How To Hire An SEO Company

 March 30th, 2008 | Written By: Matthew Peschong

Mistake 1 – Know Who You’re Hiring As An “SEO Expert”

Anyone out there can claim to know how to work Google/Yahoo/MSN to get your website to the top but remember that the internet is a worldwide competitive environment and ‘keywords’ alone will not get you to the top. Some SEO companies might guarantee you ranking results or use unethical methods that will ultimately hurt your rankings on the search engines. If you hire the wrong SEO firm, this can cost you big time as you will have to hire over and over again until you get someone who can get you to the top.

Most small businesses are new to search engine optimization (SEO) and most do not even know what it is. It’s not pay per click. It’s a method of optimizing the code on your website and other website’s that link to your site to get your site organically to the top of the search engines.

  • An SEO company that guarantees rankings on the search engines is doing one of two things. They are lying and will take your money and run (because no SEO company owns the search engines) or they take your money and put it into a pay per click campaign while pocketing a percentage of it for themselves.
  • Pay per click campaigns are expensive (several dollars per click through) and your money will dry up quick whereas organic search engine optimization is expensive in the beginning but the results last a long time.
  • Ask an SEO company for examples of their work. Understand that if they optimize a company called “MinnesotaDentist.com” for the search phrase “Minnesota Dentist” this is an extremely easy SEO result that almost anyone could do. Ask them for challenging examples and big result examples.
  • See if you can find your SEO company on the search engines. Type in “Minnesota Web Design” or “Minneapolis Web Design” when looking locally. If they aren’t on the first page of results for themselves, how can you expect them to do the same for you!
  • Request references – give someone a call that your SEO expert claims they’ve helped.

    • Mistake 2 – Know What Keyword To Target

    Your web designer is not an SEO expert in your field without proper research. Ask them how they are going to get you new business. Anyone can “guess” what keywords will drive new customers to your website and anyone can drive traffic to your website but the RIGHT traffic from the right visitors is what you want. Someone that will buy something or call for information that will ultimately lead to a sale.

    Mistake 3 – Web Design & SEO Are Two Different Disciplines

    Web designers focus on the aesthetics and the brand for a website. Search engine optimization specialists focus on designing a website that will rank well on the search engines, convert visitors into buyers, and gain new customers who are interested in making a purchase or calling for more information. SEO can take 10 to 40 hours to do correctly and there are many variables to properly optimizing a website. On average, SEO companies will charge $45 to $150 an hour. If you believe an “SEO Expert” offering services for $50 or some ridiculously low price are worth it, steer clear! Unless the economy allows for someone to work 10 to 40 hours on your website’s search engine optimization and make $50 (or about a couple of dollars an hour before taxes) then you need a real SEO company! Many of these low budget optimization “specialists” will simply change a keyword tag on your homepage and then call it a day.

    Mistake 4 – Traffic Is One Thing, Conversions Are Another

    Some business owners focus on getting traffic without remembering the basics of marketing and management which include turning a potential customer into a customer. A properly optimized website will bring traffic no doubt and an SEO expert can do the research to bring qualified traffic. Only an SEO expert web designer can build a site that does all this but also turns potential customers into customers by focusing on the experience. Your web designer is an expert in what they do and if they want you to provide certain marketing materials, information, or materials for your website…. give it to them! They need it to help turn your website into something that will work for you. Your website needs to be convincing about your products, services, incentives, and make it an overall pleasing experience.

    Mankato Web Design provides search engine optimization services and link building packages in Minneapolis, Minnesota and can help you get the targeted web traffic for your business. Give us a call at 612-558-1020 and talk to an expert who will examine your situation with you and forecast the potential.


    Category: Search Engine Optimization |