How To Hire an SEO Company

As web presence and search marketing becomes more and more imperative for a small businesses, more and more companies are looking to hiring SEO companies and agencies to increase visitors and conversions. While in concept I am not against large SEO firms, I do believe there are a lot of companies that waste clients time and money. As if this doesn’t happen in every industry, we all need to move forward with what is right and effective and move past old SEO myths.

I would like to by pass this article for just a second to talk about the SEO myth article. At it’s root, the article is great and informative. I don’t agree with everything Stephan writes, but this article can be very informative before you start talking to an SEO company or firm. Essentially, you will be able to more understand what SEO’s are talking about and what is actually needed within your niche and industry.

Okay, back to the point. Much like being hired for a job, you need to interview the company and make sure they are a good fit for you and vice versa. I am not meaning to stereo type in the posting, but much like a car sales man, if you do not understand what you need and what they are saying you can waste a lot of money.

Possible Questions will be bold and my responses will follow…

1. Are you going to guarantee your work? Is that even possible in the SEO industry? Can you guarantee rankings? While there are three different questions listed, the questions are definitely correlated. According to Google, no one can guarantee rankings (read here). Be vary wary of anyone calling you, or even the company you interviewing, if they claim that they can promise any certain outcome. While there should be clear, sustainable  goals no one should ever promise anything. Maybe, just maybe, someone might promise to increase rankings, which should kinda be a given. Most importantly, the results should be realistic and sustainable.
2. What is the first thing you will do when you take over my site’s SEO and marketing? Research, hopefully! Every industry is different and most businesses goals will be different. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for this data. The SEO company should have no beef handing this data over to you.
3. What about our competitors and our companies proprietary information? Respectful firms should only work on one site per industry and there should definitely be a non-compete clause. This area is very touchy and should be discussed at length, including what happens if and when you decide to stop using the SEO company. One things that should also be discussed is whether the contract is month-to month or for a set time period ( i.e. 6 months).
4. What does this bid include (don’t feel dumb–they will probably tell you without asking)? Does your company only SEO or is social networking included and SEM included? First, lets start off by saying it’s neither here nor there on whether the SEO company does just SEO or includes social networking or SEM in their package. While I personally believe the SEO encompasses a lot of things, some companies like to strictly focus on SEO. This is fine, you just need to understand what they are offering. I also feel as though it is easier to hire a company that can do both, but it is not necessary nor is it always the right direction for your business. I believe they are interconnected and it will be easier dealing with one company opposed to two or three companies.
5. Who will be making changes to my site, Twitter account, or Facebook page? Do I provide content or is there a writer on staff? While a lot of SEO and networking is off page, some things will most definitely need to be changed on your actual business website. This is very important as some companies might want to start changing your site structure and layout (not huge deal just something you need to be aware of).
6. Do you have some references? Absolutely check their references and look for there success online. Though sites like Compete and Quantcast are entirely accurate, you can do a little digging about companies web traffic.
7. Can I have access to all non-proprietary passwords and accounts? I am mainly referencing analytics software and social networking sites. For the most part the SEO company should freely give you access to this data. On a side note, you might want to set it up yourself so that you can have control over it. I have heard of some nasty stories of people losing Facebook fan pages and domain names becuase of sour business relationship.
8. What’s all this talk about ethical SEO? I keep hearing things about Black Hat and White Hat? There are a bunch of great articles that you can read here and here. While I feel like this line is blurred, you should definitely understand what can get your site banned in Google, Yahoo, and Bing. In my limited experience, most large SEO companies are very careful as they do not want to get one of their clients sites banned, although I am sure it happens.

Like all jobs, the hiring of an SEO company needs to mutually beneficial to both parties involved. Some firms might not be right for your company just like how some individual businesses might not be good for a particular SEO company. Spend a lot of time in the hiring process and interview several companies. All businesses need to make sure they are very happy with their SEO company as SEO is typically a marathon and not a sprint. With that being said, the partnership needs to last longer than a few months. I do understand that PPC  is very expensive, but jumping into a bad situation can make things much worse.

Yours Truly (IDK…)

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