It is not always easy to choose an agency to handle the SEO work for your business; not everyone is fortunate enough to have an in-house marketing team. Most smaller companies and that usually includes startups and entrepreneurs’ will often delegate the work to SEO agencies or pay for one off adverts to help get their business noticed on the search engines. Search Engine Optimisation otherwise known as SEO, is the method of establishing long term visibility for online businesses using a wide range of marketing methods as well as specific search terms otherwise referred to as keywords.
Have you have ever wondered why some websites seem to rank better than others when you search for products and services on the internet? The reason for this is quite straight forward, search engines are directories and their main goal is to find and supply the most relevant information and content to its user base by matching the search term or phrase entered in to the search bar and delivering results to them otherwise known as “the search results”. In an ideal world this would then provide the user with the answers they were looking for. However, we all know that sometimes the content that we are shown in the search results can at times be inaccurate, misleading or both, one of the reasons for this is simply down to the vast amount of false information that exists on the internet. We all know that opinions and facts are two totally different things and yet they can appear to be both credible and true at times. SEO agencies are employed to ensure that the correct content and information from their customers cannot only be found but that they show up higher in the search results than both its competitors or indeed any inaccurate information referred to above.
However, just like any other industry there are both good and bad SEO agencies out there, so here are a few pointers that you may want to take into consideration when looking to hire a professional SEO company:
Background: One of the most obvious ways to establish if you are speaking to a credible SEO agency is to determine how easy they can be contacted. Those who just post a ‘contact form’ on their website are less likely going to be trustworthy and transparent. Make sure you check their website for information, find out about their work and see if you recognise any of their current customers. Take the time to read what they have had to say about their services on other trustworthy review sites. Most award-winning SEO agencies will have an online portfolio showcasing who they have worked with and they are likely to have positive reviews.
Communication: Once you have shortlisted the potential agencies that you may wish to work with, it is then a good time to investigate the list in more depth, place a call with them and let them know about the basic details of your current requirements to see how they respond. Remember if the company only has a mobile phone number for you to contact them on, then the alarm bells should be going off, then if they cannot provide you with a fixed landline number to call them on, the likelihood is that they do not have a fixed office address from which they work making them invisible especially when you need them most. Any established SEO agency should be able to offer you a place to visit them, this is where you can ask them about their work, their work process, and establish where the work is carried out on your behalf. More importantly, scheduling a meeting with any potential SEO company should clue you in as to how they operate and whether they would be a good fit for your organisation or not.
Vicinity: You may want to consider the use of a local SEO company, then they may be in a better position to help provide a more tailored service due to their location or experience. For example, if you want to connect with local customers, then it makes sense to target them using local information, local knowledge and a local SEO agency should be able to do just that.
Pricing: It is a not always a good idea to compare SEO agencies just based on their pricing, instead you should look at comparing their services and / or if they have any qualifications and / or if they have received any awards for any of the work they have completed in the past. As in many walks of life you may find that although the pricing varies you may not be comparing like with like and most award winning SEO agencies will likely provide a truly bespoke service tailored to suit your business requirements. It is always worth asking any SEO what services they actually intend on delivering to you and then comparing these services with those quoted elsewhere in order to establish if there is a clear and transparent pricing model available that both suits your needs whilst providing the relevant proofs each month for works completed. It is however up to you to determine the value of the services, everyone knows that cheap does not equal good. You will need to determine your current budget and also choose the appropriate agency to handle your SEO work yourself, however if you do your homework correctly you are already halfway there and when it comes to pricing, we all know that we get what we pay for in most cases.
We hope you found this article useful, remember the above information is meant for guidance only, however to help your company / organisation to reach out to more customers effectively, It is important that you select the right agency then the difference between success and failure is normally based on the research.
An interesting study carried out by the columnist Joy Hawkins highlighted how Google's Possum could affect your (SERP) Search Engine Results Page. We share some of Joy's data and insights below from a study she carried with BrightLocal, which compared local results before and after the update.
