How many SEO agencies are there in Australia? Are they all the same? Is there a difference in the type and quality of work done by different SEO agencies?
Should you hire your friend’s uncle’s stepson for SEO because he spends all day on the computer? Is SEO a cost of doing business or an investment in your business? These are some of the questions that come to mind whenever a business owner gets a pitch from an SEO agency.
If you are a small to medium business owner and are thinking about employing the services of an SEO agency, here are a few things you should seriously consider to get the best results:
1. SEO Has the Potential to Harm Your Business
Not many business owners understand this aspect of SEO. Most people think that they can engage any agency and if things don’t work out, they will hire someone else. However, SEO has the potential to seriously harm your website’s organic rankings as well as your online reputation if they don’t know what they are doing or they use black hat techniques to achieve quick rankings for your website.
This is why you need to be smart and only work with reputed SEO agencies that have a lot of experience and a track record of successful results that you can check. Don’t work with your friend’s uncle or your neighbour’s cousin who isn’t a professional just to save some money. If they don’t really know what they are doing and what you’re trying to achieve, they might permanently damage your website’s rankings.
2. Transparency about Techniques and Pricing
Reputable agencies are transparent about the techniques they use for ranking their client’s websites as well as the price they charge for their work. If an agency is unwilling to share the work they are going to do for you (because it’s their secret source), they are not the right choice for you.
Similarly, they should have transparent pricing. The pricing contract should also clearly mention your ownership of the content, images and any work they have done for you in case you decide to part ways after some time.
3. Guaranteed Rankings Do Not Work
Stay away from agencies or professionals who guarantee rankings. Nobody can guarantee rankings in the Google organic search results. SEO is a dynamic and constantly evolving process and Google is always updating its algorithms. Also, optimising a website is a time-consuming process and it takes time to get results.
If somebody is guaranteeing quick results or top rankings for certain keywords, they either do not know what they are doing or they are likely to use black hat techniques that work for only a short time but do permanent long-term damage to the website and credibility
The only thing that matters is the past results they’ve achieved for other clients.
4. Make Sure They Understand Your Industry
Professional agencies typically have experience in a wide range of industries. They are aware of the importance of understanding the nuances of an industry as this makes it easy for them to get high-quality links. If an agency approaches you and promises top organic rankings without knowing anything about your industry, it’s time for you to look elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
There are hundreds of agencies offering SEO services in Australia. Most agencies will promise you the world but when you dig deeper, you will generally find that many of the agencies that promise guaranteed rankings use techniques that do a lot of harm in the long run.
This is why you should never hire someone without properly checking their experience, past results and overall reputation. The most important thing that matters is the past results. Ask them to share the results they have achieved for their clients, their pricing and the techniques they are going to use before finalising someone.
