It seems that each time an update begins to affect the SERPS many business owners look to new larger, more established SEO agencies to help them recover.
Is this because their rankings have dropped? Yes, most certainly, but I would like to suggest another reason for this “cut and run” tendency.
I’ll give you a classic real-world example that I think most people can relate to -- outside of the Internet marketing world.
It’s happened to everybody one time or another. Your check engine light won’t turn off and your car isn’t itself. You bring it into the mechanic and are hit with $1000 estimate parts and labour.
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Many people call or are solicited by SEO agencies and wonder their fees in much the same way..
Neither know if they’re getting ripped off, or even are they paying too little?
Could a $1000 engine tune-up be a quick fix that will likely have you returning to the mechanic in a few months?
Conversely, is a $1000 a month going to give an SEO and their team (assuming they have one) enough hours to rank your site for the long-term ( using white hat methods)?
I’m not saying we should all know the ins and outs of what’s under the hood of our cars, but it wouldn’t hurt to know a thing or two about an internal combustion engine.
The same thing holds true when you shop around for SEO. You should know the major ranking signals that Google uses in its search results:
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Strong on-page factors like title tags and H1 tags
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Focused content that doesn’t abuse keywords, but still is able to tell Google what you’re about
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A user-friendly website design that encourages visitors down a conversion path (both on desktop and mobile)
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Content that acquires social signals
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Links, high-quality, natural link profile
You owe it to yourself and brush up before you sign on the dotted line. Do a bit of quick studying by reading:
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And of course TechWyse’s own 10 Commandments of SEO.
Some Take-Home Tips:
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Ask your your agency what keywords they rank for
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Check out their social media. Do they only have 11 likes, do they have any engagement?
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Comparison shop, dig deep and write down what they’re offereing
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Do they practice what they preach?
And with that I’ll leave you with the tune that inspired this blog, or at least the title:
Nobody’s Fault But My Own - By Beck
on
I agree. It’s critically important that companies to at least know the basics of services they outsource. They need to know this knowledge to ask questions and determine if the potential SEO company uses proper, white hat techniques. If they don’t, the results could be far worse.