Nov

23

Search Engine Optimisation, shortened to SEO, is the process of getting your website to the top of the search engines.

Companies specialising in search engine rankings have been around for a while now and range from bargain budget to seriously expensive. So how do you find a good one?
In the next section I’ll give you the 6 top tips for finding one. There are companies out there that provide a less than adequate service whilst there are those that deliver results.

1) Be Wary of One-Trick Ponies

Ask for some live examples from their SEO portfolio. You can ask them, “show me some good results that you’ve had recently”. Most good companies will be able to show results from many different sectors. The ones that are focussed on one particular area, say trades, might have spent a lot of time honing their skills in that area and neglecting the big picture. We have heard a few horror stories of companies charging good money only for the client to be disappointed with SEO that didn’t work. So make sure you see a variety in their SEO portfolio so you know that they have a good, broad knowledge and experience.

2) Get me Google no1 – exercise caution

Everyone with a website wants to be Google no1 because it brings the most visitors. Followed by 2 and 3. The rest of page 1 are OK but below that they are not so much. Ask the company “can you get me to Google no1?”. If they say – of course, go with us and we’ll get you to no1 – then put the phone down and leave them be. Noone can guarantee a particular place in Google. Its ranking calculations are secret and constantly evolving. SEO Companies with confidence will say something like “We aim to get you to the top of Google, and our previous experience shows that we can get there. “. Those with just bravado will say “Sure. We get everyone to no1. Can I have your credit card?” – avoid these ones.

SEO has been compared to a black art, and that’s for 2 reasons, noone will know how Google will tweak their ranking calculations next. And the second reason is that SEO companies tend not to discuss their methods. Once you’ve hidden something from view then there’s an uncertainty of what’s going on. Maybe something, maybe nothing? Maybe they’re doing nothing. By asking for examples from a range of industry you can sort the good ones from the others.

3) Check behind the scenes

What you don’t see normally is how the company is run. Questions like – do they have CCJs or do they have debt problems might mean that they are poorly run or the directors are taking all the cash and leaving very little to work with so your money won’t do very much. You can use Credit Check systems to see these; not everyone will have access to them but small companies do usually so if you have someone who runs their own company ask them to do you a favour and have a quick look. You wouldn’t want the company going bust after you’ve paid up the cash and let’s face it – in today’s climate it’s certainly a possibility.

4) Don’t commit all

… your resources into a lengthy contract right at the start. Give the company a trial on 1 to 3 months. See how you get on with them? Do they start to produce results? Are they open with you about what they’re doing? The ones you want to avoid are the ones that mask this by saying “yeah we’re doing loads for you. It needs more time and money though. You’re not yet seeing results because it takes more than 3 months to do anything. You need to invest more.” This is rubbish! If you don’t see anything after 3 months then you need to ask yourself are they going to produce anything after another 3? And will they tell me what they’ve done?

5) Find who’s doing the work?

Subcontracting to India is very easy these days and we have heard of many SEO companies using Indian SEO. There’s nothing wrong at all but beware that they are cheaper than a typical UK operation. The SEO tends to be a lower quality too. So don’t pay top dollar for a company that uses Indian SEO. The premium end of the market is well planned and executed UK link building. We know because we have tried both and now only do UK building – the reason? The results are far better, in fact the results are leagues apart. It’s easy for us to get a page 1 ranking on highly competitive two-word keywords, for example. Also, ask for a report of the work done. Decent companies – for them this will be normal.

6) Phone a few others

It’s important to shop around on SEO. Sometimes you can pay too cheap and get something that doesn’t do the job and on the other hand you could pay a lot of money for something that is quite reachable. By talking to a few companies you’ll get a feeling of what you need to invest to reach the top. Ignore the ludicrously cheap ones, say SEO for £50/month. For £50 they aren’t going to be doing anything for you, perhaps developing a few links on a spammy website.

The best results in SEO will always be obtained by QUALITY work. SHOP AROUND. ASK QUESTIONS. CHECK WHAT THEY’RE DOING