What to look for in an SEO company

If you are launching a website or have an existing website that is sorely lacking traffic, then it is probably time for you to start thinking about search engine optimisation (SEO). Quite simply, you have two options available to you: you can conduct your own SEO, provided you have acquired the requisite knowledge, skills, and resources, or you can simply find a SEO company to do it for you. But beware!

Now, I am not going to go into the ins and outs of the search engine optimisation process, but rather offer you some straightforward advice for selecting that ideal SEO company - because some are vastly better than others. And we don"t want you to get ripped off. You should expect the following from your SEO expert:

Holistic Service
The practice of SEO has changed over the years, with the advent of search engines adopting complex algorithms to crawl, index, rank and positions web pages. In the past, adding keywords to your meta-tags and submitting your website to search engines was enough to get your site ranked. Now, a holistic approach is required that provides adequate on-page and off-page SEO techniques. In plain English, ensure that your SEO company offers:

Research & Analysis (Target Market & Competitors)
Search Engine Strategy
Web Copywriting
W3C Compliant Web Development
Optimisation of Meta Keywords & Descriptions, Titles, Headings, Image Tags and Hyperlinks
Link Submissions to Directories and Authority Websites
Article & Press Release Submissions
Blog Submissions
Social Media Interaction in Forums and Social Networks
Regular Ranking Reports (Weekly is Preferable)


Measurability
Key to any marketing success is measurability. It is very important to measure how effective your marketing endeavors are to avoid wasting time and money of ineffective methods and to measure the overall returns on successful ones. Measurability allows you to gauge performance - how much closer are you to achieving your initial objectives. Within the field of SEO, measurability relates to how your rankings have improved, how much more traffic is being directed to your website via search engines, and how many more enquiries or sales you are making as a result of this. Ensure that your SEO company can send you weekly reports outlining the status of your rankings, including how much they have increased from the previous report. Top SEO companies use automated software that can generate results from all the significant search engines out there. Ask your SEO company how they track your results.

Finesse
Professionalism in SEO relates to both the efficacy but also the presentation of the work. An unprofessional SEO company will pollute your website with spam and unreadable on-page content with which to trick search engines into indexing your site and rank you higher. Unfortunately, once visitors arrive at your website from search engines, if the presentation is bad and the content is unreadable, then they will likely click the back button and find another website. Finesse is important. Ensure that your SEO company employs a qualified and experienced SEO copywriter to edit your website copy. This will ensure that search engines will crawl, index, and rank your site correctly, but also motivate customers to buy or enquire about your products and services.

Experience
When choosing an SEO company, ensure that they have more than 5 years direct or related experience in the industry. It is important to invest in experts. But everyone will claim to be one. So ask for case studies and references of successful clients. Ask to contact their past clients and chat to them about their SEO successes. If they have a good record of accomplishment, then you can feel confident in the fact that they know what they are doing.

Additional Factors
Before committing to a proposal, ensure that clear milestones, contingencies, and levels of accountability have been established. Ask your SEO company what will happen if they do not deliver. If deliverables are not met, some SEO companies will deliver free service until this achieved - negotiate such contingencies. You will thank yourself down the line. Another important factor is transparency. It is vital that you know what you are paying for. Your SEO company must explain to you exactly how the process is to work, and encourage a transparent relationship. Always get competitive quotes - this will help you attain whether you are getting ripped off.




Beware of the following:
Unquantified guarantees - Do not accept a guarantee that is not quantified, for example, if they say that 5 terms will achieve first page rankings, then there must be some incentive if this benchmark is not reached - i.e. free service for 6 months.
A reluctance to describe clearly, what there methods are.
Limited offers - such as where there is no copywriting.

Stay tuned for more articles on how to choose your ideal SEO Company.

Autor: toni Coetzee

Toni Coetzee works for International SEO Company, MVI Search. Their websites, http://www.mvisearch.co.za and http://www.mvisearch.com, offer some insightful info on the topic of SEO.

Added: March 22, 2007
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