How to Choose an SEO Company
by k.schneider on July 15, 2009
How do you choose a search engine optimization company? There are so many out there and you fear that their services won’t work and that you’ll waste your hard-earned money, or worse that they’ll use “black hat” SEO techniques only to cause your website to be “punished” by Google sending it to the bottom of the rankings, a devastating event for anyone depending on buyers and sellers to find their website in order to run their real estate business. Have you been interested in speaking with a search engine optimization company, but aren’t sure what to ask? Here are a few tips given by Google on how to select an SEO firm:
Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories? Even if the company is new they should have some experience or some work to show you they know what they’re doing.
Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines? Ask the SEO company what they do to optimize your website, then click the link to see if they describe many of the guidelines given by Google.
Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business? Examples include pay-per-click advertising, analytics reports, conversion tracking, and web design.
What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what time frame? How do you measure your success? Make sure you’re both on the same page. It’s better to have this conversation in advance than to be disappointed later. SEO is a slow process, so the company you choose should explain that it takes months, not days to increase your position.
What’s your experience in my industry? Your search engine optimization company should understand the real estate industry to know how buyers and sellers search for homes and Realtors online.
What’s your experience in my country/city? You might prefer a face-to-face meeting to learn more about SEO, but with technology this isn’t always necessary.
What’s your experience developing international sites? Since you are interested in local buyers and sellers, this probably wouldn’t apply to real estate agents.
What are your most important SEO techniques?Are they too good to be true? Do they make any promises? No SEO company can guarantee that you’ll rank in the number one spot for a certain keyword. Google’s algorithm and other websites change all the time.
How long have you been in business? The level of expertise differs. You might not need or be able to afford the biggest SEO firm for your small real estate website, but you should get what you pay for.
How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them? They should be able to clearly explain what they have done and provide reports. I would recommend choosing a company that offers support after your website is optimized so that they can answer your questions and provide updates periodically.
