Finding a qualified Glendale SEO company is challenging.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of 7 questions you should ask any company before hiring them.
Free SEO Masterclass: Discover how the top 1% of SEO experts get systematic #1 rankings in Google.
1. How will you decide what keywords we should target?
“Keywords” are what searchers will use to find solutions to their problems. You want your website to rank for these keywords so that you can offer your product or service to solve their problem. A qualified Glendale SEO agency understands the importance of the keyword selection phase.
Effective keyword selection is nothing more than picking keywords that will bring your business a return on investment. The best strategy is to target keywords with low competition to get some “easy” wins.
Lower competition keywords, also known as “long tail” keywords, generally have the best conversion rates and will give you the bump in revenue you need to start targeting more challenging keywords.
2. Will you analyze my competition?
Some search engine optimization companies skip right past this stage, and it can be detrimental to your campaign. Before finalizing your keywords, it is imperative that you analyze the website that is currently ranking well.
SEO competitor analysis allows you to see how many resources will be necessary to rank, an estimated timetable for achieving rankings, and important intel on what your competition is doing to rank so well.
Many Glendale search engine optimization campaigns fail because companies don’t take this step seriously and end up trying to rank for keywords that require a ton of resources and time.
3. How do you “optimize” my website?
In order to rank well in Google or other search engines, you must optimize your site and make it search engine friendly.
Companies that understand this stage well will focus on a few key elements on your site, including site speed, mobile friendliness, META information, keyword placement, 404 errors, broken links, duplicate content, and site architecture.
4. Do you believe content is important?
No other form of marketing can impact your business more than content. Content is the only marketing channel that can stand the test of time. That is, as long as it is valuable and designed to genuinely help your prospects and customers.
Well-developed content can naturally attract links and social shares, building your site’s authority and making the organic growth process easier. All content efforts should be focused on building “evergreen” SEO content assets. When executed correctly, evergreen content will forever drive traffic, leads, and new customers to your business.
5. Do you think social is important to SEO?
Social is big right now, and Google has made changes to its algorithm to recognize its impact. There is a ton of evidence showing that increased social media marketing activities can help improve your rankings and visibility in search engines.
At the minimum, SEO services should secure all your branded properties across the Internet. And if the resources allow it, you should consider increasing activity on major social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest.
You’ll need to decide what platforms are best for your business specifically since your target customers may frequent certain platforms over others.
For example, if you’re a photographer, there’s a good chance your content will do well on Instagram and Pinterest. If you’re a new station, your content would be more appropriate for Twitter.
6. What types of links are you going to build?
Link building can make or break any SEO campaign, and it is critical that the SEO services company you work with is up with the times. Outdated link building techniques are not only ineffective, but they can actually land your website a penalty.
The only types of backlinks that actually work and will keep your site safe are contextual links from relevant websites. Smart SEO agencies will reach out and build relationships with relevant blogs and websites within your industry.
These relationships make quality link acquisition easier. The best links have an editorial process, so avoid companies that appear to be getting links from sources from which anyone could get them.
7. Do you consider your SEO practices to be white or black hat?
“White” and “black” hats are terms the SEO industry propagates. White hat means using SEO strategies that Google would approve of. Black hat means using strategies that Google wouldn’t approve of. These classifications are overblown and silly, but you should always work with a company that understands the value of on-site optimization, content development, social media, and quality link acquisition.
I hope this guide was helpful and made you use these seven questions when you’re considering hiring a Glendale SEO agency.
Free SEO Masterclass: Discover how the top 1% of SEO experts get systematic #1 rankings in Google.
