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What to look for when buying an SEO specialist.
When buying a search engine optimization (SEO) company/specialist, there are a few things to keep in mind.
If someone offers you quick results, they may be pulling your leg. If you don't appear in search engines, the average time to get indexed takes around 4 weeks. Someone who offers presentations in less than that is cheating you. Websites that are already on the list and are just being updated will have a faster result.
A guarantee is not always reinsurance. Just because a site claims it can rank you first doesn't mean it can deliver. Or, you might be listed with an obscure keyword or phrase. Most legitimate SEOs will tell you that no one can guarantee a number one spot for every keyword and phrase. Search engine optimization is not an exact science. Trail and error along with constant tweaking will help bring your site closer to its goal.
Most SEOs should give you information about the current location of your site. Your links, keywords, your ranking in major search engines, etc. Or make one yourself. My "The Helping Hand of Google" article shows you free tools that can help you assess where you are in the search engines. Don't go into any SEO work blindly. Know where you are before and after.
Price is never an indication of how good a service is. More is not always better.
Shop around and try to get the most for your money, but be realistic. If it sounds too good to be true, it just might be. Be prepared to shell out some cash. SEO is not cheap. You should think of SEO as advertising. You must be a contestant like all your advertising efforts.
Ask questions! Don't be afraid to ask what will be done to increase your ranking. Most SEOs will have no problem telling you what they will do. They may not want to reveal their entire SEO operation. But, they will give you an idea of what they will do. Talk to more than one SEO company. Compare what each has to say. Do some research on your own. Find out if these companies have been reported to the Better Business Bureau. Whether the company or people have written articles or reviews about them. Ask around. Try to get some idea of the credibility of the company or the people.
Some additional things to keep in mind are:
Is SEO your core business or is it a sideline for other businesses? SEO is a full time job. Especially, keeping up with the constant changes. Do they have a specialist? Do you subcontract? How much do they really know?
What are the views on link farms and doorway pages? Will they do anything to get links and traffic? Despite the fact that search engines frown on such practices.
Can you clearly explain to them what your action plan looks like? Are they looking to take baby steps with you? Or are they trying to sell you the biggest SEO package possible?
