MitchumKrouse407
Exactly the same way it's difficult to purchase an automobile knowing nothing by what it ought to look like under the hood, it's a bit intimidating to pay for a search engine optimization company if you're not exactly sure what distinguishes the good from the bad. Since search engine algorithms are so temperamental, you want to make sure you are getting a company that is experienced and up-to-date; otherwise, all of the services you taken care of could go the window as soon as the next Google update is rolled out. Here are a few tell-tale signs to watch out for - if a company does these, you might like to forgo hiring them.
Mass-submitting:
If your company promises an unreasonably large number of articles, blogs, links, social bookmarks, etc per month, you should definitely back off. Google wants genuine, organic content - not something which has been spewed out with a program in broken English and questionable grammar. These 500 articles and 1,800 social shares might look appealing, but if they are not compiled by a human, they can do more damage than good.
No references or examples:
Prior to hiring a business, ask to determine the things they could do for other clients. They ought to have some sort of track record, a way of showing you that their work has been successful in the past. Worthwhile SEO company keeps visual records and statistics of progress over time to exhibit to their clients. When they don't leave a paper trail of any sort, try to escape!
They are not well-rounded:
The company should push more than just higher rankings; they ought to also be promising more sales, more site visits, more Twitter followers, etc. Sure, having your page show up on the front page of Google's results rocks !, but if no one is hitting the link because they can tell it's not useful or relevant, it doesn't really help you any. The best goal is to create a better representation of your brand and to form a good reputation with visitors to the website.
