Searching for an SEO company? Look for these 5 key traits.
SEO is a powerful strategy that can be used to elevate your search rankings and boost your sales. Unfortunately, many SEO agencies lack the skills and experience to implement SEO effectively. Below are 5 characteristics of a great SEO company.
1. They tell you exactly what they’ll do for you.
No SEO company can outright promise that it will get you to the #1 spot on Google search results—we’ll get more into that below—but a professional SEO company should be able to illustrate, in writing, exactly what it will do for you. A few examples include:
- Performing an audit of your site, homepage, content, or link profile
- Sending you a monthly report of your site rankings
- Adding plugins that can enhance your SEO efforts
- Implementing internal linking across your web pages
- Offering ongoing website maintenance to help maintain your rankings
The more specific an SEO company can be about the services it provides, the more knowledgeable it probably is. Look out for answers that are vague or which “pass the buck” to someone else who mysteriously never gets back to you.
2. They don’t overpromise.
Getting a website on the front page of Google is no easy feat, and a knowledgeable SEO company knows that. The biggest brands in the world are gunning for that top spot, most of them with significantly more resources behind them. An agency that promises to get you there is kind of like a coach promising he’ll get your kid into the NFL. It’s possible, but it won’t be cheap, fast, or easy. (On that note, watch out for words like “cheap”, “fast”, and “easy”. Quality SEO is none of those things.)
3. They reach out to you. A lot.
A quality SEO agency will need certain things from you—and not just the keys to your WordPress site. It will need to have an ongoing, constant dialogue with you about your challenges and goals. It will need to understand new issues that crop up, and new changes that are affecting your company. Your SEO agency should be an ever-present part of your overall business strategy. If all you’re hearing from your agency is crickets, it might be time to consider other options.
4. They tell you the good and the bad.
Some agencies, like some people, will never tell you what you might not want to hear. This strategy only works for so long, however. If your site is full of broken links, bad content, or useless plugins, you need to hear it. If all you hear is praise, you’re not getting the whole story. And you’re not getting the full value of what a great agency can give you.
5. They genuinely improve your search rankings.
Just as you shouldn’t throw out your scale after a one-pound gain, don’t assume that a one-month dip in traffic indicates a bad SEO agency is at work. SEO is like bodybuilding, or construction. It’s about building a strong, solid foundation over a long period of time. As a general rule, results won’t start to show in at least three or four months.
With that said, however, an SEO agency’s job is ultimately to improve your rankings. If six to eight months have passed with no sign of improvement—or worse, a downward trend—it’s time to start asking questions.
Need a Greensboro SEO Company?
If you’re just dipping your toes into the world of SEO, or if you have questions that your current SEO company doesn’t seem to be able to answer, Red Letter Marketing is here to help. We’ve helped hundreds of companies just like yours improve their search rankings, grow their site traffic, and boost their sales. And, of course, if you need good old-fashioned print ads, we do that, too.
Whatever your web development, marketing, or advertising needs, please don’t hesitate to give us a call!
