Finding A Good SEO Agency

Well done search engine optimisation, often called SEO for short, is designed to allow websites to show up in search results when people search for products and services rather than simply company names. The idea is that people looking for things online are able to find a business website without any prior knowledge of the business or its name. There are all manner of tricks and techniques which fall under SEO, but the good sustainable methods (also sometimes called “white hat SEO”) are based around the idea of making your website easier for search engine to read and understand, meaning they rank you higher in searches for appropriately relevant terms.

It is not uncommon to decide to outsource SEO to external marketing agencies and other companies, but there are far too many dodgy types out there who like to take companies seeking SEO – especially local and small businesses – for a very expensive ride. How then does one actually go about finding a good, honest and legitimate search engine marketer?

It is actually incredibly easy to find a decent SEO agency online. Go to a search engine like Google or Bing and type in “SEO agency.” Ignoring the paid ads at the top, whichever firm has landed at the top of the search results are what you want – they must be pretty good at SEO or their own website wouldn’t be so high in the natural listings!

To narrow things down a bit, you could try extending your search. Say you live in Essex and want a local agency – just type in “SEO agency Essex.” Or if your website is specialised and you want particular help with it you can add your industry or site type – “SEO tourism” or “SEO eCommerce” for example. This can be a great way to find niche SEO agencies who have specialist expertise in your field.

Sometimes SEO agencies (or at least people claiming to be SEO agencies) try to solicit companies by sending them emails or submitting contact forms with various enticements and offers. However if you see something like this come in then it is best to ignore it – if a company which supposedly specialises in search engine optimisation is reduced to spamming inboxes to get business rather than, say, doing SEO so their own website ranks highly and people can find them anyway, chances are they aren’t very good. The same is true of SEO services advertised on paid ads at the top of search engines or on banner ads on other websites. If their search marketing is any good, why are they having to pay for their placements?

Another thing to bear in mind is to steer well clear of any SEO agency that promises you “top position for x keywords” or something similar. Nearly all modern search engines used personalised searching, meaning that everyone sees websites in slightly different ranking positions depending on their personal search history. Absolute rankings are a thing of the past, any anyone claiming to deliver this kind of service is lying through their teeth. Modern SEO will use sustainable “white hat” techniques in order to bring useful traffic to your website, not use exploits and dodgy tricks, which will constantly get them slapped by search engine updates like Google’s infamous Panda and Penguin algorithm changes.

Once you’ve found an SEO company that looks mostly all right you’ll need to ask them some questions before you leap into their services. As well as the usual checks like existing client list and testimonials, it is a good idea to speak to someone directly on the phone or in person. Here are some good questions to ask them.

  1. Who does their search marketing work? Is it handled by in-house staff? Do they do any outsourcing, especially to foreign companies? A lot of agencies outsource to cheap link builders in Asia who tend to produce very low quality work that can have a negative impact on websites in the medium to long term.
  2. How often do they report, and what format do these reports take? Any professional SEO agency should be providing regular updates to all its clients, along with written reports detailing actions taken and progress made.
  3. What kind of skills and qualifications do they have? Take a look at their existing client lists for any recognisable big names, and see if they have anyone who is Analytics qualified. Some companies even use quality standards like ISO 9001 which is an excellent sign.
  4. What else do they do? A lot of these companies are primarily website designers who are resellers for outsourced SEO services to boost their profits. It is better to look for an online marketing specialist to ensure you get a good quality service.

If you don’t have the money to hire a professional SEO agency there are other options available. Some companies will let you pay for a one off website review to make recommendations on how to improve your site from a search marketing perspective, or you could research current techniques and ideas to do SEO for yourself.

Many online marketing methods are in fact startlingly simple. Boost your domain authority by getting other relevant sites to link back to yours. Get a backlinks boost as well as general marketing benefit by using social media like Facebook. Keep your website full of regularly updated and good quality content to encourage people to link to you as well as grow the site’s visibility and importance. Use a good, solid SEO plugin for your content management system, and make sure your website’s code is error free.

Remember you’ll get a natural boost from modern search engines if your website is

  • Well designed, easy to use and nice to look at
  • Full of good, up to date and useful content designed for real people, not search engine robots
  • Free of errors, fast loading and devoid of spammy ads or buggy code

Happy website marketing, everyone!

