Prudent business owners know the invaluable help of the different SEO services to their business.  They also know that not all SEO providers could deliver the results they need. They know that they need to be careful in choosing the most suitable SEO firm to give them what they want – a business website with the right amount of exposure, traffic, and conversion.

Fresh entrepreneurs who learned they need an optimized business website to help them attain success would likely search on Google for a few SEO providers. They could have typed in their location plus “SEO” on the search box.  It will show more than 300 SEO firms.

The initial reaction of a businessman, who has no experience with search engine optimization services, is to contact the first one on the list.  It is natural for him to think that the SEO firm that occupies the top spot must be good.  It is possible that the SEO firm commissioned another firm to optimize their website for them, and gave them the top spot.

If you are a business owner and you want an optimized website, then it is wise to learn first the different services of SEO companies and what they can do to your business.  From there, you will be able to determine the services that you need for your website followed by everything else.

Determine the Things that you Need

Most SEO firms offer popular services such as search engine and social media optimization, internet marketing, SEO audit, copywriting service, link building, reputation management, email campaigns, website development or enhancement, and PPC management.  The different services have specific task in improving your website, and you might not need all of them.

If you want to improve the reputation of your business, then you could use some help from the reputation management service.  If you already have specific target clients in mind, then you can benefit a lot from email campaigns.  If you need fresh content to entice visitors to come often, then you need the Professional SEO Service provider’s copywriting service.  It is also possible that you need to improve the appearance of your website or make it more user-friendly.

If you are not too sure about the things that you need for your site, then you can start by figuring out the goal that you want to achieve within a certain time frame.  Do you want to see sales growth by 10% to 20% within a year? Do you want to move up your ranking? Set a clear goal in mind and tell your chosen SEO provider about the things you want to reach within the specific timeframe.  They will know what kind of service to give you after they analyzed your business website.

Research, List, Read Reviews, and Meet

If you want to look for reliable SEO firms to choose from, then search for providers with good reputation.

List down the possible professional SEO service candidates and read the reviews about each candidate on your list.  If you have limited budget, then you can include the fees they charge and other factors to narrow your list down.  Keep a maximum of ten providers, and schedule the best time to meet each one of them.

 

Don’t set a tight schedule for the meeting – never set a time frame for the meeting to last because you might not be able to get enough information regarding the firm you are dealing with.  You need to see and determine if a particular firm could really deliver the things that you need for your business, and you could do that by getting to know more about the provider.  It is best to hear the things you want to hear directly from them.

There are providers that lose interest when they learned that you are considering a number of SEO firms.  There are also some providers that feel more competitive upon learning that you are looking for the most reliable provider.  Be a bit sensitive when dealing with each of them.  If you are not too sure about their views regarding a client scouting for the most suitable provider, then just ask things you want to know about the SEO firm you are currently meeting without mentioning anything regarding other providers.

Ask for the portfolio of each SEO Provider together with their recent projects and past clients.

Make the Provider Tell you Stories

The best story teller to consult about a particular provider’s past, their trying times and success, is the provider itself.  Make the provider relate the difficulties they have encountered while targeting to be the best provider of different search engine optimization services.  Ask them about the most difficult project they handled and find out whether they were able to deliver the things that their client wanted to see.  Ask them regarding their team work and how they treat each other in their company.

You can ask how and when they started their company, their first client and project, the usual volume of job they get, and the likes.  Let them give you a sort of virtual tour through their years of existence, and see how they improved or got worse.  Make the conversation light and flowing to keep them at ease.  You need to catch them in their unguarded moments, and make them tell you everything about their company without reading their virtual script.  You will be able to determine if they would be able to deliver the kind of service and result you expect.

Getting the best provider of SEO services for your business is not a trivial matter.  You also need to have good rapport and working relations with your provider.  It is quite difficult to work with someone with an attitude.  Make sure that your provider will listen to your demands and queries without being disrespectful.  You also need to be patient each step of the way.