an algorithm. Also, web pages all heading and
4 Tips For Hiring The Right SEO Firm
1) Make the firm tell you stories. A good SEO firm executes tactically. A great SEO firm does that,
but is highly creative as well, and creative people tell good stories.
Stories also allow you to get a truer vision of what the SEO firm is all about. Case studies and references are like looking up someone’s LinkedIn profile.
You should do that before hiring an employee,
but you wouldn’t hire someone based exclusively on their LinkedIn profile.
You’d also want to hear them tell you stories about their background, experience, and successes and failures.
and listening to stories–that’s how you ensure you’ll hire the right SEO firm.
Are there exceptions? Sure. At my own firm, we’re terrible at producing formal case studies.
We’re busy doing the work that produces results for our clients, and although we know we should have the case studies,
somehow they don’t make it to the highest priority. And I know of some firms that I wouldn’t hire myself nor recommend to anyone else,
and yet they have great looking case studies. In both cases listening to stories is a way to better see the reality behind the company. they compete for less. This is especially true of some of the best SEO firms,
where clients are fighting to work with them rather than the SEO firm fighting to work with that client.
2) Get case studies and references. The questions you want to be answered from an SEO firm is “Are you going to help me get my job done?
When you go climbing in the Himalayas you want an experienced Sherpa. Without being able to see the future,
the best way an SEO firm can answer this question is to show you that they’ve gotten the job done for other clients just like you.
If you run a self-storage company, and you talk to an SEO firm that has done work with 10 other self-storage companies, and they’ve all had good results,
then that’s a reasonably good predictor they’ll be successful working with your company.
If your company is unique and you need a generalist SEO firm rather than one that focuses exclusively on your industry,
get case studies and references from SEO firms that have at least done work for clients with similar business models and similar “jobs to be done” as yours.
3) Decide what you need. Do you need link removal, reputation management,
a one-time SEO audit, ongoing SEO, link building, PPC management, retargeting,
content marketing, or one of the other 20 services SEO firms frequently offer? If you’re not sure what you need, start by figuring out the job to be done.
Do you want to grow sales by 20% over the next 12 months or leads by 50% over the next six months?
Is your goal increased rankings, or do you just need the boss to know that someone is working on SEO
and then you can check this bothersome item off your to-do list? Have a goal in mind by which you will measure the success
of your engagement with your SEO firm, and make that goal the center of your communication with them. If you can’t measure how successful your SEO efforts are,
you’re less likely to be successful with them.
4) Get multiple consultations, but keep it secret. Once you know what you want,
sit down with an SEO firm, in person or by phone or email, that seems reasonably qualified and ask them to help you figure out what you need to do.
Most SEO firms will gladly offer a free consultation because they know by doing so they have a chance to impress you and win your business.
This time, will also help you to know if you like the firm and the people you’ll be working with.
By the end of the consultation, which may take a few days if the SEO firm needs to go and do research on your website and industry,
you should receive a proposal with the services you need and pricing for them. Then, unless you’re in a time crunch and love the first firm you’ve met with,
go do the same thing with one or two other firms to have a basis for comparison. But don’t advertise this. When you tell an SEO firm “I’m shopping around,
or “I’m talking to other firms,” this doesn’t always make them compete harder for your business, it may make
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