How to Choose an SEO Company

If you’ve done your research, you’ll know the importance of SEO and the benefits of using an SEO company. The problem that many companies face is finding the right team to support them in bringing their SEO goals to life. There are so many SEO advertising companies out there, so how do you wade through them and find not only the best out there but also the right one for you and your business? Fortunately, there are several ways you can do this.

This guide has everything you need to know about what to look for in an SEO company and how you can make that final decision.

SEO companies will all work slightly differently, keeping their best strategies close to home to remain competitive. After all, just like you compete against other businesses in your industry, they are doing the same. However, they still want you to understand how they will use your investment, so don’t be afraid to ask them how they work before signing any contracts. Here is a quick rundown to better understand what to expect when working with one.

When you enquire about the best SEO companies and their services, they will want to know more about you. What industry are you in, how long have you been running, what do you sell, what is your competition like, and where are you currently on the SERPs? All this information enables them to better advise you on what you might need on a very basic level.

When they conduct keyword research and run an audit of your site, they will be able to form a much clearer picture of what direction your SEO campaign needs to take. With your go-ahead, they can bring detailed campaigns to life and monitor this throughout. Reports are likely to be given every month, and if you opt for a company like ours, you can rest assured these won’t be full of jargon. They will be clear and concise so you can understand the progress your investment has made.

Discover how to choose the best SEO company with these top tips:

Understand the Different Types of SEO

First, you need to learn more about the different types of SEO. This can immediately narrow down the agencies you want to look into, as not all agencies may offer the kind of SEO service you are looking for.

As standard, most will offer on page and off page SEO. Technical SEO is another service most commonly provided by experts. However, not all agencies will offer local, international, white label, or mobile SEO. Each agency will clearly state what SEO services they offer, but contact them if you aren’t sure. A discussion with them might lead to them offering you a unique deal where you can get the service you want, or they might redirect you to another more beneficial service.

Take the time to learn more about what each type of SEO does and why you may need it:

• On page SEO: This focuses on optimizing your website to help it rank better and gain more organic traffic. Tactics include creating quality content, internal linking, keyword research, fixing the URL structure, and improving the HTML elements.
• Off Page SEO: This will focus on everything off your website, like building backlinks, guest blogging, H.A.R.O, adverts, and creating press releases. These strategies improve your reputation and authority, helping to drive traffic to your site.
• Technical SEO: When you want to make it easier for search engines to crawl your website (necessary for ranking), you need to bring on board technical SEO. This looks at optimizing your site loading time, how mobile-friendly it is, and whether there are any crawl errors or duplicate content issues, among other things.
• Local SEO: If you are a local business seeking more footfall, this SEO helps you become more visible in the local search, providing you with just that. The result of good local SEO could be securing a spot in the map pack!
• International SEO: This helps put your website in front of an international audience, optimizing it so that the right language appears for them.When you are ready to expand your business, international SEO makes the process easier.
• White Label: If you need help providing SEO services or want to offer better content service to your customers, white label is here to help you. It lightens your load by the agency doing the work for you but enables you to take the credit.
• Mobile SEO: This is about optimizing your site for mobiles and other tablet devices to ensure nothing will hinder customers from using your business.As more and more customers use their mobiles to shop and research, you must have a functioning site that instills trust.

As you decide what you need, it can be helpful to know that on page and off page SEO work hand in hand with one another and are usually what businesses should start with if they have never worked on SEO campaigns before. However, this isn’t the case for everyone. The SEO agencies you approach may recommend a different direction if you have past campaigns or specific goals you want to reach.

Next, you want to consider the goals of your business. Any SEO digital agency you contact will ask you what yours are. Goals enable you to measure the impact of your work and investment but also help you understand when it is time to adjust your strategies to hit the target. So, take the time to think about exactly what you want to achieve. If you have no idea, consider the following examples:

• Improved organic traffic rating
• High-quality, authoritative backlinks
• Keywords with better intent
• Greater brand awareness
• Page 1 ranking
• Number 1 position ranking
• Improved lead generation
• Increased conversions and ROI
• Increase visitor time on pages

Consider what your business is struggling with and your overall business objectives. If you aren’t making many sales and want to increase your revenue figures, your goals could be to increase organic traffic and improve lead generation. However, don’t just think about your business. Look at the wider picture and assess what is happening in your industry. If your competition is tough, this is going to impact the goals you set. For example, rather than getting the number 1 position, focus on getting to that first page instead.

Consulting with an SEO marketing company could be beneficial for those still unsure what to focus on. These experts will easily be able to identify where your attention should be.

Whether you speak with consultants or decide upon the goal you want to achieve yourself, the key is to make it achievable. Review your site and benchmark historical metrics to ensure any goal you set is realistic. This includes your traffic, keyword rankings, and your conversion rate.

Prices vary across the SEO industry, so setting a budget early is important. You don’t want to be reaching out to companies that charge high prices, making you pay more for less if your budget is on the smaller end of the scale. While they may offer fantastic services, you don’t want to waste your budget paying these higher prices with the risk of not seeing much ROI. Instead, those with a smaller budget should look at SEO marketing agencies offering competitive pricing and discounts. They will still provide exceptional services, and you should see better results as your budget can go further.

Remember, even if you initially set a lower budget, you can increase this later. Your SEO campaigns can grow over time, so as you start to make money back from your first investment, you can reinvest it to make your campaign bigger.

There is one very important element to consider when seeking out the best SEO company: you!

You need to find a company that suits your specific needs. Your business is unique, from your origin story to the service you provide or the products you sell, so you must find an SEO company that understands this and understands you. If they take the time to learn more about who you are, your story, and the industry landscape, you will see better results. If you can find an elite SEO agency with experience in your industry, this only further benefits you, as they already understand what you are working with, enabling them to provide a solution much faster.

It’s not just about their experience and knowing about you, though. It’s about whether they can cater to what you need. If you have the budget and need to invest in multiple types of SEO, can the SEO marketing agency deliver what you need to the standard you need and at the speed you need it? These are all questions you need to be asking. Can they meet your needs? If they can, they could be a suitable match.

Paying attention to what other businesses and individuals have said about the SEO services they received from a company can be incredibly useful when deciding who to pair up with. They have nothing to lose from being honest about their experience, good or bad, and can, therefore, be a reliable source. Star ratings can give you a quick indication of the best SEO agency services out there, but then you’ll want to take a deeper dive into those with the top ratings. Look on their website to see if they have a testimonial section – they likely do – and spend some time reading or watching what other people have to say. However, these are going to be highly praising words. Companies wouldn’t post bad reviews on their website. Therefore, also take the time to look at third-party sites so you can guarantee there isn’t any bias at play.

While you can gain a good idea of what a company can offer you through what’s written on their website or explained through video, and then further this with reviews and testimonials, the best way to learn if a company is best suited to work with you is by seeing proof of what they can offer you. In other words, you should ask for a proposal from the 2 or 3 agencies you have narrowed it down to. In these proposals, you can learn more about their services, pricing for what you need, the realistic time frame for your specific business, the goals you want achieved, and how they can reach them with specific strategies. Seeing more about what bespoke suggestions will help improve your rankings and online presence can give you more faith that you are choosing the right agency and your investment is well spent. If they are not willing to do this, it is time to look elsewhere.

Now you know how to choose the right SEO company, it’s time to start looking.