With so many SEM companies out there claiming they are the greatest at what they do you will have to weed out some bad apples to get to the right firm that meshes your business culture.
Here are some tips that should help you along the way:
Don't Let Price Dictate Your Final Choice
This philosophy can go both ways of the spectrum.
Like many things in life if something sounds too good to be true chances are it probably is, especially when it comes to SEO.
Do you think you can safely and accurately build a business’s entire brand online from just spending $50 bucks per/month? Not a chance.
That also doesn’t mean you have to spend $10,000 per/month but you have to think about the big picture here; wouldn’t everyone be successful if all they had to do was spend $50 bucks per/month?
There is a significant amount of time that goes into successful search engine marketing and you just can’t get it everything done on a tiny budget.
Do Some Reconnaissance On The Company First
Conduct a little bit of investigation on the firms you consider working with. Find out as much as you can about them. Search their name online and see what comes up in the search results first to get a better understanding on who they are.
See how much good, new press exists surrounding their growth, owners, approach or just about anything positive pertaining to their company name that can help either eliminate them off the list or move them to the top.
Whether Their Site Ranks Is Not An Accurate Decision Factor
If you pull up your keyboard and search for the phrase “SEO” and you don’t spot their site on page 1 don’t start scratching their name off the list just yet. Please keep in mind there are only ten parking spaces on the first page of Google and it is physically impossible for every vendor on the planet to fit on this page.
There are many factors that fall into place that determine where and why a domain ranks and you could have a vendor that has a relatively new company/website that has not had ample time to make an impact in the search space just yet. That doesn’t mean that the individuals behind the firm do not know what they are doing.
Don’t Fall For The Hosting Company SEO Services
Don’t assume that just because your website hosting company or favorite web designer claims they know how to do search engine optimization that they really do.
At one point in time all hosting companies figured out that they can throw the phrase “SEO” on their site, slap a department together and just like that, overnight, they are search engine optimization professionals.
We have seen some of the approaches and they are very basic at best.
During the recession many designers and developers realized they needed additional income and by throwing “SEO” on their website so they could pull in extra clients realizing they had no experience and things ultimately started going sour.
Make Sure They Speak Your Language
To effectively market a business in your market-country you you need to hire individuals that speak the language.
This is especially important if you are marketing a local business; it is important to completely understand the surroundings from a provider’s standpoint. If your company is based in the U.S or Canada hiring someone sitting in the Philippines doesn’t really make sense does it?