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Choosing a Quality SEO Provider: Good vs. Bad SEO Vendors:
The most important words to remember when searching for the perfect SEO outsourcing partner are "Due Diligence". For some reason, smart business people often do not give the same level of research to choosing a marketing partner as they do to choosing a car.
Marketing firms, advertising agencies, web designers, and high-tech service companies have a duty to their loyal client ranks to select the best SEO vendor to enhance the goals, philosophy, and service offerings of the business. The Digital Surgeons team has compiled some common-sense, practical ideas to guide your search for the right fit of SEO provider for your company.
The Case for 'Due Diligence'
The well-published and infamous example of Traffic Power points this out only too clearly. The company had a long and published history of using unethical "black hat" SEO techniques with the potential to get their many clients banned by Google. They employed a boiler room of 200 telemarketers to solicit for thousands of SEO customers. Though Traffic Power's own website was banned from Google and the internet loaded with bad press, clients continued to sign on with Traffic Power. The inevitable did happen and hundreds of unwary Traffic Power clients had their websites banned from Google, a financial disaster for many.
This scenario could have been avoided with a bare minimum of research, a few questions and a quick online search under the company name. Choosing a well-qualified search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing provider is essential for the success of just about every kind of business today. With such a large and growing section of the populace now comfortable with internet technology in their daily lives, the importance of finding the right SEO partner to target this market is easily evident and dangerous to ignore.
Weeding out the Bad Apples
There are a few key things to watch out for when choosing an effective SEO vendor to bring services to your valued clients. Your choice of search engine marketing and SEO outsourcing will have a tremendous impact on your clients' online success and will reflect upon your reputation as a reputable service provider.
Internet marketing agencies prospect for clients in many ways and the most successful use a combination of tactics which can include client referrals, website leads, and telephone calls. An experienced, reputable SEO professional will perform some kind of review to get familiar with your business and website before reaching out to you.
Although some cold calling is to be expected from most every SEO provider's sales force, watch out for call center tactics such as automatic dialers and companies that continue to call frequently, or have several different people call, even after being asked to stop.
When you receive an unsolicited prospecting call from a potential SEO provider, it is very simple to determine if the person on the other end of the phone knows something about the search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing field and if they have taken a little time to look at your business and website. Ask why the company called your business in particular. Find out if they know the basics about your business and some reflections on your website. If the SEO vendor does not have a good grasp on your business by the second call, look somewhere else.
Most importantly, the SEO provider should be asking you about your goals for your business and website. Can the caller deviate from a script? It is usually easy to find out if this is an industry professional calling or an SEO telemarketer with a very limited knowledge. Watch out for SEO companies who are ready to present a canned, templated solution without performing some in-depth research into your site, keywords, and market. Each online business venture is unique and deserves an effective, individualized SEO strategy.
Digital Surgeons is committed to excellence in every aspect of our work and service. We are full-service internet marketing, web design, and SEO agency with a focus on long-term client relationships based on solid results and great communications. Our SEO outsourcing services are valued by large, medium, and small marketing firms, ad agencies, web design houses, and high tech companies looking to enhance their offerings and improve their efficiency. |
