If you have made the decision to outsource your Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you may be surprised to see just how many companies will be competing for your business. Any Google Search will yield tens of millions of results! Starting on page 1 of a Google search is a good idea since that is where you want to be for your own keyword search set.
When it comes to asking questions of an SEO Company, you must not only ask good questions, but also listen carefully to the answers and how they are answered. How you outsource is no different, in important respects, than hiring a new employee. You must make sure the new hire understands what is expected and clearly understand how the new hire is experienced and qualified to accomplish the task(s) at hand.
Here are the major questions you need answered:
- “Describe Your Process” – this is not technically a question but listen to the response carefully. What you are listening for is a strong emphasis on Keyword Research and Content because these are, in fact, the first and most important fundamental step towards quality SEO.
- “Can you tell me anything at this point about my SEO statistics that provide any insight?” You should get responses that focus on Google Page Rank, number of pages indexed, Alexa Rank, and most importantly, backlinks. Failure to do this is a red flag because these metrics are important and easily obtained by readily available free software.
- “I have my computer on and at a Google Search … please provide me a competitive keyword phrase for a client of yours so that I can see how they are doing?” Keep asking this question until you see numerous page 1 results on Google for the same client. Then do the same for another client and then another. You want to see live and deep results for existing and renewing clients that clearly demonstrate results and talent. Any hesitation or any lack of enthusiasm for this by the SEO should be considered an important negative.
- “Can you give me some insight as to how you were able to achieve these results?” What you are listening for here is one word: CONTENT. If you only hear things like title, meta data and nothing else, you are talking to the wrong company. You can almost never achieve success online without an enormous commitment to content. You must also hear some emphasis on SYNDICATION as this is as key process that uses content to generate the best backlinks.
- “Can you please describe your fees?” What you are listening for goes way beyond the numbers. You need to know what the number represents. What are the SEO responsibilities and what are your responsibilities? Does the SEO get paid 100% of the fee, REGARDLESS OF RESULTS? Does the SEO offer Pay for Performance? Does the service include CONVERSION OPTIMIZATION? It should because if you get the rankings and the traffic, but your site is not converting, what good is it in the end?
- “Is there any guarantee?” If the answer is yes, RUN! SEO results simply cannot be guaranteed. It’s the nature of the beast. Processes can be guaranteed, but actual rankings, sales and other conversions simply cannot. The only guarantee can be increased visibility, not actual ranks.
- “If I decide that I like what I am hearing and seeing, can you give me a few references?” You absolutely must call 1-3 of the SEO’s clients; not just to verify information but to learn about the process, the expectations and what it is like to work with this SEO Company. SEO is a long term process that requires strong collaboration and communication. You need to be certain of a good marriage and not just a good wedding.
By carefully asking these important questions and listening to the answers, you will gain important insights as to which company is best suited to actually help you and generate online success.
Contact us and we will be happy to answer these questions and any others.
December 14, 2009
