How Do You Find High-quality SEO Services?

If you were tasked with finding a high-quality search engine optimization (SEO) partner, either consultant, agency, contractor, or some mix thereof, where would you start?

Finding SEO services that

1) don't suck, and 2) don't put your job (because of a poor decision) or your site (because of risky tactics) in jeopardy isn't a trivial exercise.

Beyond these essentials, what about retaining SEO services that are truly a cut above the norm, that are performed by a savvy and high-quality partner that is someone you can trust?

Scammers Abound

It must be stated that SEO is riddled with fakers, low-quality service providers, and outright scammers. As an open industry (on the open Web, no less) SEO is literally part of the Wild West. There are no sanctioning bodies, no third-party entities that can truly vet all SEO services. Because anyone can sell SEO without a license (or sadly, without any knowledge), the industry is rife with, frankly, crap.

Coupled with this reality is the fact that SEO is a combination of art and science. This lends its practitioners to a sort of hard-to-define artful and intuitive understanding of search engines, combined with the hard data of metrics and analytics, log file parsers, and semantic markup.

SEO is based on data, on delving through technical issues and problem solving. But its greatest opportunities come from combining the analytical side with an artful understanding of users and search engines, and using experienced hunches to gain a competitive edge.

SEO is in High Demand

High-quality SEO is in high demand indeed. There's a lot of money at stake, too. Traffic and ranking improvements can mean millions of dollars for a company's bottom-line revenues.

This has created a market with service providers who are adept at selling SEO services, but less skilled at carrying them out. Sadly, many SEO services do little to move a company's bottom line.

How to Find a Quality SEO Partner?

But it's not as bad as it may seem. There are some bright spots out there. Here's how to find a quality SEO partner:

Define what you need. In everything, there are specialists and particular talents, and SEO is really no different. If your site is a publisher needing traffic increases for CPMs, you'll have much different requirements than an e-commerce site looking for product-level conversions. Are you looking for link building emphasis, technical expertise, a strategic partner for growth in SEO? Defining what it is your site(s) need is the first step toward finding a quality SEO partner.

Ask around. Chances are someone you know already has an opinion or two about a SEO consultant or agency. Ask them. Use your social connections on LinkedIn and elsewhere (such as Twitter) to leverage your trusted network, too. Some of the best leads will be word-of-mouth referrals from people you trust.

Read trade pubs. Sites such as this one, ClickZ, Search Engine Land, SEOmoz, SEOBook, and others are a great place to get familiar with the faces and personalities of SEO. By reading industry sites you'll get to know what each of the contributors are like, what their particular style and strengths are, and what their personality is like. It's important when choosing a SEO partner that you not only look at particular competencies and experiences, but also what the personality fit is with your own company. Remember, you're looking for a partner, and it helps to be someone you'll enjoy working with.

Attend conferences. Conferences such as SES are probably the single best way to vet potential SEO partners. There are many advantages to being in person with these people, and it will give you the greatest ability to really "get" the particular skills and areas of focus a SEO can provide. It doesn't hurt that there are often many networking opportunities with ample alcoholic beverages, which always help to loosen lips and ease inhibitions; a great time to ask some pointed (and friendly) questions.

Dip a toe in the water. Don't be afraid to ask for a test or pilot, a three- to four-month trial, or specific SEO project. This gives you time to see what level of SEO the partner can bring to the table, and frees you up from committing to anything long term while you're still unsure.

What Warning Signs Should You Look For?

Now that you know how to go about looking for SEO services, here are a few things you should beware of -- things that should throw up red flags.

Watch out for SEOs that can't answer questions confidently. No one knows everything. In SEO, you can't expect someone to answer every question you pose with a perfect answer, but you can expect them to answer honestly and confidently. You're really just looking for confidence, generally: how competent and composed is the SEO you're dealing with? Do they know how to answer questions logically and reasonably, or do they get flustered and defensive by pointed questions?

Beware of odd pricing packages (agencies that optimize "by the page"). The days of optimizing 10, 20, or 100 URLs and calling that "SEO" are over. SEO isn't about a page or two, it's about a strategic approach that leverages a site's unique offerings, whatever they are. You can't do that by picking out a selection of pages and calling that "good." Companies that price by the page are using a short-sighted approach that more than likely doesn't have your best interests in line with their own.

Beware of packages, period. SEO is organic. Selling SEO by the package is just plain wrong, too. Why? Because SEO cannot be packaged. It is by nature an organic discipline that requires innovation, creativity, analysis and the willingness to try "out of the box" things. "SEO Package #1, 2, and 3" will stifle your SEO opportunity by limiting the universe of potential work that might need to happen to a set list of pre-defined criteria that a SEO company has placed within scope. This can impose restrictions on your SEO campaign, which you absolutely don't want.

Beware of SEOs using techniques that put you at risk. This includes buying links, cloaking with an intent to deceive users and/or search engines, stealing content, etc. Find out and be assured that the partner you choose doesn't mess around with any tricks that could harm your company.

Beware of restrictive contracts. Watch out for contracts that require a 90-day out, or that lock you into long-term commitments. No SEO contract should ask for more than a 60-day out, and a 30-day out is probably all that's required.

Strategic, quality SEO is something nearly every site must be aware of (even Google needs SEO). But it's not easy to find. Best of luck in your search!

Vayu Media is a top ranked Atlanta SEO Company and believes in full transparency.  Call us to discuss your internet marketing strategy.

Google's $4 Million Revenge on a Merchant

What happens when a small business owner gets on Google's bad side? In Ryan Abood's case, the answer is, "your business gets crushed and you spend a year and a half in internet Siberia." Do not trifle with The Google.

Abood kind of had it coming. The proprietor of GourmetGiftBaskets.com had been indirectly buying links to boost his position in Google search results, a big no no in the Google rulebook, he writes in Inc. magazine. But the rulebreaking was inadvertent; Abood said he had paid for ethical search engine optimization only, and one of the two companies (!) he hired to boost his search ranking broke with that policy. The entrepreneur was hardly a Google-gaming pro, in fact he had only thought to dabble in what's known as "SEO" after noticing that his parents' flower shop had done a tidy gift basket business thanks to its organic Google rank.

There are two different outcomes that many websites or businesses strive for when they market themselves online but which is more important: achieving higher search engine rankings or really building out your business brand in the online space? Both are important and crucial for success online but which do you prefer?

Since the spawn of the search engines many people's mindset has always been to be on page 1. Everything they did online revolved around being on page 1 and we grew with the search engines thinking that the only way a website can succeed is to have high search rankings for their targeted keywords. As a website owner it is important to understand that things have changed, they are changing and they will change even more so it is important to be diverse. For some reason most people are in the mindset of approaching the search engine ranking ranking game with a short term marketing mindset (example: need high rankings by next week). Why is that? Do you plan on keeping your business around for just a short while? Building a brand around your business online will not only help your rankings but it helps you sustain your business well into the future. What is going to happen to your business if you spend all your time simply focused on rankings and all of a sudden Google makes a change where your rankings dip? If you have been simultaneously building your brand online you can weather that storm and keep bringing in new business but if you have been centered on just rankings than you could find yourself knee deep in mud with nowhere to go.

Search engine rankings and brand building should go hand in hand when venturing into the online marketing space. It doesn't matter what your business is building a brand has become even more important than ever before. Things like social media and the recent economic decline have caused businesses to really strengthen their online image. Purchasing behavior has changed and if you have a hard time acknowledging that you might find your business drying up quickly. Don't spend all your time on short term efforts because the long term marketing and branding efforts are just as important.