Is Your SEO Firm Worth Their Weight In Salt?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most effective online marketing strategies deployed by companies looking to drive targeted web traffic to their website for the purpose of generating leads.

Since SEO requires a complicated skill-set and continuous search engine training, most companies outsource their SEO needs to qualified professionals….or so they thought!

The problems arise when companies hire an SEO firm but don’t really know how to judge their progress or how to calculate their SEO Return On Investment (ROI). The recurring question is, “How do I monitor and determine that I am getting my monies worth from the SEO firm I hired”?

Conversion Pipeline has outlined below 10 indicators that an SEO firm is worth their weight in salt.

1. If it is too good to be true, then it isn’t true. No one can guarantee the #1, first page position within the search engines….no one! The SEO firm needs to set realistic expectations.

2. You Pay For What You Get! This isn’t necessarily always true. Not only does Google frown upon a website paying for back-links…it will penalize that website!

3. Bad Keywords = Bad Traffic. Make sure the SEO firm does extensive keyword research on which long and short tale keywords are right for your business. The wrong keywords will lead to traffic that won’t convert.

4. No Reporting, No Good. Keep your SEO firm honest, tell them that you want monthly or quarterly reports on your SEO progress and have them explain it to you. They should at least provide reports from Google Analytics and/or Google Webmaster Tools.

5. Quantity Does Not Substitute Quality. The promise of “X” amount of back-links by an SEO firm does NOT guarantee SEO success. Search Engines care about Quality and Relevance not how many back-links you have from irrelevant sources.

6. The One Constant Is Change. A SEO firm needs to make ongoing website tweaks and recommendations based upon the data your analytics tell you. On-page SEO is incredibility important to ensure SEO success. Every website can improve to achieve greater quality and relevance.

7. Fresh Is Better! The lack of fresh and relevant content on your website is a bad thing. Content is king with search engines. Is your SEO creating new, keyword rich and relevant content for you on a continual basis?

8. All Traffic Is Not Created Equal! Anyone can drive traffic, but is it the right traffic? Know your website’s audience. Are the website visitors converting into leads? Look at your bounce and conversion rates and compare.

9. There Are No Silver Bullets In SEO! SEO firms that offer a one time fee for website changes and back-linking and then walk away, are just taking your money! . SEO requires ongoing maintenance, keyword management, fresh content and quality back-linking.

10. Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick! Your keywords and search engine strategy should change. Search Engines change their algorithms periodically and search engine users search for different keywords all the time. Your SEO firm must be analytics driven and knowledgeable enough to quickly adjust to changes in search trends.