Negosentro | Important Factors to Consider Before Hiring SEO Companies | Search engine optimization or SEO is an evolving practice that needs constant analysis, updates, and strategizing. It is also a crucial aspect of digital marketing, which is needed for almost all businesses around the world in the present day and age.
For small business owners, taking take of SEO single-handedly may be distracting from the actual operations of running the business. Yet, neglecting this aspect will have a negative impact on business growth and online visibility. This is where SEO companies can help.
You can hire an SEO company to take care of your regular SEO needs, like researching keywords, creating campaigns, tracking search ranks, etc. The only concern here is to find the right company that understands your business and its unique requirements.
Why should you hire an SEO company?
Whether you run a small, medium, or large-scale business, you cannot do without SEO. And even if you take care of this aspect internally, there will surely come a time when you will need professional help to do it more efficiently.
With time, the goal would be to expand the business. This would lead to more competition, more channels to gather leads, and more challenges to stay afloat. Not focusing on SEO at this juncture would lead to loss of organic traffic, dropped search ranks, and missed leads. Over time, this can seriously hurt your business.
Hiring an SEO agency can be the solution to all these issues.
- You can create and execute SEO campaigns effectively.
- You get an expert opinion on your company’s marketing performance.
- Outsourcing SEO activities is actually cost-effective for a business, compared to making in-house hires.
- You remain free to focus on business-critical activities.
- A dedicated resource is there to analyze and improve the SEO approaches.
Now that you know why hiring an SEO company can be beneficial for your business, the next challenge is to find the right company.
6 Factors to Consider Before Hiring an SEO Company
Hiring the wrong agency may end up costing your business valuable time, money, and leads. Before making a hiring decision, there are a few factors you should consider so that you get the best fit for your requirements. We will discuss six of such factors below.
Area of Expertise
Although many SEO companies offer all relevant services, they generally have an area of expertise. Make sure the company you choose has experts who specialize in the SEO technique that you would prefer. The ideal choice is a company that focuses on a few SEO tricks and does not claim to be a pro at all types of marketing.
To ensure you do not get duped into making a wrong choice, look at the past campaigns of a company to see which areas they focus on and how successful those ventures were. Chances are, you will get your answer without having to hire them first.
Discuss which services they provide best and what their success rate is. Ensure they have data to support their claims. Only when you can be sure of their area of expertise should you proceed to make a hiring decision.
Client Reviews
Client reviews always tell you the true story of an SEO agency. Hence, before hiring one, make sure to check for referrals. Visit their website to read testimonials and also search for online reviews on other portals.
However, if you see only positive reviews that have appeared in a short span of time, make sure to determine their authenticity. Instead, an occasional bad review is acceptable and organic. Overall, the SEO company should have a 4+ rating.
- Check case studies and portfolios.
- Get a list of their clients for referrals.
- Ask them for the list of services they offer.
- Ensure they have worked on projects with similar requirements like yours.
Costs and Packages
Although it is foolish to hire the cheapest SEO agency you can find, settling for an inordinately expensive option is also not feasible. Your choice should provide quality service at reasonable rates. But do not compromise on quality of service to save money.
The better idea is to look for companies that provide customisable packages. For instance, out of say eight services that the agency offers, you might need only five. The other three might not be relevant to your area of business. In that case, you should have price flexibility while hiring.
Customer Service
Customer service is one of the most important aspects of making a purchase. Before settling on an SEO company, it is crucial to check whether they provide satisfactory customer support during the project.
- Look for 24×7 customer helpline desks.
- Ask them how they intend to monitor the progress of the SEO strategies.
- Seek clarity on how often they provide reports and in what format.
- Ask if they can set up regular update meetings.
- Find out whether they are open to feedback and suggestions.
- Ensure they are ready to make adjustments to their strategies depending on the results.
Data Security and Privacy
Often, you need to share internal information about the company for an agency to make effective strategies. This may include product information, target customers, brand messaging, etc. Your SEO company must be committed to keeping your data secure and private.
Additionally, there should be an understanding, whether written or verbal, that the SEO techniques applied for your company would not be revealed to your competitors. Otherwise, the whole purpose of hiring an SEO agency would be defeated.
Approach and Planning
An ideal SEO service knows how to look at the big picture and make future-proof strategies. Although SEO strategies need to be updated and reshuffled periodically, they should not become irrelevant in a matter of days or weeks. For that, your SEO service provider must possess industry knowledge and creativity.
- Prefer companies that provide a multi-layered approach towards SEO, instead of focusing on one aspect like keywords or backlinks.
- Check whether they are concerned about website speed, on-page SEO, and UI factors.
- Ask them about the tools they use to analyze campaigns and provide reports.
- Be aware of their audit process and how they revise strategies.
If the company is unable to explain how they work, that is a major red flag you need to watch out for.
Final Thoughts
An SEO company can make or break your online marketing game. There are several advantages of finding the right SEO professional to help you out, but there are equal, if not more, disadvantages of making the wrong choice. That is why you must keep the above aspect in mind while choosing the best SEO services company for your business.
