Today Dan Vuksanovich from Website Traffic Increaser Guy shares some advice with us about howto evaluate an SEO provider.
This article is designed to provide you with some clarity and guidance in sifting through potential SEO service providers to make an informed decision in hiring one.
Evaluating Search Engine Optimization (SEO) service providers can be a scary proposition for small business owners. There are so many different options, so much industry jargon, and so little understanding of what all this stuff actually means, it’s easy to see why many business owners just decide not to do anything at all. You’re not going to spend money on something they don’t understand, and I don’t blame you. Unfortunately, however, without at least a little bit of SEO work, your website probably isn’t going to generate much business for you.
What the heck is SEO anyway (in 100 words or less)?
SEO is a term applied to a collection of practices designed to increase a given website’s visibility within Google’s search rankings. For example, if you run a kitchen and bathroom remodelling business in Denver, you probably want your site to appear prominently in search results when someone in Denver searches Google for kitchen and bathroom remodelling services. SEO practitioners will work with you to make this happen.
Sounds great, but can’t I do it myself?
Sure you can, as long as you have a firm technical understanding of how websites are built, how Google’s search ranking algorithms work, how to earn links from other sites back to yours, and how to create the kinds of compelling content that will produce the outcomes you desire (online sales, lead generation, etc.).
That sounds complicated.
It is, but a good SEO service provider will cut through all the technical jargon and help you understand how all this stuff relates to your specific business, then create a plan to build your web traffic in a way that will produce measurable results.
OK, so how can I tell a good SEO service provider from a bad one?
That’s what we’re here for. Here are a few key ways to separate the contenders from the pretenders:
- A good SEO service provider will help to make things clear… in plain English.
- A bad SEO service provider will spew a bunch of technical jargon at you and by the end of the conversation you’ll be more confused than you were at the beginning.
- A good SEO service provider will offer monthly web traffic and conversion reports proving that your money is being well spent.
- A bad SEO service provider will not offer any sort of measurable proof, and might even try to convince you that measurement is not possible. Alternatively, a bad SEO service provider might go in the opposite direction and make wild claims like “guaranteed #1 ranking in Google.” Turn around and run away from these people.
- A good SEO service provider will partner with you and your business. You’ll be involved in conversations about your company’s strategic identity, target market(s), customer profile(s), etc. You’ll work together on the creation of content. Your service provider is the SEO expert, but no one knows your business like you do, and that’s important.
- A bad SEO service provider will never ask you about your business, your goals, your customers, and will not try to work in partnership with you at all.
- A good SEO service provider will help you understand that SEO is a long term proposition. It’s not something you do for a week and then stop, unless you want to throw your money away. SEO is a web marketing way of life which takes time and commitment (from both you and your service provider), but whose rewards are significant.
- A bad SEO service provider will try to convince you that SEO is not built on solid marketing best practices, but is about trying to trick Google’s search ranking algorithms. This approach (called “black hat SEO”) that could end up getting your site punished by Google (pushed down in the search rankings) or even delisted.
As with any other business decision, the old adage that “if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is” applies. Scams are abundant. A one-time fee of $50 for a “guaranteed #1 ranking”? Not likely.
SEO is not easy, nor is it cheap when done well, but it is real, and it does work. Find someone you trust, pay fairly based on expected results, and then hold your provider accountable. The very best service providers will take care of this last part for you and hold themselves accountable.
About the author: Dan Vuksanovich is the Website Traffic Increaser Guy (http:// websitetrafficincreaserguy.com). He works exclusively with small businesses on getting more targeted web traffic and increasing conversion rates. Follow Dan at Google+.
