6 TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT SEO CONSULTANT

TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT SEO CONSULTANT OR COMPANY FIRSTO PAGE Ready to Bite the Bullet and Invest in Quality, Expert-Level SEO? HERE'S HOW TO GET STARTED: ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS STEP Before you get on the first page, you've got to get on the same page. Ask your potential consultant or agency the following: • When will we start to see results? • What fees should I expect? • What happens if I want to cancel? • Will I own the website if I leave the contract? • What will you need from us to be successful? • Do you offer multiple contract/budget options? If so, what are they? WARNING! Listen to your gut, and watch out for the signs of unethical SEO practices, known as "Black Hatting." BLACK HAT SEO WHITE HAT SEO • Keyword stuffing • Link farming • Hidden text • Blog spamming • Quality content • Short and long-tail keywords • Audience-focused • Long-term strategy BOTTOM LINE: Black hat practices are unethical and manipulative, and could result in major penalties for your brand. source: www.crazyegg.com/blog/seo/black-hat-vs-white-hat-seo GET PROOF OF PERFORMANCE STEP Request results and case studies that show evidence of the specific goals and KPIS you want to meet, including: • Organic search traffic • Organic search revenue • Total ranked keywords • Keywords on the first page of SERPS • Keyword traffic value • Top-performing landing pages in organic search • Top-performing blogs in organic search • Blog pageviews/sessions WARNING! Black hat SEO (or simply lazy SEO management) can lead to severe penalties from Google. Here are the two types, and what you need to avoid to keep google from de-indexing your pages: PENGUIN PENALTIES PANDA PENALTIES • Purchasing links • Keyword stuffing • Duplicate content • Old content Beat it by: building a solid backlink strategy leveraging relevant and authoritative web pages. Beat it by: eliminating duplication and creating regular, fresh content, or rewriting and repurposing older content. GET TO KNOW YOUR TEAM STEP Look for consultants or agencies with these skill sets or expert team members: • SEO/Content Strategist (Head of SEO or Head of Organic Channel Growth) • SEO Writing (SEO Freelancer or Copywriter) • SEO Link Builder (Outreach Specialist) • Technical SEO/On-Page SEO Expert GO STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE STEP Set up reference calls with current or former clients to get an inside look at the process and the results. Here's how: REQUEST: ASK REFERENCES: • 2-3 references, not just 1 (everyone has one good reference, but not everyone has three) • Case studies • Who they worked with on the team • Positives and negatives • Results • If they'd work with them again WARNING! If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Here's how to spot the signs of an SEO scam: I THEY SAY... I THEY MEAN... "Rank guaranteed!" "Literally no one can guarantee a specific ranking." "Results delivered in a flash!" "Those results will be terrible because SEO is a long game. "A few more keywords won't hurt." "We're totally comfortable practicing unethical Black Hat SEO." "We protect our clients' privacy." "We don't want you talking to our current customers." SET YOUR BUDGET STEF SEO services vary widely in cost. If you're an enterprise looking for growth, plan for a higher retainer. What Do Enterprise Companies Spend Per Month on SEO? 100% 45% 20% 11% 6% 7% 11% 0% LESS THAN $1000 $2501 - $5000 $10,001 - $20,000 $1001 - $2500 $5001 - $10,000 $20,001 + ΤΑΚΕ AWAY: The vast majority of enterprise companies spend more than $10K on SEO each month, with most spending more than $20K. Source: https://www.seoclarity.net/blog/state-of-the-industry-2020 PLAN YOUR SEO KICKOFF STĘP Get your SEO strategy off to the right start by following this launch timeline: Week 1: • Give account access • Kick-off callI Week 2: • Discovery calls with team • Full SEO/content audits: SEO Competitive Landscape Audit Keyword & SEO Content Audit Content Architecture & Positioning Audit Technical SEO Audit Backlink Audit Blog Audit Google Analytics + Google Tag Manager Audit Week 3: • Complete all SEO audits & review • SEO consultant/team should start building your SEO strategy Week 4: • Analyze website content architecture • Build data reporting dashboards • Conduct keyword research Week 5: • Pillar page plan • Blog strategy docs • Lead gen strategy Week 6: Content calendar • Content production setup Source SME writers Audit • Style guide Week 7: • Distribution strategy: Email newsletter Paid • Social media Week 8: • Write/publish blogs • Optimize/write landing pages • Paid social campaigns • Etc. First Page Strategy | Copyright © 2021 www.firstpagestrategy.com www.moz.com www.ahrefs.com I www.internetlivestats.com I www.thinkwithgoogle.com www.brightedge.com I www.borrellassociates.com 00