SEO Agencies - Information & Advice
Hiring an SEO agency to look after your website and get it highly ranked in the search engines is a good decision to make. If you find a good agency, that can do what they say they will (i.e. get you in the top few positions for the keywords that you want to target), then they will more than pay for themselves with the extra business that they will bring in for you.
Hiring an SEO agency to look after your website and get it highly ranked in the search engines is a good decision to make. If you find a good agency, that can do what they say they will (i.e. get you in the top few positions for the keywords that you want to target), then they will more than pay for themselves with the extra business that they will bring in for you.
Research and questioning is all-important when deciding which SEO agency to hire. You can not rely on their claims alone and you should, prior to choosing, research the following aspects:
Past Results - The past track record of a company is the truest measure of the abilities of a company. Quantifiable results should be available to verify their claims. Proof of results they have achieved for the websites of other clients in terms of securing high search engine ratings would be ideal. While some SEO agencies are reluctant to supply client information, they often can put you in touch with clients who are willing to back up their results. If not, inquire about their own website and where they rank in a Google search on the term "SEO agency".
Timescale - Ask them how long it will take them to get your website ranking highly in Google, Yahoo and Bing. They will not be able to give you an exact answer, but they should be able to say whether you are looking at weeks, months or a year. Avoid agencies that claim that they will get you instant results because anyone claiming that is either lying or using fraudulent methods. Having got their time estimate, ask them whether they are willing to give you a written guarantee. It is not unreasonable to ask for a clause to be written into your contract stating that you want a partial refund should they not be able to deliver within the timescale that they give you.
Reporting - Find out how often they will report to you and what evidence of their work they will provide. A full monthly report is standard practice, with maybe a phone call every couple of weeks to give you a quick update too. For the monthly report, you should ask for a list of all of the links that they have built and a graph that shows how your rankings have changed over the past month. They should be willing to make themselves available for a 30 minute meeting too, at which you can ask them questions about the progress being made and what their plans are for the following month.
Hiring an SEO agency to look after your website and get it highly ranked in the search engines is a good decision to make. If you find a good agency, that can do what they say they will (i.e. get you in the top few positions for the keywords that you want to target), then they will more than pay for themselves with the extra business that they will bring in for you.
Research and questioning is all-important when deciding which SEO agency to hire. You can not rely on their claims alone and you should, prior to choosing, research the following aspects:
Past Results - The past track record of a company is the truest measure of the abilities of a company. Quantifiable results should be available to verify their claims. Proof of results they have achieved for the websites of other clients in terms of securing high search engine ratings would be ideal. While some SEO agencies are reluctant to supply client information, they often can put you in touch with clients who are willing to back up their results. If not, inquire about their own website and where they rank in a Google search on the term "SEO agency".
Timescale - Ask them how long it will take them to get your website ranking highly in Google, Yahoo and Bing. They will not be able to give you an exact answer, but they should be able to say whether you are looking at weeks, months or a year. Avoid agencies that claim that they will get you instant results because anyone claiming that is either lying or using fraudulent methods. Having got their time estimate, ask them whether they are willing to give you a written guarantee. It is not unreasonable to ask for a clause to be written into your contract stating that you want a partial refund should they not be able to deliver within the timescale that they give you.
Reporting - Find out how often they will report to you and what evidence of their work they will provide. A full monthly report is standard practice, with maybe a phone call every couple of weeks to give you a quick update too. For the monthly report, you should ask for a list of all of the links that they have built and a graph that shows how your rankings have changed over the past month. They should be willing to make themselves available for a 30 minute meeting too, at which you can ask them questions about the progress being made and what their plans are for the following month.