Unless you employ an in-house SEO specialist to optimize all your communications, there’s a good chance you will, at some stage, need to choose an SEO partner to help you make the most of your website and other online content. But what should you expect them to do while you’re deciding who to go with?
These three steps are critical and, when choosing an SEO company, you should feel they have covered them – it’s how they make sure they do the best job for you.
1 – Analyze
The key to making your website, blog and so on bring in the business is to analyze all the available data. Top SEO companies will always start here, making sure they understand your industry, your competitors, and the kinds of clients you want to attract. Search Engine Optimization isn’t just about keywords and backlinks – it’s about understanding what your potential customer wants, and knowing how to get you noticed by them.
One of the most important qualities of a good SEO company is their devotion to doing the research, and making sure they know you, your business and your ideal consumer back-to-front and inside-out. The more information they are sharing and asking to share, the better. During this phase, it’s important to make sure that you also ask key questions of your potential SEO provider to understand what strategies they might employ.
2 – Translate
Once your potential SEO partner has a grip on who you are and where you come from, they need to translate this information into an action plan. The most important aspect of this step is working with you to make sure it’s a plan that will not only work for you, but that can be managed.
At this stage, top SEO companies will explain the types of services they offer, and discuss which ones they feel will work for you. They will also listen to your concerns and work on addressing those, rather than just shutting down objections. On the other hand, if they are pushing you to just sign up for a generic, one-size-fits-all package deal, there’s a good chance they don’t have your best interests at heart.
3 – Present
All of this research and discussion should inevitably lead you to the point where the SEO company presents their plan of action to you. When choosing an SEO company, you want to be sure they are maximizing value, while minimizing expense – that doesn’t mean you should just go for the cheapest package though! Make sure you’ve come to an agreement on how much SEO is enough for your business.
Look at who is giving you the best value for money. Who is offering a plan that works for your budget, your industry, your geography and so on, versus who is trying to sell you a huge package, crammed full of every conceivable service possible, just to maximize revenue?
What experiences have you had with looking for the right SEO partner? Tell us in the comments.
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