Search engine optimization can be tricky especially if you have no experience with it at all. This is why working with an SEO service company is highly recommended. Such a company is likely to have many years of experience in the industry, the right SEO tools and the right expertise amongst its staff.
However, choosing the best SEO firm can also be tricky. There are many so called SEO companies who only employ uncouth techniques to rank their client’s websites. This may result in short term gains, but eventually, you end up with major losses and even a ban of your site from the search engines.
So, how do you identify the best SEO agency to work with? Below are some hints and tips.
Choosing an SEO Services Partner – The Checklist
Experience
Above anything else, go with an SEO company that has experience in matters search engine optimization and search engine marketing. This experience can be measured in two ways; the combined individuals experience among the company’s staff members, or the years the company itself has been in existence offering these services. The more the number of years of experience, the better the company is.
SEO Tools
The best SEO firms have custom proprietary state-of-the-art tools that they use to run and manage SEO campaigns for their clients. This gives such a company an edge over the competition, which they extend to you as their client. Simply visit the company’s website to see what they say they have or just email them to request for such information.
Portfolio
Again, go with companies that have a good list of previous and existing customers who you can even contact. Getting in touch with such clients can help you gauge the kind of service offered by your choice company. Don’t be fooled by the testimonials posted on the web pages of the company’s website. Instead, insist on getting contacts to some of these testimonials to carry out an independent follow-up.
Results
To top it all, check on the results obtained from their previous clients’ websites. But before you even do this, check how well the company’s own website is ranked for the different keywords they target. This is the sure way of knowing whether they will deliver quality result or not. If they cannot be able to rank their own website, how can you expect them to rank yours?
Guarantees
Here is a red flag that should have you take off to the other direction should you see it on an SEO Services company website; if there is a number 1 spot guarantee, or a page one ranking guarantee within a specified time frame, then avoid that company like a plague. No one can be able to predict this kind of an outcome with certainty. Such a guarantee, therefore, means that this company is only out to take your cash, or even employ some black hat techniques to rank you and leave you in problems.
About The Author:
Michael Bentos has written on various aspects of Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Marketing. He works with a leading SEO Services firm in the UK.