Finding the right SEO Company can be very overwhelming. It’s hard for a person without a background or understanding in SEO to search the web and find someone they can trust. The very nature of SEO means that the companies offering these services often appear reputable (ie. rank high in search results and appear professional on their page) but when push comes to shove they are unable to deliver. There are very few companies that approach SEO with a well thought out strategy tailored to their clients industry and unique business goals. Essentially, there are a lot of posers.
There are very few companies that approach SEO with a well thought out strategy tailored to their clients industry and unique business goals.
Here are some signs that an SEO provider may not be using best practices:
If a provider offers cookie cutter packages that include a variety of different SEO deliverables for an attractive price it may be too good to be true. The flaw in this approach is that each company’s website is unique and can benefit from a different set of optimization activities. While there are certainly standard tasks for every site (ie. keyword analysis and optimization, site map, creating back links, etc.) other tasks will depend of the current state of the site and their unique business goals. Be weary of companies that over-simplify and offer boxed solutions.
Be careful of a provider who makes promises or guarantees. To make promises on how quickly or how high you will rank is either naïve or simply a false claim. Google’s algorithm for page ranking is extremely complex and ever changing. So all a good SEO provider can do is employ the latest best practices and know that these tactics will have a positive affect. How positive these results will be and how quickly they will have an effect is an unknown.
A well thought out organic SEO strategy takes an organized and creative approach along with a lot of time and energy spent on and off the page. Unfortunately, there are no short cuts. One of the most crucial parts of SEO is creating and fostering quality links. In the search world, these links are seen as votes signaling site credibility. Any SEO provider will understand the need to create links back to their client’s sites. However, not all SEO providers spend the time or understand how to build the right kind of links. When providers are trying to deliver SEO services on a budget or lack expertise they often resort to cutting corners. These include building spammy links, buying links or creating low value links. Best case scenario, these types of links won’t do much to help your rankings. But what’s worse is they can actually result in penalties, which will negatively affect your rankings.
The moral of the story is that if it seems too easy or too good to be true, it probably is! Find a company that you can trust, with a transparent approach and a track record of successes using best practices. Then be patient. Results can take time, but anything good is worth waiting for!
Stephanie Miles
Digital Advertising Manager