On any given day, Google receives 63,000 searches per second.
Some of those are people looking for you and your products and services!
How can you get yourself in front of them? With inbound marketing… Also known as quality SEO services. Hiring a trustworthy SEO company can be a game changer for your business growth.
But it can also be scary making sure you find the perfect fit for your business and goals…
And not some bunk agency that won’t get you results.
Here is the Webmaster’s Guide to finding the perfect, trustworthy SEO company for your business.
Get Case Studies
A trustworthy SEO company will be able to show you their proof is in the pudding.
Review their case studies. Many SEO companies will have these on their website.
If not, you can always reach out and ask for them.
Things you’ll want to look for include:
- How long it took to get results
- What the results were
- If the results helped the company achieve their goals
You’ll have a better idea of if it’s the right SEO company for you after reviewing these points.
You can also check out how the company is doing now. This will give you an idea of how well the SEO strategy set them up for long-term success.
Check Out Their Reputation
So you saw the case study. But what about their reviews?
This is a great time to take to a search engine yourself. Check out what other people are saying about this SEO company.
Bonus points if it’s other companies in your industry!
Look for:
- Their star rating
- If their customers become repeat customers
- Specific results
- Customer service comments
- Any negative feedback
And don’t write off a company simply because of one negative comment. See if they replied to the feedback and look at it objectively.
Not every SEO company is right for everyone. Your only job is to find the one that’s right for you.
Ask These Questions
1. Can I have a list of your current and past clients?
A trustworthy SEO company will have no problem providing you with this list.
It can give you a great idea of how effective their strategy is. Ask yourself: “How are each of these companies ranking in search engines?”
If you’ve seen some of their content in your own search results, that’s a great sign.
2. What techniques do you use to improve my search engine ranking?
According to the Search Quality Senior Strategist at Google, high-quality content and backlinks are the two most important factors considered by their search engine.
A trustworthy SEO company will buy backlinks and have a strategy to help your company rank using them.
They’ll also have a plan to provide you with quality content.
3. Can you guarantee a number one rank in a search engine?
The most trustworthy SEO company will guarantee specific results.
So ask them: “Have you ever helped a company rank number one in search engines? What were the results? Can you guarantee me the same?”
They’ll stand behind their strategy 100% if they know it works.
4. How do you measure the success of your campaigns?
This is important because it’s easy to say vague terms like “We helped them improve their ranking in search engines!”
This could mean they took them to number one… or moved them from the 26th page to the 24th page of the search results. You want to know what metrics will be used to measure the success of your campaigns.
Understand these metrics, how they work, why they were chosen, and how you can monitor them.
5. How do you keep clients up-to-date?
You can’t do ‘all-the-things’ in your business. But you also want to have an understanding of what’s going on.
Ask the SEO company how they’ll report their results. It’s also good to know how often and in what way the communication will take place.
This will keep you tuned in and aware of your ROI for the SEO strategy.
Have Good Goals
This is step one before you hire a trustworthy SEO company.
Think you’ve found the one? Make sure you have objectives for one or more of the following so you and they can be on the same page.
Traffic from Specific Groups
Who are you trying to get more traffic from?
More traffic means nothing if it doesn’t increase conversions. Understand your target audience so the SEO company can do the best job possible in getting you more clients.
This will also help your SEO company do practical things like keyword research, finding guest post opportunities, and building the right backlinks.
Boost Revenue
What are your revenue goals? How much traffic, and in turn conversions, will you need to reach these goals?
Set specific smart goals in order to drive growth with your SEO strategy.
This will help your team create a plan that will get you the profits you want. That’s what it’s all about, after all!
Get More Downloads or Free Trials
Maybe you already have a killer sales funnel that you know converts. Your problem is you need top-of-the-funnel traffic.
Set a specific goal for freebies, opt-ins, or trials if this is the case.
And voice it to your SEO company. This is where you’ll want them to be driving your organic traffic.
Increase Brand Awareness and Sentiment
When you’re first starting out in business, sometimes it’s just getting your name out there that counts.
If this is your goal make sure you and your SEO company are on the same page. Choose KPIs and a strategy that will measure the success of your brand awareness campaign.
Next Steps to Find a Trustworthy SEO Company
The majority of marketers, in fact over 60%, say improving their SEO and inbound marketing are their top priorities.
You’re not alone if you’re looking for a trustworthy SEO company to help you do the same.
