SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is about having more than the right strategy. It’s about choosing the right partner.
Is your SEO company practicing what they preach? Are you having trouble narrowing down companies to partner with? Vectra Digital is helping you sift through the imposters so you can find true solutions.
Partnering with another business can be a gamble. Protect your business as well as your employees by choosing a reputable agency that gets results.
In order to find these diamonds in the rough, you should look for a few things. Below, we have identified questions that every business should ask their potential SEO partner.
When it comes to ranking, you can’t just ‘wing it’. Your SEO partner should have a clear, measurable SEO strategy. They should be using their own strategy as well.
Make sure to do your own research before making a decision. Is the potential company ranking themselves? Are they easily found on Google? (It’s a plus if they’re at the top of the 1st page!) Before you commit, make sure to check the following things:
Before you sign on the dotted line, ensure that you will receive regular reporting. SEO is tricky but, it should still be measurable. Ask your potential partner how they will track successes, failures and how they will keep your business in the loop.
There are several sites that SEO agencies use, one of the most popular being SEM Rush. SEMRush is an all-in-one tool that allows digital marketing agencies to track rankings, competitors, keywords, and much more. What sets SEMRush apart from the rest is its comprehensive reporting capabilities.
In reports, you should expect to see:
If your SEO partner name-drops SEMRush, be sure to ask about reports and the frequency of updates, be it bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
If this question isn’t answered in your initial meeting, be sure to bring it up. There are several components to SEO – most notable are ‘White Hat’ and ‘Black Hat’ SEO. However, it’s universally agreed that White Hat SEO is the best practice. White Hat practices include quality content development, website HTML optimization, and restructuring, as well as guest blogging and link acquisition.
If your potential partner mentions Black Hat SEO, run for the hills! Black Hat SEO includes tactics such as keyword stuffing, link spam, hidden text, and hidden links. These tactics are not supported by Google and may result in poor web rankings and eve.
This is a bit of a trick question because, quite simply, there are no guarantees. Now, if your SEO company says, “Of course we can guarantee your site will rank #1!” We’d like you to pack up your things and run.
As a business, understand that Google is constantly changing. They frequently update their algorithms to reflect user activity and increase relevance in search. According to Moz, “Each year, Google changes its search algorithm around 500–600 times.”
Unless you’re a Google employee–in which case you probably wouldn’t be looking for an SEO partner–there’s no way to know how or when the algorithm will change. There are always predictions but in essence, it’s all guessing games.
That being said, several major algorithms have been game-changers in the wide world of search.
If you haven’t already, ask your potential SEO company if their website is up to date with these major algorithms. If they’re not, then how can you be sure that they’ll keep your website current with Google’s updates?
You should always know who to contact for questions, web emergencies, or to discuss changes. While you won’t be meeting with your SEO partner weekly, it’s still vital to know who to contact.
This sounds simple, but having a name and preferred method of communication is imperative for success. You don’t want to wait weeks for a change only to find that you’ve contacted the wrong person.
Today, SEO and marketing go hand in hand. The best way to stay successful in SEO is to have your marketing under the same roof. Many companies, including yours truly, have rebranded themselves to be a full-service SEO and marketing agency.
Essentially, that means that we conduct all of our services in-house. From SEO strategy and digital marketing to copywriting and website development, we have specialists in each department to provide the best service.
“EACH YEAR, GOOGLE CHANGES ITS SEARCH ALGORITHM AROUND 500–600 TIMES.”
Ah, the question we’ve all been waiting for!
You can tell a lot about a company by the way they answer this question. While it’s a very open-ended question, there are a few red flag answers that you want to watch out for, such as:
Successful SEO is a process that’s constantly changing. It’s not a one-and-done solution, instead, it’s a continuous process. With the right SEO partner, your website will soar in the rankings, causing an increase in traffic and conversions.
If you’d like to discuss how our team can help, give us a call at (239) 234-2566! Our team is composed of web developers, copywriters, digital marketers, and graphic designers; the puzzle pieces your site needs to succeed.
Vectra Digital is a Website Design, Marketing, and Print firm based in Fort Myers, Florida. With a diverse team of specialists in website design, development, digital marketing, PR, and more, we offer marketing and branding solutions for businesses of all sizes and industries. For more information about our services, please call our headquarters at (239) 234-2566, or contact us directly from our website.
