You\u2019ve realized that in order to grow your business you need to rank higher when your customers go online to search for the products and services you offer. That\u2019s where the action is and your business needs to be visible when it counts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, you\u2019re not an SEO expert and you\u2019ve heard all the horror stories from other business owners who have been burned by bad actors. They wasted valuable time and money with very little to show for it – or worse – spammy SEO providers got their sites penalized and damaged their brand. How does a savvy business owner avoid such a disaster? Here\u2019s five things to look for that will help you figure out if you\u2019re dealing with a professional, an amateur, or something worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why should you work with a service provider that can\u2019t guarantee their work? That\u2019s a fair criticism but it\u2019s not quite that simple. At Brighter Digital we have such a high ratio of success that offering guarantees might not bite us very often but it would be misleading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any knowledgeable SEO without an ego problem realizes it\u2019s Google\u2019s world and they\u2019re just living in it. I simply won\u2019t take a client if I don\u2019t feel there\u2019s a high probability of achieving a good return on investment, but I can\u2019t guarantee anything in an environment I don\u2019t fully control. Google is constantly tweaking their algorithms, and every single SEO professional is doing their best to get results without knowing 100% how it works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Capable SEOs have the benefit of experience, relentless research, and years of their own trial and error to help guide you towards success. A capable SEO will never guarantee you anything without being very specific about the context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The SEO agency that says they can get you number 1 rankings in 3 months is *usually* not being honest – plain and simple. It might not be enough to disqualify them if they can rationally back up their claim, but if it\u2019s paired with other items on this list then you should keep looking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There might be some niche cases but generally speaking, if you\u2019re in a city and you have an average to high amount of competition, the $499\/mth SEO package just isn\u2019t going to hack it let alone the $199. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A holistic search strategy has a lot of moving parts and they aren\u2019t things you want to do on the cheap. Website options and costs have come down for small business owners if you\u2019re the DIY type but skillful link building, unique compelling content, and technical expertise are just a few things you can\u2019t get on a tiny budget. It\u2019s not such a bargain when your low cost marketing package fetches you zero results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A reputable SEO agency will be upfront about your competitive landscape and what you need to achieve your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let me be clear. Nobody has a magic formula<\/strong> for SEO unless you count hard work, intelligence, and creativity. If your agency won\u2019t tell you what they\u2019re doing because it\u2019s \u201csecret\u201d or \u201cproprietary\u201d you should run away – don\u2019t walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s one thing if you know about it and you\u2019re comfortable with the risk, but otherwise this is an unacceptable practice. Link schemes and other spammy SEO practices can get your website into trouble and have substantial negative consequences for your business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, the average business owner doesn\u2019t have the ability to look under the hood and see what an SEO is really doing. You can ask your SEO point blank if they use any black hat techniques and it\u2019s always a good idea to talk to some of their clients about their experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A bad SEO will use a lot of jargon to make everything sound really complicated, but insist that you should trust them. A good SEO will minimize the confusion to outline a plan you can understand, set clear benchmarks, and make sure you understand what your responsibilities are. Here\u2019s a few items you should expect them to cover<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also read my article on how to set goals for your SEO campaign<\/a>. Search engine optimization is a long term strategy with potentially huge payoff when executed well. It\u2019s worth the time and effort to do your due diligence and make sure you\u2019ve found the right agency for your business. Ultimately, you\u2019ll need to be willing to eat your vegetables instead of going straight for the junk food.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You\u2019ve realized that in order to grow your business you need to rank higher when your customers go online to search for the products and services you offer. That\u2019s where the action is and your business needs to be visible when it counts. However, you\u2019re not an SEO expert and you\u2019ve heard all the horror… View Article<\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n4. They\u2019re Doing Blackhat SEO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5. They Don\u2019t Communicate Well <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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