Do You Have The Right SEO Agency For Your Business?

You wouldn’t want to hire a business lawyer without being prepared, right? When choosing an SEO company, you want to be well-informed and prepared. You may be wondering “So, what do I need to know?” Before you even have the first meeting, you should take the following steps: Research: Familiarize yourself with the basic concepts of SEO before discussing options with agencies. There are tons of free online resources to introduce you to SEO. Here is one of my favorites I recommend to get you started: http://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo Being well-informed not only helps you know which services you need most, but also protects you from being taken advantage of by a company looking to “pull the wool over your eyes” so to speak. Reviews / Reputation: Once you’re familiar with the basics of SEO, it’s time to do your homework on the company (or companies) you’re considering hiring. Start with a simple Google search to learn about the company’s services, history, location, etc. Look over their portfolio. Note: If you’d prefer having face-to-face meetings, then narrow your search that way, however, a good SEO agency should be keeping you informed via emails, phone calls, etc. Read through reviews on third-party sites/apps such as Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc. Check their mentions on Twitter. Get creative. This is where you will (hopefully) get the unbiased, unfiltered report on their performance. This is like asking a passerby where they recommend to go for lunch, rather than walking into a cafe and asking “how’s your food?”. Budget Before you contact a company or discuss working together, you want to have a general figure in mind of how much you’re willing and able to spend on SEO. In general, SEO agencies will tend to work with similar size companies - meaning, they may specialize in small, locally-owned businesses, or, larger, more established ones like major car dealerships. This will affect their pricing structure. Through your research, you will probably be able to tell if your business aligns with their specialty. The agency will likely bring up the topic fairly early in the conversation to make sure you are on the same page. Do not completely stretch your budget just to work with a “premium” agency. For more information on how much to expect to spend on these services, see http://www.digitalcurrent.com/seo-engine-optimization/how-much-does-seo-cost/ When you contact a marketer, try to be prepared to answer a few of the following questions: How is your business now - slow, busy, dropping off? Where would you like to see growth? Did you recently start offering a new product or service? Did a competitor just open up down the street - how is that affecting you? Remember, SEO experts try to know a little bit about everything. Meaning, we may be working with one client who runs an equestrian center so we need to know some tidbits about popular horse breeds and events in the area, and two hours later we could be meeting with you to promote your cell phone repair shop. Being able to provide your own insight and knowledge as described above will help us tailor your website to work in your market, and of course, increase your business. Next Steps: Now that you’ve educated yourself on SEO and the company you’re considering working with, it’s time to meet with the agency and ask questions. See this article for more: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/227229 The expert/company you hire should be willing and enthusiastic to explain how their services will help your business grow. Ask questions, clarify what services come with what “package”, confirm timelines and contracts and what they need from you. Here’s a few questions we recommend bringing up before signing any agreement. Ask to see previous work done for similar companies How do you measure the success of your SEO campaigns? What will you do to improve my site’s search engine rankings? Do you adhere to Google’s guidelines? Especially if you are a smaller, brick-and-mortar business, ask if they are experienced in optimizing for “local SEO”. Will you keep me informed on changes you’re making to my site? How will we communicate? Discuss goals Confirm fees & payment How many people are on your team, and who will be working on this assignment? What happens when the project is over? Confirm that you will still maintain ownership of all content. Do they offer “maintenance” services? Periodically updating the backend of your site and optimizing for SEO. If so, what are the fees, and how long is the contract? Wrap-up Being prepared, doing research, and asking the right questions can help you be sure you end up working with the SEO agency that best fits your needs. Remember to stay engaged throughout the process as well! Ask for updates, review proposals and content to make sure they are accurate and aimed to meeting your goals. When doing your research, feel free to inquire through Direction Marketing at www.direction.com if you have any questions, or just want to hire the absolute best SEO agency for your business. We’d love to help you grow your business!

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