Question

What are things I should look for when hiring an SEO firm?

I need to outsouce my SEO marketing but I am nervous to hire a firm that may not peform. How do I pick a firm? What should I look for?

5 years ago - 4 answers

Best Answer

Chosen by Asker

Obviously what you DO NOT do is what you are advised to do in an article on an SEO providers website!

Not so much because of what they say but more because of what they leave out.

Here's some unbiased advice....

Start by looking here www.seoconsultants.com/ and here www.sempo.org/directories/

Draw up a list of (say 10 - 15) companies whose web presence and spectrum of services meet with your approval.

Then make a simple initial approach to these companies and reduce to a short list (3-5) based on the quality of their response and their understanding of your requirements.

Interview the companies on your shortlist and include the following questions in your interrogation:

1. Ask for 5+ references and current clients and make sure you follow them all up. When speaking with the referees if you are not entirely happy ask for another 5+ references.

2. What type of reporting will they provide?

3. Do they offer Return On Investment (ROI) analysis? (You want a YES here!)

4. Can they assure you that the optimization strategies and methods used will be ethical and hence guarantee no penalties for your website?

5. Do they place a link on their clients sites to their site? (You want a NO here!)

6. Ask to see a sample contract. Check that it says 'what is' and 'what isn't' required on the clients part and details what they say they will do.

7. How many hours will they put into working on your site?

8. Make sure you will not be 'ransomed' if you decide not to use them any more at some stage.

9. Do they outsource any of the work?

10. What results can you expect and over what time scales?

That's it! You will not go wrong if you adhere rigidly to this approach.

5 years ago
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Other Answers

Read this article
www.mr-seo.com/blog/2006/03/what-to...

by linkme2mrseo - 5 years ago

You should look for the following things like

The search engine has laid down ITS rights to be depicted as one of the basics of the Internet. It has consolidated its power in terms of aiding surfers do their Internet-related activities. It has been found out that 9/10 Internet users utilize search engines to be able to look for the information that they need.

The search engine optimization has become a full-time sunshine industry. Many companies have been established to do search engine optimization-related jobs. There is a great demand for these kinds of services because search engine optimization has a long learning curve and will take much time from people who would want to do this themselves.

As we All know, there are a lot of hoaxes and scams out there in the Internet. It seems that as the Internet grows more and more complex, so do the scammers. In hiring the services of a SEO company, there are many factors that one should consider, given the fact that this endeavor will cost money and can make or break the website.

This article tries to give tips on how to choose a SEO company to hire. Here are some of them:

1. Assess the service of the SEO company

As with any other company-seeking endeavors, service is always the key dimension that one should look at. There are many ways of pre-assessing the service of a SEO company towards it customers. One can try to inquire by placing a call or by sending an email to the company. Depending on the courtesy and time of response of the company, one can initially assess its service.

2. Search engine optimization takes time

In hiring THE services of a SEO company, one should always take into mind that search engine optimization takes time. If a company promises to deliver unreasonably fast results, they are probably making a fool out of you. Search engine optimization requires research and research requires time.

The normal SEO process takes around a month or so. No effective SEO efforts can be done in a week or two.

3. No GUARANTEE

There are many factors to consider when optimizing search engine hits. Search engines use different algorithms and their spiders can vary. A SEO company which promises to make a website number 1 in search engine listing may be pulling the legs of its customers. A legitimate SEO company will be straight-forward and honest and will tell its clients that no single company can give a guarantee to the top spots in search engines. Remember that search engine optimization is not a comprehensive and exact science. It is more or a trial and error game than hard science.

4. Reports

A good SEO company will be ABLE to tell its clients details regarding the standing of their websites. They will be able to track the developments of their clients' websites in terms of their keywords, links and more importantly, their rankings in the major search engines.

5. Testimonials

A testimonial is the most powerful tool in proving a company's worth. A satisfied customer is always a good indication of the effectiveness of a company's operations and will always be the most credible piece of information about its integrity. If one can, he should find people who have garnered benefits from hiring a SEO company or at least try to validate the testimonials which are claimed by the SEO companies that he is choosing from.

6. Price

The price of the services of AN SEO company should never be the main factor to consider when hiring it. Yes, it is important to consider the costs but one should look into the whole picture. A higher price will not necessarily mean that the company is better than the cheaper ones. One should also avoid companies which offer unreasonably low prices. Again, search engine optimization is no joke and one should expect to spend to be able to get results.

7. Other commitments


Make sure that the SEO company IS primarily involved in search engine optimization and does not treat it as a sideline. SEO takes effort and dedication. A paying customer deserves to get results and his demands should not be put on the side lines.

One should be careful in hiring a SEO company because he will be spending much important money for its services. Also, if one hires an inefficient SEO company, he will be losing time and a lot of opportunities. Take in mind the basic tips above about selecting a SEO company and choose the best one which suits your needs.

Source(s)

by Zohaib - 5 years ago

I’ve been using some very EZ ideas to get high ranking sites to provide backlinks to my blogs and sites. So far, my Adsense income is up over 25%!
www.websitetrafficbuilders.com/high...
www.websitetrafficbuilders.com/adse...
www.web-site-award-winning.com/adse...
www.websitetrafficbuilders.com/web-...

by K.S. - 5 years ago

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