SMB’s must be clever when considering how to choose a SEO company. In the wild west of online marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the name of the game.  

But before we try and figure out how to choose a SEO company, what exactly is SEO?

For those of you who don’t know, don’t be embarrassed, but be willing to learn. Wikipedia defines Search Engine Optimization as “the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the…”organic” search results”.

Let’s briefly focus on the two underlined portions of the definition, starting with “visibility”.

Visibility

Because the internet is such a vast space of data, a big problem is well; visibility. How is a potential client (this applies to every type and size of business imaginable), going to be able to find you? The answer brings me to my next underline…“search engines”.

Search Engines

The reason SEO is such a crucial part of the daily activities in the modern business world is:

Google is EXTREMELY powerful!

In the U.S. alone, Google holds something close to 60-70% of the market share on search traffic.  As such, ranking well in Google is key for getting people to find your business online.

This is why you need to show up organically in Google for keywords which are relevant to your business!

My good friend Robert Weil, and the team at Blue Fly know all the ins and outs of SEO. Blue Fly assisted me greatly, by advising me on how to go ahead and choose a SEO company; something I’ll share with you here.

Robert breaks it down into things to “look for” and things to “watch out for”:

Look For

• Recommendation from friends, business partners, etc.
• Google the company name; if they’re an SEO company, they need to be on page one
• Ask for examples of sites they have optimized, to get a taste for their work
• Realistic sense of estimated time; SEO to Google’s page one won’t happen overnight
• Assurances at all for results?  Blue Fly, for example, completely insures that their SEO work will yield tangible results for your company/firm with a money-back guarantee.

Watch Out For

• Do they offer a price before they know what keywords you will use?
• Do they offer unlimited keywords? (Unrealistic)
• Do they offer keywords that have no traffic? (Waste of money)
• Do they use any black hat SEO tricks? (Automated submissions or purchasing links)
• High prices don’t guarantee quality: Pricing should be based on traffic and competition
• Overly cheap is usually a bad sign (Time is money)

Keep all of these tips in mind when you are looking for an SEO company. If you don’t do SEO already; it’s time you got started! But that said, you may want to hire an internet marketing strategist to walk you through the process.

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