In the local SEO community, Google’s recent Possum update was certainly an eye opener if not a game changer. Here is what Joy had to say.
"To those of us who regularly track the search results for local businesses, it was obvious there were massive changes on September 1. The SEO community as a whole has been relatively quiet about this huge update, and I believe this is because this update primarily impacted the Local/Maps search results and not organic..
SERP trackers like MozCast and Algoroo do a fabulous job of tracking changes in the search results, but this algorithm update didn’t seem to make any massive impact in the charts. I believe that is because local queries that trigger a 3-pack are only a fraction of what these programs track. In all likelihood, the majority of the SERPs they track would not contain a 3-pack — and therefore, big changes in the 3-pack wouldn’t necessarily show on the radar.I wanted to know exactly how much of a shake-up this algorithm was when it came to just Local/Map results, so I reached out to Bright Local to track ranking for our clients. They track both organic ranking and ranking in the Local Finder (the list of local results you get when you click “more places” under the 3-pack). And our ranking reports scan daily, so it would be able to pick up any major changes, regardless of the day when it happened
I wanted to know exactly how much of a shake-up this algorithm was when it came to just Local/Map results, so I reached out to Bright Local to track ranking for our clients. They track both organic ranking and ranking in the Local Finder (the list of local results you get when you click “more places” under the 3-pack). And our ranking reports scan daily, so it would be able to pick up any major changes, regardless of the day when it happened..
What they ended up finding was that, across all the reports:
9% of the keywords had the business pop into the Local Finder when they weren’t there previously.
11% of the keywords showed the business had increased in position by three or more positions.
15% of the keywords showed the business had increased in position by one to two positions.
35% of the keywords showed no change in position for the business.
15% of the keywords showed the business had decreased by one to two positions.
14% of the keywords showed the business had decreased by more than three positions
In other words, 64% of keywords saw some type of change.
As we know, SERPs can change daily without an algorithm update, but the important thing to note here is the vastness of the change. For example, 34 percent of the keywords saw some type of significant change, with a “significant change” being defined as a business shifting three or more positions or a business appearing in results when previously they weren’t even listed in the top three pages (60 positions) in the Local Finder."
Although the above was collated in the US, the Possum algorithm will give hope to those businesses with listings further on down the SERP chain. We will continue monitoring the updates for you and keep you in the loop.
If you would like to hear more about our services and find out how to increase your SERP please contact the SEO Flatrate team you call or email the office we are here Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
SEO Flatrate
e. support@seoflatrate.co.uk
t. 01202 911141
www.seoflatrate.co.uk
Announcing the latest addition to our professional client portfolio of specialist service providers:
"Financial Specialists UK.com"
In December 2016 Poole, Dorset based "Financial Specialists UK.com" approached Bournemouth based "SEO Flatrate" looking for advice and support with Web Design, Search Engine Optimisation, Website Marketing. & Professional Email Services
Financial Specialists UK.com are a brand new startup business based in Poole and specialise in arranging and recommending local fully qualified professional financial specialists who we guarantee will provide a free consultation, friendly and professional advice and an introduction to their specialist financial services without obligation UK wide for a wide range of financial services including but not limited to capital investment, saving, Pensions & specialised retirement planning..
Visit the brand new website for further details: www.financialspecialistsuk.com
SEO Flatrate provide advice with keyword and Keyphrase choice for SEO, assist both new and well established businesses with reserving and securing desired domain names for websites & email, we provide both web design and rent a website services, professional email and hosting for all of the above on our servers based in Bournemouth.
"Financial Specialists UK" asked SEO Flatrate for the Rent a Website service & ongoing Search Engine Optimisation Including Logo Design and Video Marketing we look forward to working with them and supporting their SEO needs moving forward.
If you would like to hear more about our services please contact the SEO Flatrate team please call or email the office we are here Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
t. 01202 911141
e. support@seoflatrate.co.uk
w.www.seoflatrate.co.uk
