The most popular activities people engage in online are search and email. In fact, Google receives over 13 billion queries every day. Does your website appear when consumers search for your product or service online?
If not, you might want to hire search engine optimization (SEO) experts this year. A team of SEO professionals can boost your rankings.
Improving your rankings can help you reach more customers online.
Not sure who to hire? Prioritize finding these seven qualities during your search for an SEO agency. Using this guide, you can find the perfect team for your SEO marketing!
1. Experience
Some digital marketing agencies have only recently started adding SEO marketing services. Before choosing SEO professionals, learn more about their business. Make sure you’re choosing a team with years of hands-on SEO experience.
Otherwise, the team might struggle to improve your SEO rankings. Teams that are new to SEO might not have an efficient process in place, either.
Determine how many clients the agency has provided SEO services to as well. Ask how many of those businesses were within your industry. If you can, find an SEO agency that has experience helping businesses like yours.
These agencies will have experience relevant to your needs. They’ll have a better understanding of your industry, customers, and competitors.
Their relevant experience could strengthen your entire SEO marketing strategy.
Try to learn more about the team’s credentials as well. Did the SEO experts complete any form of formal training? Do they have any certifications relevant to SEO?
Finding an experienced expert will give you peace of mind. These teams will have an easier time accomplishing your SEO goals.
2. The Right Services
Before choosing an SEO company, take a moment to consider your goals and needs. For example, perhaps you want to:
- Generate brand awareness
- Position yourself as a thought leader
- Generate more website traffic
- Increase leads, conversions, and sales
- Improve your cost-per-acquisition and ROI
- Rank higher for specific keywords
- Generate brand trust and loyalty
Outlining your goals can help you determine what SEO marketing services you need.
For example, Google will look at your website before determining your ranking. If you’re not appealing to Google’s Core Web Vitals, your ranking might not improve. Your site should remain fast, secure, mobile-optimized, and user-friendly.
With that in mind, you might need to find an SEO company that offers web design and development services.
Perhaps you’re more concerned about your SEO writing. Look for an agency that offers content creation services. Determine how they ensure each post is fully optimized, too.
Make sure the company offers link-building services as well. Backlinks are one of Google’s top ranking factors. The more backlinks your pages generate, the more web traffic you’ll gain.
Backlinks are links that send readers to your website from another website’s blog.
The SEO company might offer guest blogging opportunities to help you generate backlinks. Your content can appear on another blog, then direct readers to your content. As you generate backlinks, Google might boost your rankings.
Choose an SEO company that offers the services you need to accomplish your goals.
3. An Effective Process
Remember, an experienced SEO company will likely already have a process in place.
Before choosing an SEO company, discuss your goals. Then, ask the SEO professionals how they plan on accomplishing your goals. They shouldn’t use a cookie-cutter approach to your SEO strategy.
Instead, they should adjust your SEO marketing plans based on your distinct needs.
The SEO agency shouldn’t rush to start providing SEO content for your website, either. Instead, they should take the time to learn about your brand, product or service, and customers. Then, they should gather competitors, industry, and keyword research.
The research they gather can better inform their plans for your SEO strategy.
Determine how you’ll work together moving forward, too. How will the SEO agency keep up informed about your campaign? Ask if they’ll send your regular updates.
Make sure the agency intends to send you reports about how your SEO efforts are progressing. Otherwise, you might not realize they’re struggling to accomplish your goals until you’ve wasted time and money.
You can reach out to the team at Growth Friday to learn more.
4. Proof of Success
Don’t trust every agency you contact at their work. Instead, ask the SEO company for proof of their previous successes.
First, review their latest case studies. How were they able to help their clients? Did they improve the client’s rankings, web traffic, and conversion rate?
Reviewing case studies can help you determine if the agency can meet your needs and expectations.
5. A Strong Reputation
Ask if the agency can provide you with references and reviews, too. Try to speak to three of their recent clients. Ask each client if they’re satisfied with the services they received.
You can also look online for client reviews. Check the agency’s Better Business Bureau and Google Business listing.
If the agency doesn’t have a Google Business listing, take your business elsewhere. Optimizing a Google Business listing is part of an effective local SEO strategy. The agency you hire should use their own services.
Look for an agency that already has a strong reputation in the industry.
6. Knowledge of Trends
Ask each agency if they’re aware of the latest SEO trends.
Google’s search algorithm makes routine updates throughout the year. With each update, new SEO marketing trends can emerge. It’s important to react to these trends before the algorithm changes can impact your rankings.
The agency might mention featured snippets, video content, and voice search.
If they’re unaware of these trends, they might lack the SEO knowledge you need.
7. The Right Price
Ask at least three different SEO professionals for an estimate. Determine what services are included with their pricing, too. Gathering multiple estimates can help you gauge the average cost of services.
Hire the Best: 7 Qualities to Look for in SEO Professionals
Don’t rush to hire the first SEO professionals you call. Instead, make sure you’re finding an experienced, reliable SEO agency. The right agency can set your business up for success.
With their SEO marketing services, you can boost your rankings and your business.
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