How To Choose An SEO / Google AdWords Company: Your 12 Point Check-ListWe are often horrified to hear stories from new clients who come to me with tales of working with other search companies, and the poor results that occur. So we decided to write a checklist of points that you need to check off against any prospective search engine marketing firm you are assessing. The below is the due diligence that you should perform before contracting a search engine marketing firm to handle your own website's search engine marketing. Make sure you ask these questions of any prospective search engine marketing company:
1. How ethical is your SEO approach? An ethical approach gives your web site the best chance of gaining a great reputation with each of the search engines and lessens the risk that your web site may be de-indexed (dropped form the search results completely). Ask prospective SEO providers what they think of the following:
* IP cloaking 2. What past results can you show me? Existing results attained speak louder than any sales rhetoric, so ask for examples of the results that they have attained for their past and present clients. Examples would be high rankings for relevant search phrases and quantifiable increases in web site traffic and leads/sales.
3. How well is your own web site ranked and/or your own PPC campaigns running?
4. What Search Engine Marketing-specific certifications do you have? Make sure they show you relevant documentation to support their claims. 5. What media/advertising/SEM industry association memberships do you have? Media/advertising/SEM industry association memberships suggest that the company is well embedded in the search industry and national or local commerce in general. This intention to be around for the long haul is important so you can confidently build a long-term relationship. 6. Can you explain to me clearly what I get for my investment in your service? Insist on a plain English description of what the service offered provides so you can understand what you are getting for your investment, and what that investment goes towards. 7. If you have a guarantee can you explain under what conditions I can use it? Any guarantees for SEO results should be examined with a fine-tooth comb. The reason is that an SEO firm does not have absolute control over where the search engines rank your web site, as they can only provide what the search engines are looking for in a web site. Therefore, the terms of guarantees should be examined carefully so you can understand under what conditions you exercise your guarantee. 8. What references from past or present clients can you provide? The firm should be happy for you to contact any of its past or present clients to find out what results were attained and what the experience of working with the firm was like. After all, it's not what you say about yourself that is important, it's most important what others say about you!
9. What performance reporting do you provide? 10. What is your minimum contract length and do you provide a break clause? Ask how long the firm's minimum contract length is because the last thing you want is to be tied in for a long period if things aren't going well. Similarly, check that there is a break clause in the contract and the period of notice that must be given if it is exercised. 11. Is search engine marketing your core business? Pure search engine marketing companies understand that search is an intensive undertaking and requires specialist skills, knowledge and processes. Many web design companies and traditional advertising agencies have jumped into search marketing when they saw the demand for search services increase but they may not have what it takes to be most effective for you and your business. 12. Evaluate what their customer service is like during the period of your first contact with them. What is the quality of their customer service like after you make the initial contact? Are they helpful, polite, prompt and all the other things you look for in a good service provider? If they aren't, it could well be a good reflection of how the rest of a future contract could go. So, there are a number of questions that you should get answered before you select a search engine marketing firm. 1stPageProphets is happy to answer questions about any of the above points and welcomes the chance to do so. 1stPageProphets provides services to drive hungry, qualified buyers to your web site using natural and paid search engine results. Find out what is holding your web site back from more buyers by contacting 1stPageProphets now.
Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.12 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved. |
|||||
Educational Articles How To Choose An SEO or Google AdWords Company
Industry Memberships
 Recognised by TopSEOs. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan '12 - Free Consultation
Our Clients Say...
|
Our search presence has now increased significantly for natural search engine rankings and our Google Adwords campaigns are much more targeted. More importantly though this has turned into real, measurable business from new clients including several big brands. Working with 1stPageProphets has been excellent. I have the found their approach analytical, methodical and collaborative. Most importantly though, their work is measurable so all costs are totally justifiable. I would wholeheartedly recommend 1stPageProphets. They offer a very clear methodology from day one which ensures that we both know exactly what direction the project is going in at all times. The biggest reason for using 1stPageProphets however is that they produce real results."
Andrew Ferdinando,
|
"Hubworking. net had a poor presence on Google and other search engines for natural rankings and it was unclear whether our Google AdWords campaign was performing. I wasn’t sceptical about search engine marketing as I understand the potential benefits of it. However, I was keen to find a company that could demonstrate results quickly to justify the cost.