SEO Firms: How to Choose!

Chicago SEO

With so many SEO Specialists in Chicago, how do you choose the right one for your company? There are several factors to consider when you approach an SEO Specialist for the first time. Below we will break these factors down for you so you can go into a meeting with knowledge, and avoid getting scammed.

Research
Typically, when you approach a company that specializes in something, they'll know far more about the topic than you. They're good at it and you rely on them to produce results for you. Our recommendation is to do your research before you go into a meeting with an SEO specialist. As with any specialized area, one bad egg can make it hard for the rest of us to keep our good name. Researching before walking into a meeting with minimize the possibility of being taken advantage of or signing a contract with a company that uses unethical practices. There are plenty of blogs and advices from other business owners that you can look at. SEOmoz is a great resource, though the blog is full of SEO lingo that might be a little over the head of an untrained person. A little knowledge will stop you being completely baffled about what your Chicago SEO Specialist is talking about and trying to sell you.

Terminology
As with any business there is technical jargon for the products or services that are offered. Your SEO Specialist should be able to deliver a strategy in laymen's terms for you. A few industry terms are as follows:
Backlinks: Links from one website that pointing to your website.
Keywords: Words that are used by search engines to determine the topic of a given web page.
Organic Search:Search results in a search engine that are not paid advertisements.
White Hat SEO: The use of accepted SEO practices in order to get higher rankings, more traffic, etc.
Be sure to look at a great glossary of SEO Terms, and take a look at some of our previous posts including Why SEO should be important to you, Optimizing your Website for Local Search, When to Fire your SEO Firm, and How to Optimize your Social Media.

SEO Strategy
No business is creative equal. Following that, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to SEO. If your SEO Firm is trying to sell you the same strategy they sold to someone else, not only will it not work, but it's unethical on their part to be working for two competing companies. In addition to demanding a unique strategy, never ever buy an SEO package online from a company you've never met with.

Results
As with any business, success is measured by results. If your SEO firm can't show you real, current results, run away quickly. Depending on client confidentiality, ask your chosen SEO firm to show you a few results pages in Google to see the current positions they've achieved. Ask to see their social media and Google Place page. Ask to see the SEO Firms's Place page. Make sure people are saying GOOD things about them. Do a little research on your own as well - don't ever take a company's website as the gospel truth. People can lie! It's helpful to type in the company's name and add 'scam' to it in a Google search. If there've been problems, they'll show their ugly face soon enough.

If you need more information on SEO and Internet Marketing, call Integraphix, a Chicago SEO Firm at 847.537.0067 to set up a Free Internet Marketing appointment.

--

Integraphix | Chicago SEO Firm

Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare!