Your site’s visibility in the Google search plays a major role in its success. Whether you’re selling services or goods online, the flow of traffic to your site will determine your revenue. With today’s saturated market, it is important to be at your best, and be competitive to be able to stand out. If you’re not well versed in the technicalities of search engine optimization, you may want to find a certified SEO that will help you with that domain. When studies show 70% of traffic to sites account to organic searches, and only 10% for paid searches, by now you probably know that all your marketing strategies depend on your site’s SEO ranking. While it’s true that there are numerous individuals and agencies that can be your potential SEO manager, it’s also a fact that not all of them truly know what they do. Thus, to help you choose true SEO experts for your website’s success, note down the following tips when hiring the right people.
Be Wary of Snake Oil Sellers
At this point, it’s best to be aware about the snake oil sellers in the market. They exist; and they are here to give your flowering, enticing words, but provide no good results in return. Fortunately, there’s a way to spot them. When self-proclaimed SEOs assure you a spot on the first page of Google, you may want to think twice. Google’s algorithm is ever-changing, and not even the most skilled SEO has mastered this puzzle.
In fact, Google has an average of one algorithm change per day. The tech giant has several reasons to protect its search engine from their competitors like Microsoft. Google also imposes penalties to improve the quality of its search engine. If you stumble with a person who claims to have knowledge about all these changes, he’s probably a snake oil peddler.
On the other hand, real SEO experts can help you get better rankings. How much your ranking will improve depends on different factors. There are cases, however, where SEOs can assure high ranks if you have extremely simple keywords. But real experts can only ascertain after reviewing your site and niche.
Talk With Them About Their Process
The first time you get to talk with your prospective SEO, start the discussion by telling them your goals for your business. Be clear and specific about what you expect to happen, so both parties will know if they’re a good fit for each other. Ask your SEO about the process they use to target your goals. Dig deeper, and ask more about their strategies. Better yet, ask their reasons for doing it. This way, you’ll know who’s truly serious to help you get high rankings. You may also want to ask about why they use their process. Ideally, the tools come from Google. If it does, you can be 100% sure you’re closing a deal with a real SEO expert.
Ask About Their Background
Great SEOs are proud of their work. The best way to know if the person you’re hiring can help you with your business is ask about their previous works. If your prospective SEO is good at what he does, he will be eager to share with you his experiences. Though you can’t expect to get a glimpse of all his records, at least this way you can have an idea of the results he can produce.
Successful SEOs have a list of former clients that they can refer you to. Furthermore, you must hear about their long-term ties with their past clients. Great SEOs work well with businesses, so they stick with such employees. Thus, job durations of less than 12-24 months could be worrisome.
Discover How They Communicate
Communication is vital in every business. It is, too, and more essential when formulating SEO strategies. Thus, if you’re hiring SEOs for your website, both parties must be clear about how they will communicate. Ask if they prefer via email, Skype, phone or some other means. You and your prospective SEO must agree with the same form of communication. Additionally, you must get the assurance that your prospective SEO can be reached any time of the day when important matters need to be discussed. A fitting SEO must also bear the same communication style as you. Your chosen form of communication must be the most comfortable for the both of you. Otherwise, you may want to change your options.
Do They Know How to Deal With Penalties?
Google makes sure to remove all spams, and prioritize high quality content. To do this, they change algorithms as frequent as possible. They even do it manually, and for instances that need it, they may also impose penalties to sites that break the rules. Sites rarely receive penalties, but it’s still possible.
A good SEO knows how to deal with such cases. Experts in the search engine optimization field must have plans on how they could help you survive the Google updates. True SEO masters know the do’s and don’t’s of avoiding penalties, and they must have a detailed answer when asked about it. Seasoned experts typically have solid strategies when it comes to dealing with penalties.
Find out If They Can Provide Detailed Reports
Providing full and detailed report, at least once a month, is a necessary part of the SEO work. This will be your basis if your SEO is doing a great or an awful job. You can ask your SEO when is the best in the month that he can present these reports. You must also see the essential details regarding your site’s activities.
One, you must see in the reports the progress of your primary keyword rankings. Two, you should be able to get a picture of the flow of traffic to your site. These factors are the most important elements of the reports, which would determine if your SEO is doing a good job. Within a month you must be able to receive a complete and a timely assessment. Otherwise, you may want to choose another SEO who can do the task properly. Providing report is a serious and a crucial duty as it reflects the progress of your site.
Are They Skilled in Link-Building?
Good link-building can land a positive impact on your site’s SEO ranking. It is one of the most significant steps when building an online presence. How it’s done will either make or break you. So it’s important that an expert SEO can do this step.
Link-building, however, is the most difficult work when it comes to improving ranks. Thus, if someone offers you a ton of links for a low price, you may want to start thinking twice about it. If it sounds too good to be true, maybe because it is. Link-building must be done with care, because when done wrong, it can harm your site instead of help it. Contrarily, a good SEO is adept on link building, and has multi-step plans to pull off this step.
What’s the Cost and the Contract Details
The important thing to remember when looking for an SEO, is never get enticed to false promises. Such deceptions may be in the form rosy words claiming sure results for a low price. You will be able to find the best-fitting agency or freelancer within your price range. Thus, you don’t need to look for deals that are too good to be true.
You may also want to know if there are consequences if you break the contract for whatever reason. Study the contract well, and make sure that there are no hidden fees for early termination. Such extra fees are not needed in SEO work, since changes in your rankings and website typically take a while. You may also opt for possible flexibilities in your contract, as you couldn’t be fully sure of what lies ahead.
