All things done, you have now finally started your own website ( for your business, personal blog, online store etc). So time to make quick profits, right ? Well, if only it were that easy.
Getting your website created is a HUGE step but it is by no means the last. Sure, you have made the website, but how are people going to know about it. That is where SEO comes in, you know, the thing we talked about in one of our previous blogs.
But how do you know that the agency you hired to do your SEO is not just making money off you without doing anything for your website. Well, look no further. We have prepared a list of points that will help you gauge the genuineness of your agency and help you select the right one. Why did we do it ? Well, like we said before, we are just awesome that way!
So here are a number of things you should watch out for-
- Costs: Now the obvious thing to say that make sure they are not overcharging you or inflating the costs of their services but what you also have to look out for is that they are not undercharging you. Look, it’s a fact, you get what you pay for. What fraud SEO companies sometimes do is, they offer lucrative packages at cheap rates. You catch the bait and tadaa! They might charge you pennies and cents but then you be ready to get poor quality or maybe non-existent service. Their cheap, black-hat techniques might even increase traffic on your website suddenly but be assured that it will be for a very short time and with almost NO CONVERSIONS. You might even get fined by Google for using illegal techniques to rank your website.
- No Communication: So you hired an SEO agency and they haven’t bothered you with emails, texts and calls at all ? Well, then you are in trouble. For an SEO agency to be able to actually optimize your website, they need to contact for a load of information. They will need access to your social accounts, Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools among others. They will ask you for past audits of the website, a list of target keywords and other information that they need, to work.
- Secret Methods: Sometimes, these tech wizards out there do act a bit snobby and don’t tell you exactly how they solved the glitch. But if your SEO agency acts all secretive and refuses to explain the techniques they have used for optimizing your website then there is an increasing possibility that, a) they have no clue what they are doing, b)they haven’t actually done anything and c)they have used black hat techniques.
- 100% Guarantee: No genuine SEO agency neither can nor will give you a 100% guarantee. That is because they are working with something over which they do not have complete control. Yes, we are talking about the Mighty Google. Google has long kept it a secret as to exactly it ranks the pages but optimizers try their best. If your agency is giving you 100% guarantee, they might not be that trustworthy, afterall.
- No Suggestions: When your website is being optimized, your agency is bound to have some suggestions for you. They will recommend to you improvements that will help your website in getting ranked. They might suggest optimized content, creating and integrating social channels, adding alt tag to images, getting a speed optimization done for your website, etc.
- Case Studies: Before you hire an agency to do your SEO, ask them for a case study. Genuine firms almost always have case studies of their previous clients which they will be willing to share with you. Case studies will also help you get an idea about the effectiveness of the services the agency provides.
- Audit Reports: Make sure to ask your agency for an audit report of your website. Since the frauds wouldn’t have actually done anything, they’d likely provide poor quality reports which do not give clear information. Or they might just provide excuses.
- TIME! We are screaming this point because this is really important. Scammy companies tell you, “Get ranked on the first page of Google in a week!’. Fact check: no you can’t. No ifs, no buts, plain and simple can’t. An honest and genuine agency will tell you it takes at least a minimum of 8 weeks to get any results from the search engine optimization.
In addition to keeping the above points in mind, also do your own research. Read about SEO techniques, about what keywords can be used for your website and most importantly, research about the agency you are about to work with. Also, don’t forget to get a measure of the current market rates for SEO services to ensure you are not over-paying or even under paying for the services.
Additionally, you can just avoid all those hassles and simply contact us. We are genuine, pinky promise.
