14 questions to ask before hiring an seo company
DESCRIPTION
Let us help you sort through the good and bad SEO companies out there with these 14 interview questions to ask before hiring an SEO company for your website. From having them explain SEO to understanding how they measure success and what they will guarantee with their services you will finally have a meaningful, well thought out conversation. And we hope that you start to understand SEO well enough to make an intelligent decision of who to hire. In this presentation we present 14 of the most important questions you can ask a potential SEO company you are thinking of hiring. From pricing structure to measuring success to guaranteed results to what changes they will make, we present the question, tell you why it is important to ask and then provide what we think is a good answer for you to look for. Contact our SEO Company by calling Toll Free at 1-888-262-6687 or by visiting our website: www.1stonthelist.caTRANSCRIPT
- 1. 14 Questions you MUST ASK Before Hiring an SEO Presented By:
- 2. Can you explain SEO to me in a couple of sentences? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 3. Can you explain SEO to me in a couple of sentences? You can quickly determine if they speak your language. The way they explain SEO to you in the most basic form will be indicative of how they will be able to explain more complicated concepts to you in terms you will understand down the road. Do you understand them, do they come across as trustworthy and will you get along with them? SEO is simply the process of making web content easier for Search Engines to find and evaluate, plus more relevant to what potential customers are searching form WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 4. How long will it take my website to rank? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 5. How long will it take my website to rank? No one can tell you how long it will take. There is no precise timeline for how long it takes a website to rank - without knowing more detail about your site or the problems you are encountering, a good SEO will explain this factor. A timeline for results will vary and can depend on a number of factors including: How old your site is How much content your site has Your back link profile How competitive your market is How much SEO your competitors have implemented WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 6. Do you guarantee rankings? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 7. Do you guarantee rankings? Straight from Googles mouth, No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Furthermore, Google warns you to beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings. Note that some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. The honest answer - there is no way we can guarantee rankings. We will do our best to build visibility on relevant search phrases for your website and also track growth in traffic, leads and sales to help support the rankings we are pursuing. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 8. How do you stay current with Google updates? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 9. How do you stay current with Google updates? Google makes over 300 changes per year to its algorithm what worked last year, may not work this year. The internet is a rapidly changing landscape you want an SEO who is proactive about staying up to date and improving their skill set. I follow Google Webmaster Guidelines and other SEO related blogs (such as MOZ, Search Engine Land). I also attend SEO conferences each year. I am connected to a number of SEO experts and we share what is working for each of us. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 10. What do you need to know about my website to build an SEO campaign? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 11. What do you need to know about my site to build an SEO campaign? The answer will tell you the difference between an SEO that takes a paint by numbers approach and one that takes a thorough look at your website to determine exactly what your site needs. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 12. What types of ethics do you follow? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 13. What types of ethics do you follow? Do a search for Black Hat SEO or White Hat SEO You will quickly learn that there are plenty of grey areas when it comes to what is considered safe and what is more risky when it comes to optimizing a website. We follow Google Quality Guidelines. Following the SEO Code of Ethics and SEO Code of Conduct developed by Bruce Clay Inc. is also a good answer. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 14. What experience does your firm have? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 15. What experience does your firm have? You want the best for your website. There are plenty of SEOs who have learned their skill in the last year or Marketing firms that have just added SEO as one of their many services (or even outsource it to someone else), yet have no real training in the area. Look for an SEO with a number of years experience in optimizing websites, are accredited in the field, and are a company that specializes in Search Optimization. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 16. Who will be working on my project? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 17. Who will be working on my project? Many firms outsource their SEO work overseas. Many firms manage their accounts locally, yet outsource the work they have offered. While this can be good work, you should feel comfortable with who you will be working with on the project, and they should not hide the fact. The good answer depends on you. If you are comfortable with outsourced work, that is your decision. It is preferable to have SEO in your own country due to language barriers, time differences, an understanding of your local area and content writing in your own language. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 18. What types of changes will you make to my website? