We are often asked why people select us for SEO services. There are multiple reasons. Many of them are referrals from other happy clients of ours. Others have tried to do SEO on their own and determine they just can’t dedicate the amount of effort it requires to maintain good results. All too often they are companies that have used some SEO firm in the past and either never got the results they were promised or they got good results at first, but started to slide down in the search rankings over time with little response from their firm.

What to expect is largely based on what shape your current website is in. Have you optimized it? How old is it? Did Google’s Penguin or Panda hit you? What business are you in and how competitive is it – locally and nationally. The reality is that good search ranking results take 3 to 6 months on average to obtain. Sometimes it can take less, but that is the exception, not the rule. If an SEO company is telling you that they can achieve great results in a month, your expectations will almost never be met. SEO is a gradual and continual process.

So how do you make the determination on which SEO company to do business? Insights as to what you should do in decision making:

Audit

Before an SEO company can tell you what they can do for you, they should perform an SEO audit of your website. They should do this for free before you make a decision on hiring them. An audit should reveal glaring problems with page titles, H1 tags, alt and image tags, keyword utilization and link utilization.

Approach

A good SEO company will lay out a detailed process of how they will optimize your website. Non-technical people should understand this process. It should start with a baseline and contain a timeline of what they will do and how they will do it. Once your site is initially optimized, there should be a concise plan to keep it optimized. Make sure you know what that is.

Reputation Check

Yes you should contact references. You should also search for feedback on their reputation. And don’t just look at the first page of search results – go deep 5 or 6 pages to ensure they are not trying to hide what’s been said about them. If they list their clients on their site, try to target the ones that YOU wish to speak to.

Transparency

How does the SEO Company keep you up to date with what they are doing? What reports do they provide? Can you actually understand any of the supplied reports? Do they review results with you? You should engage with your SEO Company every week. Conference calls are the best method to exchange status and your emails should be promptly answered. Ultimately, you as the client need to feel that you know what your SEO Company is doing and what results they are producing.

Holistic Approach

SEO has many components, not just keywords and link backs in your website. Having a significant and current social network presence assists in getting people to your website. Blogging and newsletters keeps new and fresh content on your website to be picked up when their ranking search tables are updated. Fresh and relevant content on your website is key to maintaining good search rankings.

Cost

Yes cost is important, however great SEO Companies are worth paying for. If an SEO company is telling you they will provide fantastic results for a few hundred dollars a month, please refer to the first paragraph of this blog post. Yes – you typically get what you pay for. The reality is that if and SEO Company truly practices what they preach, they should be spending 5 to 6 hours per week optimizing your website. The costs vary broadly, but I mostly see us SEO Companies charging $2k-$3k per month depending on how big the website is and how holistic the effort is.

Do your homework and you will reduce the chances of selecting the wrong company for your SEO needs. Remember, SEO is a gradual and continual process – your SEO partner should be someone who gains your trust by delivering ongoing results and giving you a solid ROI.