Following are 5 critical factors to consider when choosing a SEO agency in 2016.
# 1 critical SEO factor: Never choose an SEO agency that is based on price alone. I know that you are running a business and you are looking for the best deals going around and looking to save as much money as you can where ever you can. I am the same. At Hopping Mad we try to find providors that offer the best vale for money with the largest return on our investment.
Unfortunately, this simply doesn’t work in the SEO space and the reasons for this are many:
– if you choose a cheap SEO package and you are in a competitive niche, the work needed to make your website competitive is a lot and all this takes funds. If you are paying next to nothing to rank in niches such as: health, trades, tourism, travel, legal, or any type of service you are going to find it difficult. Google is already seriously crowded with existing and very established businesses occupying page 1. For you to dislodge them it’s going to take a serious effort.
– many SEO companies are going to offer you a ridiculously cheap monthly fee in order to sign you up and lock you into their binding contracts. Once they have you they do nothing. Hard to believe, I know, but these guys are trained professionals at pitching you the SEO sales spiel, saying anything to get you to sign up with them, and then it’s all over. You can kiss your money good bye! Don’t just look at the dollar signs as this is what they prey on. Know your niche, get to understand the competitive nature of this area and know that it costs serious marketing dollars (in some cases) to rank.
# 2 critical SEO factor: Do not rely only on SEO to generate new business leads. Yes, it is still the most important lead generation tool, but also focus on other areas such as your social media and how you are engaging your customer base through platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Google +. Many companies I speak to simply ignore their social media marketing and treat it as a second tier option. Believe me when I tell you that this is the wrong thing to do. Social media is now as important as SEO so please what ever you do, make sure you are active in this space.
# 3 critical SEO factor: Let’s be honest here. SEO is a competitive business and there are thousands of agencies out there online competing for the same clients. In 2015 a good percentage of these companies where offering some really nasty sweeteners to get your business and they were in the form of:
SEO Guarantees, Pay on Performance SEO, or try SEO for 1 month and see if you are happy with the results or even do not pay a cent till 20% of your keywords are on page 1.
In 2016 as the SEO space heats up and more cowboys enter the market these types of insane offerings are going to become more prevalent and more targeted to small to medium sized businesses. All I can say is if you cherish your business and want to have the slightest chance of getting any type of rankings, please avoid these ‘shonky’ operators at all costs. This is such a critical point as about 50%-60% of the businesses that call us, have actually fallen for these scams. I know it’s hard to believe but these ‘SEO Guarantees’ are sold with such conviction and such skill that people cannot see the evil behind it. It’s really not their fault as they are not in the SEO space and are unaware of the scams. If someone was to guarantee me page 1 rankings and I was just a business start up (or someone trying SEO for the first time) I would probably give it a try.
Don’t fall for SEO scams like ranking guarantees!
So why are SEO guarantees as a scam? Because you are dealing with a third party; Google, that will never ever tell you about their ranking algorithm. You can only make an educated guess based on your research.
At Hopping Mad Designs we NEVER EVER make these crazy guarantees. What we do is SEO the right way; through a methodical and proven process. There are no guarantees but what we can say is that you have a better chance ranking with us than by trusting agencies that are out right lying to you from the beginning.
# 4 critical SEO factor: don’t ignore your ‘on page’ SEO. That is make sure your website is completely Google compliant. This includes: page titles, descriptions, URL structure, website speed, and lastly content. Make sure that all your pages are filled with relevant, helpful information with at least 500 words. Skipping on the content and having thin pages with a couple of paragraphs is no longer good enough. You need to start looking at all your pages ( especially your home page and your services pages) and make sure they are beefed up with juicy, unique well worded copy.
# 5 critical SEO factor: what ever you do, don’t suffer at the hands of an agency that is not performing well. If you have been with them for say 6-8 months and you are not getting: proper monthly reports, genuine increase in rankings, open lines of communication with your SEO providor…ditch them and move else where. The digital space in 2016 is only going to get more crowded, with fierce competition online for the same clients. So it’s up to you to make the move and look elsewhere. Don’t be afraid to make the decision to ump ship and try another SEO agency. Remember, it’s your business and you have to do what’s best for it.
So there you have it. A handful of critical SEO factors to watch out for. If you need further explanation about this or want to discuss your SEO with a digital agency that can produce real results, please give us a call today on 02 9360 8514. I will clearly outline any issues with your current website & SEO campaign and show you how we can turn your rankings slump around.
We have been doing this since 1998 so in terms of timings that’s probably one of the oldest SEO companies in Sydney. We are still here so we must be doing something right!