Merely setting up a website just isn’t enough these days. No matter what your industry or niche there are lots of competitors out there. The only way that your website even has a chance of being found by target audience members is if it’s optimized. Sure, SEO isn’t rocket science, but it is a skill. It’s a skill that needs to be learned over time and many companies just don’t have the time that’s needed to commit to it. If you don’t have the resources to hire a full time in-house SEO person, the logical solution is to hire an SEO firm to handle it for you. This is where many companies make mistakes. Not all SEO companies are the best fit for your company. All too often businesses will hire an SEO firm only to realize a few months into a contract that they aren’t getting the results that they were hoping for or getting the service that they were expecting. They realize that they made a mistake the first time around and go back to the drawing board for round two. The time and money wasted all could have been avoided by simply putting some extra thought into the process.
Here are 3 things to consider before hiring an SEO firm:
Research is Important
Before hiring an SEO firm, decision makers should have a basic understanding of SEO. They should understand the process and the difference between black hat and white hat practices. Being prepared and understanding the SEO landscape will help you weed out any contenders that don’t share your business values.
You Get What You Pay For
Which do you think is of better quality, a dining room table that costs $100 or one that costs $800? The same goes for SEO. SEO companies that offer a thousand links for $50 aren’t lying. They’ll probably get you those links, but are they worth anything? Probably not. You’re better off just saving that $50 or spending it on dinner. At least you’d get something out of the dinner. Link building is a crucial part of SEO, but in order to be worth anything the links need to be relevant and of good quality.
Bigger Doesn’t Mean Better
When looking for an SEO company, some businesses buy into a brand. They think that the “big guy” SEO firm is the best choice because they are the most well known and look good on paper. Just because they are bigger does not mean that they are better. In fact, bigger firms have more clients, which means that it’s possible that you just become another number. This isn’t always the case, but what it comes down to is hiring a company that will provide you with good service and always keep your best interests in mind.
Before hiring an SEO company it’s important to do some research and keep these things in mind. Choosing the right SEO company from the start will save lots of time, money, and headaches.
Author: Nick Stamoulis is the President and Founder of Brick Marketing, a Boston SEO agency. He also offers Boston SEO training workshops. For more information please call 781-999-1222 or visit http://www.brickmarketing.com.