It is at that time. You are ready to hit the ground running with your new business and build an immaculate online presence, but where do you start? With so much clutter and competition online nowadays, it can be overwhelming. Here is what you need to know in order to make the right decision when it comes to paying for SEO for your company.
1. Website Design and Development
Your website will be the heart of this entire operation. Even if you already have a website, you may want to consider a website rebuild. The right SEO service provider will make your website their top priority. It is their job to analyze everything from the format of your website to load time, your site map, PR ranking, metadata, landing pages, site links, and more. If your website is not running correctly, you will be wasting money on every other aspect of your SEO campaign, so remember to take your company’s analysis seriously. This should be step one of your relationship with your SEO company. If anything feels weird here, don’t hesitate to look elsewhere at this point because it’s still early.
2. Keyword Targeting
Next, your SEO firm should be using the Keyword Planner in order to determine which local and general search terms best suit your business. Keywords will determine targeted website copy, blogs, landing pages, pay per click ad copy, social media posts, and more so this is also crucial. In fact, you should consider keyword targeting a critical element when comparing SEO service providers. Don’t be afraid to get a second opinion, or even suggest keywords you know are crucial in converting sales for your business.
3. Meta Data
Metadata is the first thing a search engine sees. This will also be the title and description people see on the first or second page of their search results. Titles should be clear and concise and include whatever keyword you are trying to target on that page. Descriptions should never exceed 160 characters otherwise this will both badly impact your rankings, and read poorly to potential clients decreasing your click-through rate.
4. Landing Pages
The right SEO firm will write and generate specific landing pages to target your most popular keywords and services. These landing pages can later be used for link building and pay per click ads. You want potential consumers to land on pages catering toward the exact service they need. This will lower your bounce rate and increase your conversion rate helping you reach your goal.
5. Backlinking
Once your website is good to go, your SEO team is truly ready to get to work. Link building includes internal blogs, guest blogging on high PR websites, press releases, social media shares, and more. This is how people will stumble upon your website without directly looking for it.
6. Blogs
Every week your website should be posting a new blog. The beauty is this can be scheduled. Most SEO firms will prepare 5 to 10 blogs in advance for your approval. Blogs will be keyword targeted and relevant to trending topics in your industry. They will also be shared as part of your social media campaign.
7. Social Media
At one point in time social media was the intern’s job, now it pays a significant annual salary. Why? Social media is now the main way many companies communicate directly with the end consumer. It’s also the voice of your brand. Sure, your website informs your potential customer, but it does not allow them to get to know you. Your social media presence should bring personality to your brand, and it should also be a place where customer service needs are met. Phone calls are going away, and user concerns are now being portrayed via Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Remember to have an employee at your business regularly monitoring these accounts so you don’t lose business because you accidentally missed a purchaser’s problems.
8. Video Creation
Lastly, video is more important than ever. In fact, you may find your videos both ranking and going viral over any other content you produce. You’ll want to choose an SEO firm that has an in-house video team since you will certainly need this feature to rank online. If you already have the content you need, your SEO firm can format your YouTube page so your videos are targeted to rank quicker and higher.
It is never too late to jump into the giant online world of SEO. Consider these eight elements when comparing SEO firms, and you will be sure to make the right decision. Happy searching!