The goal of search engine optimization (SEO) is to enhance a website’s volume of free, natural search engine traffic. SEO is a long-term marketing strategy, but it’s worth the investment since, unlike advertising, it doesn’t require a monthly “pay to play” fee to provide long-term benefits. However, SEO involves a wide range of concepts and practices, including site architecture, mobile usability, on-page SEO keyword planning, and content promotion. Many business owners find that collaborating with an SEO service is the most effective means of expanding their SEO initiatives.
While this is true, you may have also seen that there is a plethora of SEO firms to choose from. It’s not easy to figure out, and there are plenty of opportunists who would gladly take you for a ride, spending all of your money with no tangible benefits to show for it.
So, how can you verify the integrity of a prospective SEO firm?
Table of contents
- Questions to Ask an SEO Company
- Can you share examples of your SEO work for previous clients?
- What is your typical approach for improving rankings and increasing SEO?
- How does your group keep up with the newest SEO methods and software?
- What recommendations/opportunities for growth do you suggest upon reviewing our current site?
- What method does your team use to find relevant keywords?
- How many SEO team members will we be working with directly?
- How often do you talk to your customers, and how do you do it?
- How much do your SEO services cost, and how much more money do we need to launch search campaigns?
- Are any members of your team SEO-certified?
- What is your timeline for success?
- Do you offer Web Development for Businesses?
- How will I be involved in the process?
- What other services do you offer and how can they help boost your SEO strategy?
- What is your honest opinion of my website?
- What happens if I choose to terminate our contract?
- What pricing model do you use?
- What pages do you plan to target with keywords?
- What are the details of the contract?
- What are the details of the contract?
Questions to Ask an SEO Company
What counts is the result, right? Make sure the SEO firm you’re considering has a good reputation and a history of delivering effective campaigns for clients before committing to a long-term partnership. Many seasoned firms will have case studies available that outline the work they did for a customer, the techniques they used and why, and the outcomes they achieved. With this knowledge in hand, you’ll be ready to move forward with hiring an SEO professional.
What is your typical approach for improving rankings and increasing SEO?
Each customer has unique requirements. Make sure you don’t accept a one-size-fits-all solution to this query from the SEO company. The effectiveness of your campaign may be gauged by the agency’s recommendation of key performance indicators (KPIs), which they should have researched in depth for your business and sector.
How does your group keep up with the newest SEO methods and software?
Search engine optimization (SEO) resources and methods are evolving at the same rapid pace as the rest of the digital marketing sector. The SEO firm you’re considering should place a premium on training and education for its employees, so that they can provide you with cutting-edge services and methods.
What recommendations/opportunities for growth do you suggest upon reviewing our current site?
Once again, the quality of an SEO consultant is directly related to the time and energy they spend into learning about your company and sector. The agency’s goal should be to win your business, thus they should provide you with various tailored suggestions. The SEO firm’s familiarity with your field and enthusiasm for your product are both pluses.
What method does your team use to find relevant keywords?
If you’re interviewing an SEO firm, “how does your team conduct keyword research?” is a crucial question to ask.This is a crucial part of search engine optimization, and the way the company responds will speak volumes about its priorities, efficiency, and attention to detail.
You may go further in-depth by asking about the agency’s review procedure, as well as the tools they use to create and organize keyword lists. A competent SEO consultant would have established processes for every stage.
How many SEO team members will we be working with directly?
Clients want to feel that they are the SEO firm’s number one priority. Taking the time to get to know your coworkers outside of the workplace might help everyone feel more at ease once you begin working together. One personal touch an SEO firm may provide is to put a face to a name.
How often do you talk to your customers, and how do you do it?
It’s possible that the SEO firm you connect with won’t even be in the same city as your company. It’s crucial to talk about the most productive times and days to meet for status updates. There’s no justification for poor communication, as all organizations will have adapted to a virtual model by 2020.
How much do your SEO services cost, and how much more money do we need to launch search campaigns?
Your company and the SEO firm will both benefit from open communication about fees. Make sure you have enough money in the budget for legitimate search marketing and to outsource SEO work if necessary. Monthly SEO contracts often cost between $750 and $5,000+. Of course, the answer to this question will vary based on the scope of your company’s needs and the kind of services you need. In order to keep track of your money when working with an SEO specialist, it is important to get a full proposal and invoice.
Are any members of your team SEO-certified?
