Dummies Guide To Choosing An SEO Company

Search engine optimization, or SEO for short, can dramatically improve the organic search engine rankings of your website, but it's difficult to do on your own, especially when you're trying to build your business at the same time.

 

That is where hiring an SEO company becomes valuable. After all, an SEO company should have the knowledge necessary to improve the rankings of your website quickly at an affordable cost, right? Not always. While hiring the right SEO company can significantly improve the rankings and profit of your website, hiring a not-so-good SEO company can actually damage your rankings and even your reputation in the process.

 

So, how do you separate the right SEO company from the not-so-good SEO company? This Dummies Guide to Choosing an SEO Company will set you straight.


Before Choosing An SEO Company
Never jump into hiring an SEO company without doing your research first. Being educated is the first line of defense against a not-so-good SEO company. One of the first things you can do is perform a Google search for your prospective SEO company. If they don't appear in the organic search engine listings, move on. Read all positive and negative comments that appear to develop your own opinion. In addition, to searching for the company name, search for the operator's name as sometimes people may change the name of their SEO company due to bad press, starting anew without changing their tactics.

 

Take a look at the following free resources from Google. They'll get you started out on the right track.
Google 101
Google Webmaster Guidelines

 

The Best Time To Hire An SEO Company
If you've decided to hire an SEO company instead of going it alone, the earlier in an initial website design or existing website redesign, the better. This ensures effective SEO is part of your website from the foundation up.

 

Questions To Ask Your Prospective SEO Company
Never hire an SEO company blindly. Take the time to ask questions and make sure you get the right answers. The following questions are great for getting started. Include other questions that are specific to your type of website.

 

  • How long have you provided SEO services?
  • Do you follow the guidelines for webmasters set forth by Google?
  • Do you have examples of your past work I can see?
  • Will you share some of your best success stories with me?
  • Can I contact some of your past clients for a recommendation?
  • What experience do you have with websites in my industry or topic?
  • What results can you accomplish for my website?
  • Have you analyzed my website or are you just offering me general results?
  • How long will it take to see these results?
  • Have you analyzed my competition's website?
  • Have you based your SEO tactics for my website on what my competition is doing?
  • What is your link building strategy?
  • Do you employ your own link builders or do you outsource link building?
  • How do you calculate your successes?
  • What are your rates and fees?
  • What is your experience with local SEO in my area?
  • Do you provide SEO services for international websites?
  • Do you offer internet marketing and PPC services in addition to SEO services?
  • What do you think is your most valuable SEO tactic?
  • Will you recommend tactics for my website for my approval before implementing them?
  • Will you make changes to my website or implement SEO tactics without notifying me?
  • How will you contact me? How often?

 

What To Look Out For
While good SEO companies are a valuable asset to any online business, unethical SEO companies can do more harm than good with their manipulation and aggressive tactics. Violating certain guidelines, especially those set by the search engines, can even result in the search engines removing your website from the search results altogether.

 

  • Avoid SEO companies that send you unsolicited emails (spam) advertising their services. Since spam is a 'no-no' in internet marketing, these SEO companies are already using dangerous tactics by sending you an unsolicited email.
  • Avoid SEO companies promising you a #1 ranking. No SEO company can guarantee a #1 ranking because they don't control the way the search engines rank websites -- the search engines do.
  • Avoid SEO companies who leave you with more questions than answers. If they can't clearly explain their services, they're most likely misleading you.
  • Avoid SEO companies claiming to have a special relationship with the search engines that gives them a 'priority submit' over other SEO companies. This doesn't exist. You can submit your website and site map on your own free.
  • Avoid SEO companies that suggest throwaway pages or doorway pages as these are a quick road to being banned. Remember, your website will receive the punishment for 'black hat' SEO tactics, not your SEO company.
  • Avoid SEO companies who want to place a link from your website to their website. Also, be wary of companies suggesting link popularity schemes, free for all links, or submitting to thousands of different search engines. None of these tactics will improve your search engine rankings.

 

Know What You're Paying For
The search engines do not sell ranks, meaning you'll never rank higher by paying any of the search engines. While pay-per-click (PPC) marketing does involve paying the search engines for placement in the paid search results, you will never gain a high placement in the organic results by paying for it. Any SEO company saying they can get the search engines to give you a #1 ranking for thousands of dollars is deceptive.

 

Good SEO companies will provide you with an itemized list of the fees they charge for each specific aspect of your SEO campaign. Know what you're getting for your money and never blindly hand over thousands of dollars without knowing what to expect.

 

Tactics To Look Out For

 

  • Shadow Domains - Run the other way if your prospective company mentions creating a shadow domain. A shadow domain funnels users to a website by using misleading redirects. In addition, the SEO company will own the shadow domain, not you. This results in the possibility of the SEO company redirecting the shadow domain to someone else's website if you leave them as a client or if they just decide to switch it to one of their other clients, to themselves, or even to one of your competitors. It can devastate your business, as you will have just paid money to SEO a shadow domain that someone else will benefit from because you don't own it, the SEO company does.
  • Doorway Pages - Steer clear of companies proposing doorway pages to your website that are nothing but useless keyword loaded pages. The search engines will not be fooled by this tactic and it will only result in them sending your website further into obscurity. Many illegitimate SEO companies also load doorway pages with invisible links to their other client websites. Multiple irrelevant links and invisible text are sure ways to damage your organic rankings for a long time.

 

Ask About These Tactics
Ask whether your prospective SEO company employs the following tactics. If they do, move on. While this is not a comprehensive list, it should give you a good idea about the legitimacy of your prospective SEO company. Always put your instincts first. Even if a SEO company sounds good, if you have a negative feeling in your gut, walk away. There are plenty of great SEO companies out there.

 

  • Guarantees you a #1 Google ranking
  • Doesn't distinguish between the organic search engine results and paid search engine results
  • Places links to their other clients on your website
  • Promises high rankings only for long, obscure keywords you could accomplish yourself
  • Can I contact some of your past clients for a recommendation?
  • Tries to sell you address bar keywords
  • Receives their traffic from unknown search engines, scumware, or spyware
  • Demands root access to your server or your FTP information
  • Isn't listed in the organic results of a Google search themselves
  • Proposes using shadow domains and doorway pages
  • Uses multiple aliases
  • Has false or hidden WHOIS information

 

    What To Do If You Chose A Not-So-Good SEO Company
    It happens to everyone from time to time -- it's easy to make a bad choice, especially when you're excited about getting started with SEO. If an SEO company has burned you, one of the best things you can do is speak up. By getting the word out, you may help someone else along the way. After all, think about how you would have chosen a different SEO company if you had be given some warnings about the deceptive company you chose.

     

    To report misleading practices by an SEO company in the United States, contact The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at http://www.ftc.gov or 1-877-FTC-HELP. You can file a complaint online, provide your complaint over the phone, or mail your complaint to:
    The Federal Trade Commission
    CRC-240
    Washington, DC 20580

     

    To file a complaint against an SEO company in another counter, visit http://www.econsumer.gov.

     

    By keeping these tips in mind, you are sure to choose the SEO company who can take your website from obscurity to incredible success. If you have any questions along the way, please contact Out of the World SEO. Even if you don't choose us, we are more than happy to help you make the best SEO company choice that will improve the rankings of your website.


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