The Internet has become a necessity for all kinds of businesses to flourish on a higher level. Services and goods were supplied in ample quantity, managed well by the suppliers and a good amount of profit used to be generated out of them. Things have taken a new shape and new edge now. With the help of search engine optimization services, websites can attain a higher ranking than their competitors. Many SEO agencies claim to provide cheap services that can get your website to the top of Google, but most are not up to the task. How do you determine who you should work with?
Ask for Client References
Asking for references of other clients can provide a variety of information. You want to know you are dealing with someone professional who takes the client’s needs seriously. Prior clients of the agency you are considering are prime candidates to consult because they’ve had first-hand experience in dealing with the service provider. An SEO company with nothing to hide won’t mind providing you with some client references to vouch for their service integrity. However, it is perfectly normal and acceptable if an agency does not give out client information!
Background
It is important to research a particular agencies history before you consider working with them. Look for reviews, especially on Linkedin. Nothing proves quality as much as an agency’s own rankings in Google, so do a search like “Hamburg SEO” and see where they are.
No Web Designers
Every web designer offers search engine optimization along in conjunction with their web design services. While these two subjects go together, the difference in expertise and value are tremendous. These people do not know SEO and mess up client websites every day.
Figure out your target
You need to have some idea of what you want to achieve. Whether that is realistic or not is unimportant, as the agency will be able to correct your expectations. Is it a one-time audit that you are looking for? Is it online reputation management that concerns you? Are you looking for website reach? In most cases, what you should strife for is the #1 spot in Google. Figure out what you are looking for so you can negotiate accordingly with the agency.
Do not be cheap!
Good SEO is expensive. It is a 6-8 month project (depending on competition and size), and goes into the four figures monthly, especially if you are in any lucrative market, like medicine, law or roofing. Anything below this level will get you bad results, a website that needs to be fixed or may even be penalized by Google.
An expert SEO company (like this one) does not have cookie cutter prices – they calculate a price for each client depending on the project and level of competition. The first position in Google is worth millions of dollars in the long run, which is why the cost of outstanding SEO services are nothing compared to the result. You need no other form of marketing.
Planned Strategies
A qualified agency will want to know several things about your products, services, website, and so forth to create a viable SEO strategy. If asked, they should tell you roughly what their work entails, but don’t expect them to tell you the secrets of their trade! What they do is valuable and proprietary knowledge, but any good firm should be able to give you an overview.
Our own experience goes back to the firm we mentioned earlier, as they are some of the best in the world and have ranked businesses throughout America and the rest of the world. You can also find them in Germany for SEO Hamburg. Here is their Profile on TopDesignFirms, and a discussion on SEO Hamburg – GelbeSeiten.
You Work with Them
Do not think of the agency as someone who is working for you – the two of you are working together. They will need information about your business, descriptions to put on social media or citations (like Yelp), and much more. It is vital that you provide them with their needs.
Ask for a Time Frame
Ask the SEO agency how long it will take to see results. As mentioned earlier, a realistic response to this question is 6-8 months. Google does not allow websites to take over a top position any faster than that, expect in rare cases. You need to be committed to this project and see it through, because if you quit after 3 months, your website will never rank well – this is one way how Google sorts out the tire kickers that aren’t serious enough to deserve at top position.