Many companies urge their employees to get SEO certified as a sign of their dedication to the field and its ever-evolving best practices. This simply indicates that the individual has taken the time to learn SEO, how to implement various strategies, and maximize client brand recognition. Members of the SEO agency’s staff who have earned relevant certifications might help you feel more confident in their commitment to you as a customer.
What is your timeline for success?
You and your SEO firm need to establish a timeframe for your project’s completion. The agency might not be able to promise results in a month (that’s not very practical!), but they can provide many metrics for tracking progress and key performance indicators (KPIs) over the course of several months and even a year. While certain SEO methods take time to establish, keeping an open line of contact with your agency helps keep your campaign on track.
Do you offer Web Development for Businesses?
- Will you present me with a preview of the revised version of my website?
- Are updates to the technology and/or the material planned?
- How much of our in-house staff’s time will this take?
- May we view some of your previous work on the web?
SEO campaigns often include a web construction phase. Customers won’t bother with your site, even if it contains the most popular search terms, the most attractive graphics, and links to other sites, if it doesn’t work properly, especially on mobile devices. Development and SEO should work hand in hand to increase visibility and provide a positive brand experience for site visitors, since engagement is a Google ranking factor. How much time an outside agency may need from your in-house staff will depend on the specifics of your business. Depending on how autonomous you’d like the SEO agency to be, more time may be needed in the initial onboarding stages to get everyone on the same page. That’s why the first step in working with an SEO firm should be to build trust between you and them so that you can feel confident handing up creative control of your website. Check with them beforehand to determine whether they will need to employ your content creators, designers, or developers. Setting this upfront will assist you and your internal team in scheduling the necessary time in the future.
How will I be involved in the process?
Delegating work to an outside agency can help you save time, but the relationship should still seem like a collaboration in which the agency respects your input. Working together will help their SEO efforts immensely.
By inquiring as to your precise position in the process, you assist them in establishing realistic goals for what they require from you and ensure that you are kept apprised of any developments.
By doing so, you may avoid misunderstandings and open the lines of communication right away.
What other services do you offer and how can they help boost your SEO strategy?
- The advantages of working with a comprehensive SEO firm.
- In what ways will additional services complement the SEO plan?
- Will this lead to greater business for me?
SEO firms that provide a wider range of services are preferable to work with since it’s easier to ensure that all parties involved are on the same page and no information is lost in translation. Web development, content promotion, paid search advertising, marketing automation, social media, and conversion rate optimization are all services that might be provided. When the same organization is responsible for many facets of a campaign, useful information is shared that can be used to improve other elements of the SEO approach. To expand your business and attract more customers, you may also use other forms of promotion in tandem with SEO.
What is your honest opinion of my website?
- Will you tell me honestly what’s wrong with my website?
- Will we be able to convey our ideas clearly?
- How do you handle the stress of a deadline?
You may learn a lot about an SEO firm’s thinking process and ability to come up with original ideas by having them assess your website before you hire them. If they are upfront with you about prospective problems today, it’s probable that they’ll continue to be forthright in the future as well. The answer to an unexpected inquiry might provide insight into the nature of your future professional relationship.
What happens if I choose to terminate our contract?
What happens if you cancel the contract after it has completed keyword research, site redesign, and instruction in data-driven content creation?
Can you take what you’ve figured out and use it for your own personal optimization projects? Will the company take everything down and declare ownership of its whole process?
You don’t want to invest more money into an optimization technique and contract that you can’t terminate, but it’s not always easy to bring up the topic. Make sure you’re protected in every possible way, even if you intend to remain with the company indefinitely.
Ultimately, selecting an agency to collaborate with might be stressful, but it can be made easier with the correct knowledge.
After all, you need to fill a position, and the business is soliciting hires.
What pricing model do you use?
The more clearly the conditions of the contract are laid out, the easier it will be to compare and contrast various service providers and settle on one that fits your needs and budget the best.
If an SEO service simply wants to charge you a one-time fee, it should raise red flags because SEO is not a “set it and forget it” activity. In addition, you should seek clarification or go elsewhere if the price structure is unclear.
What pages do you plan to target with keywords?
- If Google were to rank your SEO firm, what page would its keywords appear on?
- Is it one specific page you have in mind, or several?
- When optimizing a page, how many keywords do you normally aim for?
- In what ways should marketing keywords be thought about?