5 Things You Should Know About a Web Design Agency Before Hiring It

Deciding on a web designer is like going on a first date. A person should discover a lot about this new individual then decide whether they are compatible. Going for the wrong designer could ruin a business.

According to 48% of consumers, website design is the top factor to determine the credibility of a business. Also, 38% of people will not engage with a website when the content and layout is unattractive. The following are 5 things they need to consider when choosing a web design agency:

Take a look at the Agency’s Portfolio

Aesthetics are essential to a website design. Studies say that two-thirds of consumers prefer to look at a strikingly beautiful website for 15 minutes than one that is plain.

When businesses want to draw more customers and boost revenue they need a preset-day, creative design that considers their website visitors. People can look at a web design agency’s portfolio before going any further. Here they can view the company’s past projects.

Know More about Website Features

Web designers can include banners, headers, images, maps and all other features into a website. There are agencies that create customized websites where they get to choose the features that best suit their business. Some offer all-in-one solutions or “off-the-shelf “software. Initially, bespoke sites are more expensive as well as time-consuming but these give a long-time return on their investment.

Search Top-Performing Web Design Agencies on Google

Web design agencies that have a high ranking on Google have probably mastered SEO, the process of getting traffic from search engines. The companies that are found on page one of search engine results page (SERPS) use SEO techniques such as keyword search and competitor analysis. Those who are searching for the best web design agencies that can optimize their page for lead generation; can search for the high-ranking companies on Google.

Ask Many Questions

Before signing up for the services of a web agency, they should ask all the possible questions. Even if they see the information they need on the company’s website, they should also speak to any of the staff to find out more about them.

For instance, they get a quote for the services required. They should ask if the hidden fees and additional costs are included in the price. Not all web agencies are transparent when it comes to their prices so people should ask for a full estimate for their project. Also, they can ask regarding customer service principles and accessible design practices.

Learn More about Page Loading Times

A multitude of website users consider page loading times as a pet peeve. Slow-loading pages can increase churn rate or the number of visitors who land on your site then suddenly click the “back” button. It is best to choose a web design agency that creates striking pages that never slow down their site.

Web elements that increase loading times by a few seconds can harm their sales. Studies say that pages that have a 2.4 second loading time have a 12.8% bounce rate. Those with a 3.3 second loading time have a considerably higher bounce rate of 20%.

Why Business Owners Need A Web Design Agency

Going online is one of the best options business owners make to gain better opportunities for their business. But, in order to ensure that online strategies can be effective, it is imperative that you work with trusted web design agencies. Below are some of the reasons why business owners hire such experts.

To improve user experience

One of the main reasons why business owners need a web design agency is to allow to properly improve user experience. In order to make target audience into clients, it is essential that you can effectively communicate with them using your website. And, the best way to communicate using your website is by helping them to navigate easily on your website. Because of this, viewers can gain better insights about your products and services online.

To create compelling and unique sites

Business owners also need to work with web development and design agencies to help them create compelling and unique sites. Surely, copying other web designs can be the easiest option to gain effective solutions for your business. However, being unique will allow owners to increase their opportunities. This is possible since agencies can provide professional designs that can complement your brand.

To help them boost site speed

Working with web development and design agencies is important to help company owners to help them boost their site speed. One of the main issues viewers can experience when visiting sites is speed. Due to slow loading pages, individuals tend to immediately leave. As a result, owners can lose potential clients. With the help of web design specialists, they can make site faster by eliminating unnecessary plugins, themes and codes.

To reduce web development expenses

Hiring agencies can also help business owners reduce their web development expenses. Surely, most business owners wish to create their own web development team. However, owners need to invest in substantial finances in the team for training seminars, research and projects. Plus, business owners may also experience risks that can affect their site. Luckily, all of these overhead expenses can be avoided by hiring web design agencies.

To gain better site opportunities

Finally, working with web design experts can help owners gain better site opportunities. Apart from web designs, agencies can also help business owners in creating content. Plus, reliable agencies can also provide other online marketing strategies that can benefit your business effectively.

These are only some of the benefits company owners can obtain with the help of reliable web design agencies.

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