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 19. What types of changes will you make to my website? Google warns that you should be careful of a company that is secretive or wont clearly explain what they intend to do. SEO will most likely require a number of changes to your existing web page coding and content. Its important to know what type adjustments they typically make on an average project. Remember, you are ultimately responsible for the actions of any company you hire so its best to be sure exactly how they intend to help you. It is normal to make changes to optimize the content, images, source code and so on, but they should stress that they will always get your approval prior to making those changes. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 20. What types of backlinks will you build for my website? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 21. What types of backlinks will you build for my website? Google has taken a very hard stand against link building in the last few years and gone as far as to penalize thousands of websites (including Expedia) for spammy links. Backlinks are a very cheap, short-sighted approach to SEO that have a very high risk of hurting your website and rankings. Google strictly says that buying or selling links can negatively impact a sites rankings in search results. As a result we help you create compelling content that other websites will naturally link to. We also help you take advantage of your business connections and associations to build natural links. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 22. How do you measure success on an SEO campaign? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 23. How do you measure success of an SEO Campaign? If the answer is simply ranking reports then the SEO is taking a very simplified approach. SEO should relate success to your specific goals. Rankings should lead to more qualified traffic which should lead to more customers ultimately to increased revenue for your business. Success will be achieving the goals we set out at the beginning of your campaign. Do you want to get more visitors? Do you want more e-mail leads; more phone call to your Sales Team, or do you want sales right from your website? We can set up your goals in Google Analytics or your own tracking software to monitor the results or your SEO Campaign. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 24. 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca What is your general pricing structure?
- 25. What is your general pricing structure? Before signing any contract or hiring someone you should be sure of the work you can expect for the amount you are responsible to pay. There are 4 general pricing structures in SEO: hourly, monthly retainer, fixed price and project based. You need to know what is included in your contract to keep your budget in line. SEO work is a service that requires manual labour. We can set up your campaign on an hourly rate, monthly retainer, at a fixed contract price or on a project base price. We work with you to work within your budget. Remember, the more you commit to the faster you will achieve the results you are aiming for. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 26. What makes you different from other SEO Firms? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 27. What makes you different from other SEO Firms? There are plenty of fish in the SEO sea you deserve to know what you are buying into. Make them give you a good reason to choose them Let them impress you. A good answer depends on your preferences. Do you want the enjoyable charmer or are you looking for experience in the field, a custom approach, proven results, happy clients, or close proximity to be able to meet face to face. Ultimately the good answer gives you a reason to trust the SEO. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 28. Do you have testimonials from clients or references I can call? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 29. Do you have references I can contact? Make sure they have happy clients and have achieved the results you want to see on your website. You are investing in your online storefront make sure the SEO you hire can meet your expectations. You will be given some testimonials that you are happy with and client names you can call for more information and questions on the project. WHY? 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca GOOD ANSWER
- 30. More about 1st on the List Over the past 15 years we have earned a strong reputation among the best in the industry for our SEO best practices that are guided by the belief that integrity and value are the key driving forces behind everything we do. What else makes us different? Our primary focus is to help our clients set realistic goals based on their market and to develop long term feasible strategies that have strong potential for sustainable success. As our client you will be assigned a veteran SEO Project leader with at least 10 years of experience. Our proven SEO methods are based on our ability to perform Detailed Site Audits which identify deeper SEO issues and work towards correcting them before optimization even begins. A deep understanding of Search Engine history and how Search Engines work enable us to achieve long term, stable visibility for our clients with scalable growth. We protect your websites integrity by following a Best Practices approach employing only ethical, industry accepted strategies. The ability to explore the best options to grow your visibility in the Search Engines means that you will have multiple solutions for any issue we come across. 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca
- 31. Ready to Speak with Our SEO Consultants? Our SEO consultants are ready to help you set your goals and achieve positive return on investment. For more information on our Services and how our campaigns can help you get the traffic, leads and sales you deserve contact us today! 1st on the List Promotion Inc. | 888-262-6687 | Fax: (604) 746-5475 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.1stonthelist.ca Call 1-888-262-6687 Request a call back using our Contact Form: http://www.1stonthelist.ca/contact/ Email our Consultants at: [email protected]