The SEO firm shouldn’t just focus on the homepage but should optimize a wide range of subpages as well. You should be wary of any search engine optimization firm that says they would solely focus on getting your homepage ranked for every term. In order to avoid being penalized by Google for “keyword stuffing,” an SEO firm shouldn’t focus on more than three keywords per page. Check the SEO firm’s position in search results for location-related keywords to gauge how well it ranks for its own content. Important as it is, strategic keyword research should take into account your industry, website and link profile, competition, search traffic, and budget.
What are the details of the contract?
- What are the conditions of payment?
- When the agreement ends, what happens next?
- Which parts of the website’s infrastructure will you be checking and perhaps repairing?
- In the beginning, how many pages will you optimize?
- How much effort goes into tracking and reporting on campaigns?
You should inquire about the payment schedule of your SEO company. Some people choose to work on a monthly retainer basis, fixing or updating whatever needs doing. Depending on the specifics of your website and SEO initiative, you may obtain a variety of services. Find out if the firm has a flat monthly rate or if fees will be assessed based on factors such as the amount of hours worked. Additionally, remember that the techniques employed and the services offered will develop as your firm develops and its demands change. Some businesses have different rates for one-time services and those that are recurring. Knowing this will make you feel more comfortable working with your SEO provider.
Life has a way of taking you in unexpected directions. Even though your employer will miss you, departures like this are sometimes inevitable. You “will” want to have control over your site and be able to take up the job that your firm started if you ever find yourself asking, “What happens when I go?” Your site’s optimized content should not be modified. whether you want out of your contract early, you should find out whether there are any penalties for doing so.
What are the details of the contract?
Finding your way through the numerous SEO gurus and firms out there requires a clear idea of what it is you’re trying to accomplish. Before you begin sifting through proposals and bargaining, give some thought to the following. In the absence of this understanding, you run the danger of expending effort and resources in vain.
Realize that SEO is important to your advertising strategy.
Business owners and marketers who aren’t familiar with SEO may find the subject quite daunting and complex. While it’s tempting to “leave the details to the experts,” it’s important to at least have a working knowledge of SEO in order to verify potential providers and set reasonable goals for what it can do for your business.
Realize how your other advertising initiatives affect your SEO.
While greater organic traffic or rankings may be a KPI used by certain SEO agencies, it may not directly translate to revenue for others. It’s possible that, in addition to the SEO firm’s work, you’ll need to put in your own time and energy to see results.
For instance, even if a lot of people visit a website, all that effort may appear futile if no conversions result from any number of reasons, including a bad user experience or brand concerns like cost. And it’s preferable to stay away from misery if at all possible.
Learn who your ideal customer is.
While greater organic traffic or rankings may be a KPI used by certain SEO agencies, it may not directly translate to revenue for others. It’s possible that, in addition to the SEO firm’s work, you’ll need to put in your own time and energy to see results.
For instance, even if a lot of people visit a website, all that effort may appear futile if no conversions result from any number of reasons, including a bad user experience or brand concerns like cost. And it’s preferable to stay away from misery if at all possible.
Research any businesses you plan to negotiate with.
Once you have a clear idea of what you want out of SEO and who you want to reach, you can begin researching the many companies that will be vying for your business. Be well-prepared for every meeting by reading up on both parties in advance.
Some things to consider before agreeing to a sales call are as follows:
- Do they have a modern, up-to-date website?
- Is the agency anonymous, or can you contact real people who work on behalf of the company?
- Can I find case studies or testimonials from satisfied customers on their website?
- Does this firm have a digital presence (website, social media accounts, etc.)?
- Do any independent reviews of their work exist online?
If everything checks out, you’ll be in a much stronger position to negotiate a sale with the agency. You may then make an informed choice based on the information they provide during the sales process.
If you want your business to be on the top page of Google’s Search Engine Results, it’s a good idea to work with an SEO service, as SEO trends are known to shift regularly. The success of your website is directly tied to the quality of your SEO strategy, which in turn is affected by the methods and resources you employ. By increasing traffic to your site, awareness of your brand, and sales, a competent SEO firm may significantly boost your profits. If you don’t have all the information, your success in SEO rests on choosing the right SEO firm to work with. When it comes to our customers’ online advertising, we at SEO Consultant Services USA cover all the bases. Our staff of dedicated, multifaceted, and expert professionals is our greatest strength since they are invested in your success. Get in touch with us immediately to find out how we can aid your company’s SEO initiatives.
