SEO is a massive type of marketing that requires constant learning, action and evaluation in order to increase your websites ranking. So it’s understandable why some choose to outsource this task to a professional SEO company or individual, however being a new industry there can be a lack of knowledge regarding choosing the right company for the job. In this post I’ll discuss some of the questions I would ask before hiring anyone…

1. What will you do?

The first thing you’ll want to know is EXACTLY what this company will do you for. Will they write posts and distribute them around the web, will they submit you to directories, will they manually link build, will they edit your website and so on.

Having a detailed written plan of what the company/individual will do for you is key. It’s something that you can both use as a checklist and as a plan of action.

Making sure that this plan also has timings against each task is also key!

2. How much will your service cost?

You won’t necessarily go with the first company that you find, that’s why you should get costing up front so not only will you know how much it will cost you but also it will give you a benchmark to compare against other firms.

Note: The most expensive SEO service won’t necessarily be the best…

3. Who have you worked for and what were their results?

Any good SEO firm will have previous clients with results. One way to gauge how good the firm is, is to see what they have done previously. Have they worked with similar firms before, how much did they increase sales for that company and so on.

Any good SEO firm should be able to produce a case study or examples of their work. A firm without results may be one to shy away from.

4. What do you expect my return will be?

If I am going to be paying you x amount, how much will you make me? At the end of the day, you will hire a SEO to make you money or increase conversions of a particular type (such as a signup). You should find out what they hope to achieve and how they will do it (see point 1).

5. How long will it take?

Although nobody can guarantee results in SEO, they can give you estimates from their experience on how long it will take before you begin to see the benefits. Finding a time scale that suits your business is ideal; if SEO is slow off the ground, you could miss potential business.

Closing Thoughts

These are just a few of the questions that I would ask any firm before hiring them to handle my SEO or even PPC.

I think that it is key to carefully evaluate all of the SEO firms that you investigate by their results/track record and what they can do you for!

Your Thoughts

What questions have you asked before and do you feel that there are any key ones not on this list?

I’d love to hear what you guys have asked and heard before!

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