Big cities are fast-paced and busy. Sometimes you can spend hours stuck in traffic while traveling very short distances during rush hours. This makes customer visits very time-consuming for sales representatives on the road.
In a world where time is money, more and more business owners are turning to the internet to generate new customers and grow their company's revenue. But achieving success online isn't as easy as it once was.
With more and more companies jumping online, the competition is getting tougher. Regardless, SEO still provides one of the best returns on your marketing investment. With more and more people using Google to conduct research before making a purchase, it's important that your business can be found on Google.
However, if you're like most business owners I talk to, you don't have the time to market your own business online. After all, keeping up with the latest search engine guidelines and rules is a full-time job.
It stands to reason that most business owners prefer to pay an SEO agency, company or individual to do this job for them. If this is the case for you, then make sure you follow these 5 essential tips to achieve a successful SEO strategy for your business.
Tip #1 – Choose a local provider: The internet and advances in communication technology now allow us to connect with someone on the other side of the world in real time. With this technology you may be tempted to find anyone in the world to provide you with SEO services.
However, the internet has also allowed many doors to open for fraudsters and scammers. For this reason it is always best to be able to meet your prospective SEO service provider in person.
By finding a local SEO expert, agency or SEO company to run your search engine optimization campaign, you have the flexibility to be able to meet them in person. You can get a lot out of meeting someone in person as opposed to just meeting them via email, text or even a phone call. Also, when dealing with large sums of money online, I am always cautious until I have a good understanding of who I am dealing with.
Build a strong relationship between you and your SEO provider by meeting in person to ensure a strong result from your campaign.
Tip #2 – No Outsourcing Abroad: Once you find a local SEO provider ask them if they outsource any SEO work. If they do, then you may as well work directly with someone from overseas. But of course this contradicts the first tip!
By outsourcing SEO work overseas, SEO companies can often charge higher amounts in line with local rates and then get the work done overseas for a fraction of the cost. Meanwhile, an overseas SEO service provider may have poor English and not fully understand the site they are creating content for. They may also use automation techniques for their copywriting and link building strategies, which may result in Google penalties. Unfortunately this is a common practice for SEO providers from third world countries.
When your SEO campaign is done overseas, you often get a very poor standard of work. This can paint an unprofessional image for your business and can even lead to your website being penalized. So avoid this possibility at all costs.
Tip #3 – Get a Personalized SEO Strategy: Achieving a successful SEO strategy requires complex analysis and planning. There are no one-size-fits-all approaches when it comes to SEO. And that's why you shouldn't pick an SEO package off the shelf and expect to get awesome results.
All reputable SEO providers offer a search engine optimization service that is custom designed for each business they work with. The reason is that every business is different in terms of its market, its products and services, and its business goals.
A successful SEO strategy must take all of this into account and must be tailored to each business to meet their exact needs.
Tip #4 – Get progress reports: Another vital tip is to ensure that your local SEO provider provides you with progress reports.
The most common is to have a monthly report showing what work has been done and how your site's ranking is tracking. If you are not receiving this data, then your SEO service may be doing nothing while taking your money.
Be sure to review this report each time you receive it and make sure progress is being made toward your business goals.
Tip #5 – Play it safe: At the end of the day, choosing who to work with to provide SEO services is not an easy task.
Even the most successful SEO strategies take time to blossom into a positive result. This is how scammers get away with scamming people in the internet marketing world. They convey to their clients the hope that the benefits will come, while in the meantime they just pocket your monthly investment every month.
Above all, look out for extremely low prices offered by an SEO provider. Quality SEO services typically cost anywhere in the $750-5000 range per month. If you're paying less than that, the SEO company may be using suspicious tactics that could lead to a penalty once Google notices.
Choose wisely
No one said choosing an SEO provider would be easy. However, following these 5 basic tips will give you a much better chance of success.
Do your research and take your time in deciding which partner to work with for your SEO strategy. And also know that SEO takes time. But when all the quality work starts to gain momentum, your SEO strategy will cause your business to steam ahead. Good luck.
