Choosing your long-term SEO service provider: 5 things to look out for

Making the right choice when it comes to choosing the best Search Engine Optimisation provider is far from easy. There are so many factors that you need to be aware of when making your decision. So, to help you with your search, we’ve put together the five most important factors to consider on how to find a good SEO expert or company.

1. Understanding The Work Process, Results and Reporting

So, what do you need to look for in an SEO Agency? When you are looking to choose the right SEO specialist, make sure they are open about how they will work to improve your online visibility, website ranking on search engines and lead generation results. Be clear on what your objectives are and what outcomes you want to see. Put in place monitoring and performance reporting to ensure the results are hitting the benchmarks you require.

Look For An SEO Provider That Is Open and Transparent About Their Methods & Strategies

The best SEO companies will detail the co-ordinated methods that they will employ to help build trust in your brand, improve wider engagement across your site and ultimately deliver more targeted leads for your organisation. Increasing your visibility is key but the methods and strategies utilised to do this should be detailed correctly and observed throughout to ensure targets are met.

Choose An SEO Provider That Provides Clear and Detailed Reporting On Their Progress & Results

The highest quality, specialist SEO agencies will have no problem in delivering regular updates on the results being achieved by their activities. Set them reporting expectations and results objectives that will keep them focussed on providing the highest quality service for you that ultimately delivers exceptional value for money.

2. Avoiding Conflict Of Interest

It’s fair to say that you should carry out proper due diligence to help you carefully select an Agency to work with. Avoid at all costs the possibility of conflicts of interest, especially if agencies work with competitors and companies from similar industries.

Often SEO providers will target similar companies to those already on their client roster on the basis that they’ve gained impressive results for them and can ‘do the same thing’ for your business. However, be mindful that these types of conflicts of interest will more than likely detract from the success of any strategies that you put in place. Choosing a company who do not work within your industry sector maybe the wisest decision you make.

3. Measuring Success Through Sales & Real Leads

But what makes a good SEO company?

Well, If you are thinking of employing the services of a Search Engine Optimisation company, pay more attention to those agencies who are focussed on helping you to drive sales and generate new leads for your business, and in addition they should be more targeted on growing the profitability of your company.

Simply put, improving the number of visitors to your website is great but the whole reason you want to do that is to increase the potential to build more business relationships with customers, increase revenue and ultimately make more money for your company.

When interviewing potential companies be sure to find out what they focus on. If you’ve set the goal to increase leads and sales but the agency appears to focus too heavily on vanity metrics and increasing visitor numbers or pageviews, you’ll probably find that the results will be disappointing.

4. The Importance Of Clear and Regular Communication

As with any business decision, it is important to choose an agency that are thorough in their approach to working with companies. You will want to build a solid partnership with the agency you select to work with and consistent communication is key if they are going to build successful SEO strategies that drive engagement, sales and generates leads for your company.

When selecting an agency to work, choose one that will take the time to answer your questions with honesty and integrity and guide you to understand how they can help you deliver your business objectives. You will need to help and advise them to understand your business, what your potential customers are searching for, how you solve their problems etc so that they can picture the journey your customers go on and to ensure that the website presence delivers that experience.

5. A Proven Track Record Of Results

Of course, the most important factor is the results that are achieved and these should really speak for themselves. It makes absolute sense to work with an agency who can demonstrate not only that they have a deep knowledge of SEO tactics and have the ability to drive more traffic to your website, but they should also demonstrate that they have achieved satisfying results for other clients.

Don’t be afraid to ask for case studies from potential partners to find out how they worked on their projects, what objectives were set and what results have been achieved. In addition, ask for references from previous clients too, to get an honest view of how professional their service is. At the end of the day you want to be sure that you make the right choice.

Conclusion

So, if you’ve found yourself asking ‘How can I find the best SEO service provider’. We think that our five top tips to choose an SEO Agency will definitely help you navigate the selection process and in turn help you to increase your visibility online leading to more sales and business leads. and find a company who have a tracked record of SEO success.

Remember to look for an agency who have a track record of SEO success and who communicate well, while demystifying the whole process for you. Make sure they back up their service by providing regular results updates and reports. Avoid the conflicts of interest because this will probably lead to disappointment and choose an agency who focuses on your bottom line.