Just like with any business there are good SEO agencies, and there are bad ones. Before hiring someone to work on a search engine optimization project, a business should know the difference between a good and bad company as it could mean the difference between making and losing money. Fortunately, all good SEO firms have a few things in common that will help them to do their best work for their clients. By recognizing these factors, businesses can hire the best firms for their SEO needs.
1. No Outsourcing
It never pays to go through a middle man, but online there are tons of them. Some people claim to be an SEO business but when they are hired by a client, they immediately outsource all of their work to someone else. This might not be a bad thing generally speaking, but if nothing else it does mean that the business hiring them will be paying more since the middle man will be marking up the price.
To avoid this, it is always a good idea for a business to ask who specifically will be doing the SEO work before making a hiring decision. If the SEO firm says that they’re going to outsource most of the work, then it might be a clue to look elsewhere for SEO services.
2. Free Audits
Most service-based companies like to know what they’re working with before they begin a job, and SEO firms are no exception. A good SEO agency in Manchester should be willing to perform a free audit for potential clients in order to get an idea of how much work needs to be done on their site, and how to do it. This is especially true these days now that having a mobile-friendly website is a big SEO factor. No SEO firm wants to take a job only to find out later that the site isn’t SEO friendly after all.
3. An On-Going Plan
SEO is always changing thanks to the fact that Google is always updating its algorithms in order to give people a better experience. Of course, all the other search engines tend to follow Google’s lead in this matter. What this means is that the SEO that works today, may not work months or years later. Because of this, a business needs to make sure that the SEO firm they hire can make adjustments as they go along.
In most cases, these adjustments come as a result of regular audits to a client’s website done by the firm itself. Some businesses have a contract with a firm that allows for monthly or yearly audits just to make sure that everything is in order. It goes without saying that the best SEO firms have these plans and aren’t the type to cut and run after the job is done.
4. Local SEO Strategy
Local SEO is a bit more complicated than just using regular SEO and involves extra tasks such as listing the business in various directories. Any SEO company that knows what they’re doing will have a local SEO plan that businesses can purchase. This will allow them to work on local SEO strategies that will benefit businesses like doctors, pet trainers, and plumbers.
Finding the Best SEO Agencies
It isn’t hard to find an SEO agency that can get the job done right the first time, but it can also be easy to run into an SEO provider that just wants to do the bare minimum, take the money, and cut all communication. As long as a business does its research and makes sure that the company they’re thinking about hiring is of good standing, and follows these tips, then they should have no trouble hiring an SEO company that can meet their needs.