How to Hire an SEO

April 30th, 2006 Jackie

SEO companies come in all shapes and sizes, as do SEO needs. I have worked for very large clients (mainly via my agency affiliations) and micro-businesses that can’t afford to spend much money (if any) on outsourcing SEO. I’ve recently had the unique privilege of being on the client-side of the SEO selection process, since I am currently consulting with a small business owner and helping him with the tough job of finding an SEO agency he can trust. Here are my thoughts on that process.

When looking for an SEO company or consultant, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Remember that one size does not fit all. If you work with (or own) a small to mid-sized business (5-20 employees is small in my book), then you can afford to go with a reasonably priced agency (they do exist). If you are a large company with a complex website or a lot of websites, then you’d benefit from a larger agency with experience dealing with these types of sites. Yes, they cost more, but they also have a ton of resources and experience you’ll need to make SEO work for you.
2. Consider hiring an in-house SEO or an SEO consultant. For very small (micro) businesses and sole proprietorships, do-it-yourself SEO is not uncommon. However, you may have enough to do and then some without having to learn the trade of SEO on top of it. Paying a consultant a few hours per month to coach you through the process of optimization and indexing may be all you need to keep you on the right track. For large companies, I highly recommend working with an SEO expert either in-house or as a consultant to act as the SEO agency liaison. It’s very helpful to have someone on your side that speaks the language and can cut through the agency crap.
3. Get estimates and proposals! There is no better way to do an apples-to-apples comparison than to request detailed estimates or proposals and actually read them. Yes, it’s time consuming and it delays the implementation process, but it’s well worth it. SEO is a long-term marketing initiative and you really want to find a person or company who will stick with you for more than a few months.

Here are some questions and issues you should make sure you discuss before you hire your SEO company. These should either be addressed directly in the proposal or at some point during your initial discussions.

What are YOUR expectations for SEO?

Do you expect it to increase your sales? Just your traffic? Both? Do you expect to be #1 for “my keyword” in Google within three months? Be sure to make this clear so that your SEO will be able to address these expectations from the get go. If your expectations are too high, it is your SEO’s job to educate you about what is possible (in their opinion) to achieve.

What is included in the SEO contract?

I know this seems obvious, but I’ve recently been reading some SEO contracts (remember, I am acting as an independent consultant for a client who is in the process of selecting an SEO) and I’m amazed at what’s not included. Don’t accept “link building” as a description for what’s included, for example. Get the details. Will they create a link placement strategy? Will they place the links themselves? Will they provide you with a list of sites that you are then responsible for getting links from? If the latter, will they help you create a link solicitation email? If the former, how many links will they promise to get you? How fast will they get the links? Do they follow best practices with link building? Make sure you get the facts before signing anything.

Is ongoing tracking included? For how long?

Most SEOs include some kind of tracking and follow-up as part of the overall SEO package. SEO is not a quick fix and it’s pretty much understood in the industry that it can take anywhere from three months to a full year to see significant results. With this in mind, tracking SHOULD be included. It should also be negotiable.

If you want a lot of attention paid to your SEO on a monthly basis, or if you have huge website that needs constant SEO applied to its many pages, then higher fees for maintenance, optimization, tracking and reporting are customary. Most small sites only need a couple of hours of SEO maintenance each week (e.g., position checking, ongoing optimization tweaks and reporting), so costs should reflect this. Again, I never agree with the one-size-fits all approach. Be wary of, the “this is our pricing and that’s that” mentality.

Other questions to consider:

• Does the SEO you’re reviewing have good references? Can they refer you to some happy past or present clients?
• What search engines do they focus on? It should be Google, Yahoo and MSN, in that order. It’s great to rank well in secondary engines, but that should not be the focus.
• Can they handle competitive keywords? They should be honest about this. If your top keyword is very competitive, they may refuse the job altogether or suggest you target alternative terms. If they don’t suggest this or even address the issue of keyword competitiveness, run the other way.
• What is their submission policy? It is not necessary or helpful to submit your website to 1000 (or even 100) top search engines. Time is better spent getting your website submitted to topically-specific directories.

Well, I intended this post to be about 500 words and now it’s nearly double that, so I will end it here. Happy SEO hunting.

Entry Filed under: SEO Advice