Not all SEO firms are created equally. While most will maintain the same goal—getting your website and business more visibility online—how they do that differs. So how can you go about researching the best SEO firm for your company? Google has some tips for you.
Google continues to do a fantastic job educating businesses on the importance of SEO, even though they keep their algorithms secret. Their latest video on their “Do You Need an SEO?” help page highlights steps you should follow with any potential SEO firm or consultant you are interested in hiring. Here are a few of the important recommendations Google suggests.
Getting to Know Each Other
While it’s important to understand how an SEO firm works and learn about a firm’s particular processes, it’s also imperative that they learn about your company. Google recommends a two-way interview, meaning that both parties should be asking questions of each other.
An SEO firm’s main goal should be to help your business. Anyone you hire in this capacity should care about what you do and want your company to succeed. They should inquire about what makes your company stand out (AKA, your value proposition) and who your target audience is. They should also want to know about your other marketing, how customers are currently finding you, and who you think your competition is. Their focus shouldn’t just be on improving your search ranking, but on improving your entire web presence.
At Digital Neighbor, we want to know about you. To ensure that we represent and fully support our neighbors in a manner that is beneficial to their business, we get a little nosy. In addition to meeting in person, we also have a “Neighborly Digital Marketing Discovery Worksheet” that ensures we know everything we need to know about your business so we can represent you to the best of our ability.
What Others are Saying
References, recommendations, and testimonials are a necessity nowadays, and they’ve become a huge component of the service sector. That includes any reputable SEO firm. An SEO firm is only as good as the work that they’ve done. That’s why we’re always happy to share case studies and provide you with insight into how we work and how we’ve helped other neighbors.
Get Audited
Audits may bring thoughts of the IRS, but in this case, we’re just talking data. Technical and full website audits can provide you with information about how well your site is doing SEO-wise and help a trained specialist identify opportunities for growth.
You don’t have to sign an SEO firm immediately. In fact, Google recommends having any contenders complete a technical and search audit for you first. Essentially, you’ll be hiring the firm to take a look at your analytics and provide you with recommendations. If you’re happy with the recommendations and ready to get started, then you can sign a contract with the firm and move forward on your shared goals.
A knowledgeable SEO consultant should provide you with a description of the problem and how they plan to tackle it. By having a potential firm provide you with an audit, you’re essentially giving them a trial run and allowing them to showcase their skillset for you.
More on Choosing the Right SEO Firm for You
A reputable SEO firm will craft a digital strategy that keeps your goals in mind while implementing proven SEO methods. This will include improving and maximizing your website and content to ensure that it provides value to searchers and potential clients. Ultimately, you want your website to positively reflect your brand and provide anyone that visits with a good experience.
Remember, there are no quick fixes when it comes to SEO. SEO is part of a long-game strategy. It can take anywhere from four months to a year to see improvement in search engine ranking. In the meantime, however, you’ll know that you’re providing your site visitors with a better experience and sharing useful, valuable information.
Ready to learn more about how Digital Neighbor can maximize your online exposure? Drop us a line.
Did you have a question that we didn’t answer in this post? No worries, send us a message and let us know what you’re looking for in an SEO firm and we’ll get back to you quickly.
