Did you know how important SEO is for the marketing department of any company? It’s huge! If you’re thinking about raising the level of the marketing impact you have, then you surely think about hiring an SEO expert, or a team of SEO experts to help you raise the game. Learn more about it here.
For those that are not fully aware, SEO means Search Engine Optimization. It is the attempt to optimize your web pages to rank higher in the search engine results, so when consumers search for a particular query connected to your business, they’ll see your page among the first results.
It’s crucial to use the strategy of the local SEO because this is proven to work best for SMEs and for companies that rely on doing business with the local community. For example, if you own a pastry shop, you want the people from the neighborhood to see you as their first choice, and you don’t care much for those coming in from another city.
Not every SEO expert is the same, though. In this article, we’re sharing a couple of tips on how to find the ultimate best for your needs. Read on if you want to find out what is crucial and what you need to pay attention to if you want to get the best.
1. Search the map for a local company
It is only logical that you’re going to look for a local company to do your local SEO. They are someone that understands your audience and knows what is important for them. These guys will know where to look and what to implement your page to make it to the right audience. For example, if you live in Yorkshire, then https://www.mwdigitalyorkshire.co.uk/ should be your first local choice.
The core of search engine optimization is setting up the right keywords in the right places so that Google and the rest of the engines will know what you’re talking about. If you don’t hire someone from the community, how will they know what’s important for your neighbors?
Always hire a local crew. Look up the maps and search for those that are in the area. Make a list of companies that are working with this marketing strategy and make sure that you choose one of them. Go through the rest of the points to find out which one of the local ones is truly the best.
2. Make sure they have experience
The first step to do after you hold the list of potential candidates is to see how experienced they are. You want those that are the most experienced among them all. You don’t want someone that only knows theory, but never did anything significant in practice.
Go through their website and see how long they’ve been in the business. Those that have been around for over five years are considered experts. The SEO strategy keeps changing daily and new things and trends are happening all the time, but those that are more experienced surely know about the old practices as the new ones too.
If you can’t find any info, then pick up the phone and ask them directly. You can’t find out after you make the contract that you’re their first client. Ask them how long they’ve been working in this field, and if the answer is not over five years, just end the conversation and go on with your search.
3. See their portfolio
While being on their web page, check out their portfolio too. See who they worked for. If you can’t find anyone significant, and anyone that you already know from your neighborhood, it means that they haven’t done any work worth sharing.
You want those that have done some tremendous work. If they happen to do so, they’ll be happy to share it with their potential clients. If they have nothing to be proud of, it means that you’ll most probably not be satisfied either.
4. Find out more about their plan of work
Before starting to work, you should have a meeting with them and see what their plans are. They need to explain to you what they think and what their plans are. Understand that SEO changes don’t happen overnight, and you’ll need to spend some time waiting and hoping for the best.
Google and the rest of the engines are unpredictable and no one can say for sure how much time it will take for a job to be done. However, they must have a plan of operations and explain it to you. You must know what will happen first, and how long they expect to get your business up there.
Depending on the niche and the competition in the field, it may take somewhere between a couple of weeks and up to a couple of years. For example, if you want to get results for an app development company, be sure that it will take years and a lot of hard work, but if you own a puppy store, it will be much quicker.
5. Read some online testimonials from their previous clients
The online reviews that people leave on the internet are the best way to find out if someone’s worth hiring or not. These people that already had the chance to work with some of the companies you’re also interested in will share their opinions and they are free for you to read.
If the company you’re most interested in has poor reviews, it means that you don’t want them to be your clients. If others before you were unsatisfied, chances are great that you’ll be left unsatisfied too. Choose the one that has an impeccable reputation and a lot of positive reviews from people that already worked with them.
Conclusion
These five points are everything you need to know when search for an SEO company to raise the marketing level of your company. If you want your local business up there in the search results, then you need only the best ones from the area.