Choosing An SEO Firm
How to choose a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Firm
Follow these suggestions and you should be able to choose an SEO Firm that delivers great results.
Ask the firm for examples of their SEO work. If they will not provide valid examples, move on.
Stay clear of firms that speak of using doorway pages, cloaking, and other unacceptable, “Black Hat”, SEO methods. These methods can not only hurt your web site, they can get you BANNED from their index.
Avoid ANY SEO firm that promises you number one positions in the search engine results. Even though you may achieve a number one ranking, with proper optimization skills, it depends on so many other factors, like your competition, the competition for a particular keyword or key phrase, how many back links you have to your site. And with the way the search engines fluctuate with their algorithms and methods, if you do reach number one, keeping that position is quite hard.
So depending on your keywords and considering your competition, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to almost a year to receive proper, higher positioning and placement.
Don’t use a firm that promises great results in one or two weeks. Optimization is a process, a process that starts with a good site analysis and really never ends. Search Engine Optimization strategies need to be managed constantly, so reputable optimization firms will tell you that it can take anywhere from a few months to a year, maybe more, to be in the top ten results.
Another thing to consider when deciding on an SEO Firm is the services that the firm offers. It is wise to choose a firm who has a list of services to offer, like link building programs to graphic and web design services.
Also, look at the credentials of the firm you are considering. Beware of the firms that have high claims but nothing to back it up. Ask to see a web site they have optimized for, the keywords for which they are ranking. If the firm is good, that one web site should be ranking well for multiple keywords, not just one.
Yet another consideration for you to consider is how up to date the optimization services are of the firm. As previously stated, it doesn’t matter how good your site looks, it’s how well it functions and whether it is coded CORRECTLY. Google, who is the big boy in town, loves web standard, CLEAN XHTML coding. They consider a site that’s taken the time to make things symmetrically right more “valid” than one who didn’t. Valid XHTML and CSS code are a must in today’s web world.