accessible to search engines
– Identify any errors or problems with your websites code, structure, or links that may be affecting its ranking on SERPs
Types of SEO companies
SEO is a science, and because of this, it’s important that you partner with an SEO company that specializes in your industry. There are many types of SEO companies to choose from, the three most common being:
– Google Partner agencies who have proven high rankings for clients on Google SERPs
– Local companies who have built a reputation for providing effective SEO services in your industry
– Freelance SEO specialists who do contract/freelance work with other companies, rather than having their own office or team
Pros and cons of the different types of SEO companies
The first step of identifying your company’s requirements is determining what type of SEO company you need (an agency, freelance worker, or Google Partner). Here are the pros and cons of each:
– In-house SEO company –
Pros: the company has full control over its SEO strategy, budget, and employees
– Cons: can be expensive to hire staff, your organization will have less flexibility in terms of switching providers if the company is not meeting expectations
– Google Partner agency –
Pros: you don’t need to worry about finding or managing an SEO company as they are already your partners, proven track record of high rankings
– Cons: expensive and time-consuming to manage a Google Partner account
– Freelance SEO specialist –
A third option is hiring a freelance SEO specialist. It may be more affordable to hire a freelancer who will conduct their work from an office provided by you or from home. You can find SEO professionals on sites like ODesk or Freelancer. Here are the pros and cons of this option:
– Pros: you can negotiate pricing with a freelancer, don’t have to manage an SEO company
– Cons: no guarantee that their work will meet your expectations, may have difficulty in finding high-quality freelancers, don’t have access to an SEO company’s network
Make a checklist of your company’s needs
Before hiring an SEO company, it’s important that you know exactly what your requirements are. This means you will need to identify, prioritize and list your needs. A good example of this is:
– I need a company that will conduct competitor analysis on my local competitors (who has the top positions in organic search results for my target keywords) and create a strategy to increase our rankings as well as rank new pages on our site
Identifying what your company’s needs are will help you determine which SEO company is best suited to meet your requirements.
– I need a company that will conduct competitor analysis on my local competitors (who has the top positions in organic search results for my target keywords) and create a strategy to increase our rankings as well as rank new pages on our site
If you find yourself overwhelmed with managing multiple SEO companies, make sure you identify what type of SEO services each company will provide before hiring them.
– I need a mobile app, so I’m looking for an inbound agency who can also help me with mobile SEO as well as help build our mobile apps
Companies often offer multiple services and it’s important to identify whether the services they offer align with your company’s needs. For example, if you are looking for a link-building company to help increase the number of backlinks your site has, you will want to make sure that they specialize in link building and not PPC marketing.
Identifying what type of services an SEO company offers can also help you determine whether it’s the best fit for your company.
– I need content, link building, and social media marketing for my SEO campaign
Once you’ve identified the type of SEO company you require, it’s time to list all of your requirements/ needs. This will help companies identify what they can do to meet your expectations. Here are some requirements you should list:
– I need a company who can provide me with monthly reports on all of the projects they are working on for my site – I need to know how long each project will take to complete, so I’m looking for an agency that is open to constant communication via email, phone or Skype – I need a company who can provide me with weekly updates on all of the SEO projects they are working on for my site.
– The company must have experience in both eCommerce and B2C marketing as I’m looking to expand into new markets – The company should be able to handle SEO for multiple websites (I own a few different sites that need to be ranked for a variety of keywords).
– I’m looking for a company that can help me with both my onsite and offsite SEO (content, backlinks, social media marketing) – The company should have at least 5 employees dedicated to content writing/ link building as I’m looking to start building links soon.
You should also ask about the company’s experiences in your industry, what they offer, how long they have been providing SEO services, and if they specialize in your type of business.
SEO companies often offer different services, which is why it’s important that you identify your company’s needs. This way, once you’ve identified what SEO type of service provider you require, the company can prioritize which services they will provide.
How to find the best SEO company to suit your company’s needs
Every business or organization is different and has its own unique needs, so it’s important to find an SEO company that fits the specific requirements of your business. These tips will help you find an SEO company that fits your needs:
- Determine what type of an SEO company you need [an in-house SEO company, or an SEO company that works on a contract/freelance basis]
- Prioritise and identify your needs [keyword research and targeting, content marketing and strategy, etc.]
- Search for SEO companies who specialize in meeting your identified needs [make sure they have the relevant experience]
- Test their SEO services [make sure you can see examples of previous work and make sure they don’t over-promise on their results]
- Ask for references [don’t rely on testimonials, but rather ask current/past clients if the company provided what was promised and that they would recommend them ]
Conclusion
A structured analysis of what you need from an SEO company or specialist you’re hiring will make it easier for you to find out the best one to hire for your organization.