How to Pick an SEO Firm

If you're looking for an SEO firm, we recommend that you weigh 10 factors that can save you trouble down the road.

1. Check out their experience.
Youshouldn't have to try hard to find samples of their clients or theirSEO performance on individual websites. How competitive are theirsearch terms that are ranking well on Google? Are the search terms thatare ranking well difficult terms to position--one, two and three wordphrases, or are they easy terms to position because no one else isusing them at all--six, seven and eight word terms?

2. Ask for testimonial letters.
Insiston letterheads from the clients that feature real names, not Fred fromCleveland or J.T. from New York. Call these references and ask themquestions about the SEO performance of the company you are considering.

3. Ask them to document their process.
Whatpolicies and procedures do they follow? Are they consistent? Do theystay away from unethical procedures that could put your site injeopardy with the search engines?

4. Get staff credentials.
Findout who is doing the work. You really need a team of people - no oneperson can be proficient in every area of server administration,programming, marketing, writing, link building and more. Get to knowthe team a bit.

5. Be suspicious of money back guarantees.
Unlessit's super-clear, you have to wonder about the details of theguarantee. If a firm offers one, including Top 10 placement, ask themto elaborate. Which key words are included? Just one Top 10? Do theyplan to achieve Top 10 rankings among natural results or pay-per-click?Are the Top 10 listings associated with your web site or a supplementalweb site the SEO firm controls?

6. Get pricing information.
Isthe SEO contract for hourly, monthly or annual services? Get pricesfrom a few other firms as well, but be aware that the scope of servicesmay vary greatly from firm to firm. Insist that the firm you'reinterested in explain why it charges more for services, if that's thecase.

7. Ask about reporting. How many keywords will the firm handle? How many pages?
Findout whether you'll be able to access the latest data about yourproject. How often is it provided? What's included? Some firms justsend a ranking report. What other details can you expect in terms ofthe overall strategy, next steps, web site traffic and conversions?

8. Determine the firm's ethical standards.
Whatare the firm's practices when it comes to ethical standards andpractices? How far will they go? How do they view doorway pages,cloaking and keyword stuffing?

9. Know your objectives.
Youneed to have some idea of what you want to accomplish when selecting anSEO firm. Do you simply want to promote your brand? Do you want toincrease visitors and push traffic to retailers? Do you want to improveonline sales? Which categories of products will matter the most in yourcampaign?

10. Come up with a budget.
You can submityour web site pages (not optimized) for free or through services thatcost well below $100. Optimizing is another matter--It's going to costmoney. Have some flexibility--the level of service and the firm'sexpertise will determine whether you pay hundreds of dollars or wellover a $1,000 a month.

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