Search engine optimization, or what is commonly referred to as SEO, is a type of marketing strategy used by businesses to show up in Google search results. As a business’s website ranks higher in search results, that business will get new customers and grow its organic traffic.
The Bad Name of SEO
Just like any industry out there, there can be scammers. And unfortunately, this runs rampant in the SEO industry as so many people believe they know what Google wants and try to sell it accordingly. After a few months of running an SEO campaign, a business sees no results and shuts it off. Throughout this time, the “SEO expert” is collecting a check and not doing anything for it.
Advice from the Expert
Local SEO expert Jeff Romero is advising businesses to be cautious when they begin working with a new SEO company. At the very least, business owners should be asking the following questions about their SEO program:
Who Is Managing the Program?
This question is important and will let you, the business owner, know if the SEO expert is managing the campaign or if they are outsourcing it to a third party. It’s very common in the industry for people to sign a new SEO contract and then outsource it to another country. While this may work for some industries, the integrity of data and having local expertise is critical to the success of an SEO campaign.
Ask for Results
Any so-called Sacramento SEO expert will be happy to share their results with prospective clients. If an SEO company cannot show you the rankings they have achieved for other clients or even their own business site, then how can they deliver on results for you?
Additionally, the SEO should be providing results throughout the campaign. You, the business owner, should receive ranking reports and analytics reports on a fairly consistent basis.
Ask for a Project Plan
An SEO expert can only take your campaign so far without direction from you. For this reason, it’s important to collaborate on a project plan to understand what is happening in the first 30, 60 and 90 days of your campaign. If goals are not properly set with associated timelines, your campaign may trail off and not be successful.
Be Realistic About Timelines
First, if an SEO guarantees results in a certain amount of time, it’s likely a scam. There are over 400 changes a year to Google’s algorithm meaning it’s a very unpredictable area where guarantees don’t make sense. Likewise, if someone tells you they can get your site ranked in a matter of weeks, it’s scam.
SEO takes time with testing, link acquisition, content creation and more. Any change you make to your site today will likely not yield any changes in Google for 30-60 days. Be patient, but be realistic about the timing it takes to achieve results.
Does SEO Make Sense for Your Business?
As you can see, there are a number of considerations you’ll need to think about before hiring an SEO parter. Above all, you’ll want to take a step back to ask yourself if SEO is right for your business. In some cases, good old fashioned marketing works best.