If you are a business owner, you appreciate the importance of online visibility. With over 3 billion people using the internet today, this platform is perfect for your business. However, to leverage the internet platform, you need a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. You might have a flashy website, but if it is not converting traffic into sales then you are not leveraging the power of the internet. This is where SEO experts come in handy.
SEO landscape is volatile and this is one reason an SEO specialist comes in handy to guarantee your website is optimized for search engines. With real-time Google Penguin updates, an SEO strategist is more important for your website than ever before. These specialists help to keep your website up to date with search engine algorithms.
They also help maintain your website in the best shape by removing broken links and other technical glitches. With an SEO expert working on your website, there is a higher likelihood of conversion and you will enjoy seeing your site grow. These experts offer all-round services ranging from site maintenance, optimization for search engines and content and reputation management among other services.
Well, there are thousands of online SEO firms out there and choosing one can be tricky. How do you ensure you have the best people working on your website? Here are some items to include in your checklist:
- Technical Expertise
Before hiring an SEO firm, take time to confirm they understand what your website needs. Most people call them professionals, but all they know is promoting your search engine result pages (SERPs) ranking through black hat techniques. An SEO strategy entails a technical aspect, which must incorporate on-page, off-page and a web audit. This ensures all glitches on your site are identified before the project even starts. A single-dimension SEO will fail and your website might end up suffering Google Penguin penalties.
- SEO Experience
The internet has provided a ready platform for unqualified people to call themselves experts and hoodwink businesspeople. Well, you just need to search for SEO experts on a search engine and you will be surprised to find million of so called experts. If you want to confirm a company really understands SEO, look at the number of years they have been in the industry.
A lot of experience is required in site optimization; an old hand in SEO knows everything about the internet environment and updates that have been made by search engines over the years. Such an expert knows what is trending and they always use such experience to promote your website.
- Industry Reputation
It is not enough for a company to have long running experience if they can’t prove what they have been doing. An experienced company should provide referrals for you to confirm their services actually work. Happy clients are an indicator that your SEO firm is going to work for you. Talk to other clients using the company’s services to determine how well the company is going to treat you.
- Excellent Communication Skills
A reliable SEO company should have an open channel of communication with clients. Before hiring any service, try using their customer service to assess how well they treat clients. Agood SEO firm must have a 24/7 customer support in case your website develops any technical issues. During the project, you should receive regular updates about what is happening and the success of the SEO strategy.
- Appreciation of the Bigger Picture
While SERPs ranking is important, your SEO strategist must also focus on the customer experience. For instance, Google has indicated that it is more concerned with how websites are focusing on improving a customer’s experience in its SERPs ranking. The SEO strategy should involve mobile optimization, easy navigation, relevant content and other aspects to help users enjoy visiting website.
Choosing the right SEO firm for your business can be tricky but with these tips, it becomes easier. You need to do aback ground check of any company that wants to work on your website. Such an SEO firm should also easily fit into your company’s culture to avoid conflicts. More importantly, ensure you are working from the same script to avoid black hat techniques.
