It’s no secret SEO is becoming more and more mainstream with more businesses recognizing its value and more and more people looking to enter this market. Back in the old days, us SEOs were an exotic breed, lurking in the shadows, doing some vudu magic and getting clients results.
Nowadays, the market has opened up and we see a lot of people doing SEO and promising clients all sorts of crazy results just to get them on a retainer. Naturally, if you are a business owner looking to hire such an individual, you’re going to have a hard time making the right choice.
This is why we’ve decided to write today’s article and help you pick the right seo company (or an individual specialist) to improve your website.
Where To Start?
There are a lot of different places you can go to find an SEO specialist, some of which are:
- Upwork
- Freelancer
- Fiverr
- SEO Clerks
- People per hour
You can also do a Google search to find local (or global) SEO experts.
As you can see, just a few quick searches will give you hundreds of companies and individual experts you can choose from, but which one is right for you?
Experience
In theory, SEO is not too hard… there are a handful of practices you need to understand, like the concepts of keywords, on page and off page, the way the search engines work to rank websites etc.
But a true SEO is built on experience. Sure, picking up on these concepts will set you on a path of becoming an expert, but it’s far from what you need to complete a successful SEO campaign. Since every client is different, every situation is different, expert campaign will require a slightly modified approach to make it to the top.
And this is what sets good SEOs from experts – the ability to adapt and modify their approach to the specific client’s needs.
And, how do you spot such an expert? Here’s how:
Portfolio
Portfolio is the single most important thing you can ask from an SEO specialist. But a lot of them will only have a list of clients, so make sure you find one with case studies, actually documenting what they’ve done and how they were able to help the client.
Another key thing to keep an eye on is the freshness of these portfolios/case studies. We’ve tested some companies and even had situations where their “portfolio client’s website” was not even live. This is a major red flag.
Best case scenario is there will be some contact information for the case study clients so you can give them a call and ask about the SEO work been done.
Pricing
The pricing will vary wildly, depending on the experience of the SEO company/specialist you opt for, but it will also depend on your business and the area you are targeting.
If you are a local business, you’re going to need a local expert whose price is going to be a bit lower, as compared to a nationwide expert. The price will also depend on where you live and if you decide to hire an overseas expert.
But, make sure you don’t go for someone that’s too cheap (just to save some money) because you might end up with a service that’s inadequate and might even cause more harm than good.
Conclusion
Choosing an SEO expert is not an easy task, but you need to be diligent, do your research, ask for credentials and finally agree on the budget. If you are still unsure about your expert choice, you can also ask them if they are willing to do a month-to-month contract, rather than tying your down for 12 months straight.
