How to Choose an SEO Company
You are here probably because even after spending fruitless hours doing what you thought was Search Engine Optimization, you just realized that no matter how hard you try, your website doesn’t seem to rank as well as you would like it to. And that even if it did rank well all the peripheral work you would have to do on your website to maintain the good page rank on a regular basis is no easy task. If this is the case then you need an expert to optimize your site for you.
Without search engine optimization a website would not be able to publicize and distinguish itself properly from the thousands of similarly themed sites. So what sets your website apart that it will be ranked higher than countless others? The answer lies in a good page setup, strategically placed content with the right keyword density to enable easy detection by search engines and popularity among people.
The best tip to find if a SEO company is good if they are highly ranked themselves with a PR better than 5. Strategy also counts for a lot especially since your competitors will try every trick in the book to get higher traffic flowing to their websites.
But do you really need SEO?
Before paying a professional SEO company bundles for their services you need to know if its really needed in the first place. If your product or service is already well known then it most probably doesn’t need SEO since it isn’t competing with a whole lot of competition. However if your site is in a popular niche and is one among hundreds of similar sites then you may need the services of a good SEO expert to get you to rank higher.
How do you select the right SEO company?
Do as much as of a background check on your SEO specialist as possible. If possible, check if their current clients would recommend them. Here are some factors you must consider before you choose your SEO specialist.
If you decide to check an SEO company before you take the plunge enquire as to the methods they employ to optimize your site. If it seems credible then well and good.
Also ask your peers for suggestions on which SEO companies are reliable and ask the company for information on their past clients. If they refuse this then you have reasons to be suspicious.
You will need to make your choice from the hundreds of SEO companies available but a respectable SEO company will make sure that your website gets the right exposure from back links and strictly white hat methods to ensure that your site is Google friendly.
These are only a few of the many ways you can check up on the SEO site you have set your eyes on.
Things you need to watch out for:
The bitter truth of SEO is that not all companies who profess it are reliable. However, doing your homework well can reduce the risk of hiring fraudulent companies. A good SEO company with start off by providing you with a website analysis report that will analyze page design, functionality and content and report back to you with an initial estimate of what realistically needs to be done to improve search rankings. After an analysis is done, they would figure out the appropriate keywords and key phrases that will optimize your website in the particular search for the keyword you mention in major search engines. A respectable SEO company will also make sure that optimization is an ongoing process, and not just a one time deal which would end once the high PR is achieved. You should ensure that you get continued support from the company even after the deal has expired or else all the positive changes that has occurred would disappear instantly once the deal is done.
Thus by being careful before you decide you can ensure that you find the right SEO consultant for your budget who offers you something of value without you getting scammed.
About the Author: Billy Horner, is one of the founders of Visual Orange Co., Ltd., a European managed web site design, SEO and web based application development firm in Thailand. Permission to reprint this article is granted if the article is reproduced in its entirety, without modification, including all information. Please include the two hyperlinks to: SEO-WATCH zoekmachine optimalisatie web site and SEO Thailand when using this article in newsletters or online.