Over the years, there have been numerous articles about finding an SEO firm that is right for your website. Most of them seem to be thinly-veiled attempts to persuade people that a certain company is the best.Simply put, only a few of those articles were really helpful. Many of them do not provide clear information on what sets apart an SEO company from the others.

In the past few years, SEO has been hounded with some setbacks and somehow created a bad reputation, mostly because some firms failed to deliver for their clients.

A lot of people claimed that their SEO partners were not there when they were needed. Some of them were not successful at all and others have just taken their money and have not done anything.

The worst would be those numerous stories throughout the web that some SEO projects have actually hurt the website instead of improving them.

To come up with an informed decision, here are some pointers in selecting your SEO firm.

A Good Strategic Fit

A good SEO company should work in connection to your business strategies and they should be able to help you reach your goals. Often, SEO companies would begin talking about the price they would charge their client for the keywords, rather than making their client understand on what their firm can actually do.

A good SEO company does not only focus on the ‘keywords’ because it is not the most important part of your SEO campaign. Remember that using so many short tail keywords at steep prices will assure you of only one thing – you would spend your money quickly.

Therefore, it is ideal that you want an SEO partner that completely understands your business and your target market. It is only with this method that they can really help you in finding the best SEO strategy, instead of what is best for their bank accounts.

A Firm that You Like

Keep in mind that you will work with the firm for a long time. In the beginning of your partnership, you would probably be talking to them quite often, so you have to be comfortable with the people that you are dealing with and make sure that they know what you need. Just to be clear, your journey with the SEO firm would not be smooth-sailing all the time because there would be a few twists and turns and bumps on the road.

When you face such tough situations, you certainly want people to be on your side and help you. They have to be part of your team, so you can actually consider them as your outsourced marketing partner.

However, make sure also that they do the tasks themselves and not outsource it to another individual or team. There is nothing wrong with getting outside help, but it is not good to find out that they are just outsourcing all the tasks to another firm.

A Firm that is Up to Date

It is crucial to find a company that knows the latest changes in search engines; one that knows where Social Media plays a part in the campaign; and understands the way technology is changing the method people find things and search through the web.

Your SEO strategy should no longer be about purchasing as much links as you can and being ranked number one, but rather about recognizing what is essential to rank not just today, but also tomorrow.

It is also making sure that the work you receive would benefit your business for a long time. You need to check the website of the SEO firm you are considering, go through their blogs, and determine if they have been published online before.

By doing this, you would know if you like the quality of what they do, if they are different or just similar to other SEO companies, and if their perspective is different and makes sense.

Thinking beyond SEO

Of course, you want a company that is actually adept at SEO, but it is also important that the can assist you beyond the rather simple method of optimizing your business website. Find out if they have a background in Advertising, Marketing, or Digital Marketing and if that can help with your campaign.

You want a firm that can tell you what the real problem is. For instance, they should be able to recognize if the issue is with the way your team answers the phone, instead of simply telling you that they have done their part on the traffic it is already your job to ensure it converts.

When they think beyond SEO, it means that they have an understanding of the whole strategy, they can tell you what you really need to do, and they are ready to help your website move fast to cope with the changes in the online landscape.

Check their Claims

Lastly, do not be misled by the things that many people say on their business websites. Here’s a good example – there are lots of SEO companies that would create a list of the websites they work with, as well as provide info about the results they have achieved for them.

The least you can do about this is to check their claims. For instance, if an SEO firm says that their client is on page one, check it out for yourself to find out if it is true.