How to Choose a Search Engine Optimization Expert
The community of SEO consultants is comprised of people from many different backgrounds. Some web development firms find that the technology aspects af SEO are manageable and they extend into the search engine optmization area. Advertising and creative agencies, who help design the look and feel of web sites, find that the marketing issues associated with SEO are a natural extension of their marketing skill set. But Ad/creative types and web developers each lack the skillset that the other one has. Within the community of SEO experts, there is a third background that is rare but which uniquely fits the skill set required to be successful. This background combines a mastery of software programming and internet technologies with the all-important skills and insights of a seasoned marketing professional.
The best search engine optimization firms will have deep knowledge and skills in three key areas:
- technical acumen including software programming, website development, and search engine and web analytics tools and technologies,
- best practices for ethical search engine optimization, and
- senior management experience developing and implementing corporate and marketing strategies.
To build their visibility in the search engines, smart companies partner with a top SEO firm with established search engine optimization experts like StratiMind that specializes in providing a comprehensive set of search engine optimization services.
Search Engine Optimization Firm Checklist
Before you hire a search engine optimization consultant, here is a checklist of things to consider:
- Established expertise with comprehensive SEO skill set.
To get the kind of results you want, hire an SEO consultant with the demonstrated expertise in search engine optimization tools, technologies and techniques.
Here is a short list of capabilities you should be looking for in a search engine optimization consultant:
- SEM analysis and strategy development
- a commitment to ethical search engine optimization (SEO)
- ability and willingness to handle the HTML coding of optimized web pages
- hosting of optimized "prototype" test pages on their own web site for your review and approval
- analysis and optimization of your web site architecture including internal linking structure, file naming and programming techniques
- link popularity program design and implementation
- search engine and directory submission services
- ongoing search position reporting and maintenance programs
- search ad copy design (search copywriting) and optimization
- landing page and offer development and optimization
- click-through reporting and ROI analysis
- lead conversion analysis, click-path analysis and optimization
- dynamic (database-driven) web site SEO
- Current knowledge of best SEO practices.
The list of safe, ethical and effective search engine optimization techniques is constantly changing as the search engine companies update their ranking algorithms to filter out web pages that do not match the intent of the searcher. To get to the top of the natural search listings, and stay there takes an advanced level of SEO skill and a constant diligence to stay abreast of SEO best practices. The search engines are constantly upgrading their algorithms such that a technique that was effective last month no longer works, or worse, is now a detriment to your web site. In choosing an SEO expert, be sure that they maintain a current knowledge of the ethical SEO best practices.
And keep in mind that not all SEM firms will have your best interests in mind. These so-called "black hat" SEO consultants employ unethical optimization techniques that are explicitly and implicitly prohibited by the search engines. When enough high-ranking pages are created by practitioners of the latest black hat SEO methods, the search engines respond by incorporating a filter into their ranking algorithm that will quickly identify these web pages, and often penalize them. And as a result, these practices put your web site at risk of being removed altogether from the indices of the search engines (which is always a real dissaster).
- Deep knowledge of search engine technologies and web programming
When optimizing your web site, many SEO firms will just give you reports and lists of recommendations, and leave the programming for you to figure out. Don't fall into this trap. You will want to be sure that your SEO partner is willing to implement any changes they recommend by actually modifying your HTML code. They should then host these modified pages on their own web site for you to review. This accomplishes a number of important things:
- you know that the recommendations can actually be implemented in a way that does not compromise the quality of the human visitor experience
- you get to review the trade-offs that will be necessary, and make rapid iterations to each page before you accept the deliverable
- you get your optimized web site much faster because you avoid the lengthy delays associated with your webmaster or IT department having to make the coding changes - and guessing at how best to implement them
- Extensive operational experience in senior marketing roles.
There is simply no substitute for the wisdom and insights that come from experience building a corporate and marketing strategy and then being responsible for implementing that strategy while running a marketing organization. This kind of background will enable your SEO partner to think and act much more strategically on your behalf, help you marshall internal resources for your project by providing compelling justification from a credible point of v
- Accessible experts that actually do the work.
The services provided by traditional consulting firms are built on a model that exploits the economic efficiencies of the organizational hierarchy. In this model, the top executives do the selling and the worker bees do the implementing. But the downside is that they have to pay a fixed overhead to stay in business. So you end up paying for both their fixed overhead costs and their management hierarchy. And when junior-level people work on your project, you usually get junior-level results.
In contrast, virtual firms like StratiMind can deliver "all senior experts all the time" consulting at comparable prices because we don't have the fixed overhead of traditional firms. There are no account executives (salespeople) in this model, so you deal only with the experts right from the start through to project completion.
iew. This kind of experience can help you deliver the kind of "Wow!" results that get attention in your organization.
- Results-oriented, collaborative approach.
You will want to have a partner that is compatible with your style of working and is willing to roll up their sleeves and operate as an integral part of your team when necessary.
Avoid firms that claim to have all the answers, or who promise to go away and come back with them - SEO is just not that black and white. There are dozens of tradeoffs at every stage of the process, and you will want a firm that can work through them with you safely and efficiently.
- Track record of client success. You will want to work with a firm that can produce the results you are looking for, and the best way to judge this is by looking at what they have already done for other clients. While most SEO consultants will gladly tell you about successes they have had, or hand you anonymous testimonials from un-named companies, it is always helpful to validate their claims and gain that more objective point of view by actually speaking to reference clients.
You should also insist on establishing metrics for your SEO projects. While no search engine marketing firm can guarantee you a particular search position in the natural search results, you should be able to work with your SEO consutling expert to establish schedule milestones and basic improvement metrics in terms of search position and CTR. As you gain more experience in your keyword space, you can refine these metrics together with your SEM partner.
Where to Next?
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