subject: How to select a good SEO service provider for consultation [print this page] How to select a good SEO service provider for consultation
If you look around you will definitely find millions of people offering SEO services. And you will be confused to read that most of them call themselves SEO experts. you do not need to blame yourself if you get confused. Here are some tips to find the best SEO service provider for legitimate SEO consultation.
1. No ranking Guarantee: If the SEO consultant says that he or she will guarantee you top ranking in most popular search engines like Google or Yahoo in 6 months, do not believe him. No one can guarantee that. However, there are certain SEO strategies and tricks and if your consultant follows them, you should get ranking. And again - there are no guarantee card attached to it. SEO is a continuous process. And you definitely should run away from the person who guarantees you top ranking in Google for a competitive keyword without even looking at your website.
2. Will optimize Meta description and Meta Keywords: If this is all they have to do and if this is all they know, say goodbye to them immediately. These were easy tricks for good ranking when search engines were there at the elementary level. Today, search engines are too smart to care about Meta descriptions. They will simply fetch the most relevant data from your web page to showcase in the search engine result pages (SERP). You must start looking for other options - immediately.
3. We will submit your website to hundreds of search engines and millions of directories: Now this is a very common strategy and many so called SEO consultation firms still say that you need to do this. However, if you talk to a seasoned SEO, he or she will no more suggest you submitting website to search engines - they are smart to find sites for themselves. And, as far as directory submission is concerned, some are really good and must be in the "must have" list like DMOZ. However, most of the directories are just link firms and offers almost no value.
4. Do they have something to show you as a past record: In certain situations, SEO companies sign non disclosure agreement with the client and thus cannot tell you about the project. However, in many cases they will have past records to showcase. If possible, take a look at some of their current projects and results. This should give you some good idea about their knowledge, experience and expertise.
5. Google Search: Do a Google search and learn about latest SEO trends before you talk to a SEO service provider. Now, take a look at their website and find out how they are optimizing their own website. These should give you some clear idea about the quality of the company.
Last but not the least, good SEO is not just about links or search engine submission. It is an overall strategy and includes, content optimization, site architecture development and fixing issues, creating a good network etc. And more importantly a good and seasoned SEO consultant will tell you to care about the visitors first - good ranking will follow.
