SEO Program Outsourcing
Finding A SEO Company
Part 2
By Bob Garcia, Director WebPosition by WebTrends
Originally Published: January 2005
Continued From:
SEO Program Outsourcing Part 1
Where to locate SEO consultants?
1) Professional directories provided Industry organizations:
SEMPO
or
SEOConsultants.com
2) Your business network - reach out to your professional network, partner companies and customers who may be outsourcing their SEO effort. Maybe your advertising firm, accountant, or attorney is aware of SEO companies.
What else should I focus on in finding a SEO company?
1)
ROI!
- Unless your sole objective is branding, ROI, return on investment, should be the top metric you are looking to achieve. Investigate the SEO company's methodology for tracking, reporting and delivering a real ROI.
Keep in mind that optimizing your organic rank will take time. Generally speaking, allow 60-90 days for the results of a SEO program to appear.
2)
Rapport and communication style
- Since you will hopefully build a long-term relationship with your SEO partner, it's important that the SEO company can communicate effectively and in a timely manner.
3)
Full disclosure
- Ensure that they are willing and supportive of keeping you "in-the-know" on their SEO practices. Don't risk your brand and search engine marketing by being punished by suspect SEO tactics that some SEO companies unfortunately do employ.
4)
Client references
- Don't just take their word for it. Do some extra homework by interviewing at lest 3 existing clients to ensure you're talking to a reputable, professional outfit.
Additionally, you should learn as much as is reasonably possible about the SEO companies you are considering, including, but not limited to:
-
Amount of time they have been in the business,
-
Team size and profiles of key team members that will be working on your account,
-
Vertical industry expertise, if any,
-
SEO business focus: organic, paid or both, and
-
Tracking and reporting including types of reporting, e.g. ROI, and willingness to provide access to data and reports.
What will it cost?
Unfortunately, there is no typical fee structure or average cost we believe is defendable enough to present. Fee structures can vary from hourly to retainers to project/deliverable based models. Additionally, the underlying costs will be based on your requirements, geographic/market conditions, the reputation/notoriety of the SEO company, and how effectively you negotiated.
How to get the ball moving?
Step 1)
Develop a
RFP, request for proposal that includes your requirements and any other valuable context about what you're looking for. Using a RFP process provides a great tool so you can have a consistent and objective way of evaluating potential SEO partners.
Step 2)
After researching and interviewing prospective SEO partners, develop a shortlist of 3-5 potential SEO companies. Share the RFP and inform them of a deadline.
Step 3)
Evaluate the responses and decide which firms to focus on.
Step 4)
Get references from the 1-3 SEO firms that are in contention.
Step 5)
Have a final interview and decide.
Outside and in parallel with your SEO search, you should consider the following before outsourcing your SEO program as you want to ensure you can hit the ground running when you secure the services of a SEO partner:
1. Determine who will be making your website changes
2. Get organizational buy-in and interdepartmental commitment to the project
3. Establish your communication expectations for account management and geographic preferences for the outsourced SEO partner.
Lastly, a word of caution about "guarantees," as SEO work is really more of an art than a science and so many factors contribute to the effectiveness of search engine ranking that may be outside of the SEO company's control. Visit
Google's article
on SEO for their insights into the business.
Continued From:
SEO Program Outsourcing Part 1
This article is copyrighted and has been reprinted with permission from FirstPlace Software.
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