In today’s competitive market of SEO’s and website optimization companies, it’s not easy choosing a the right service provider. Many website optimizers come across as legitimate specialists and can pitch an attractive program, but the fact of the matter is there’s a number of culprits who fail to deliver the best practices of SEO and website optimization.
I’ve been in the Internet marketing profession for about 6 years, and during that time I’ve learned that this profession is full sketchy companies who churn through clients, only to end the relationship on a made note.
On a more positive note, these unethical service providers are dying off thanks to the ongoing changes in Google Search, as well as the diligence work of the Google Web spam team. In short, Google is persistently evolving the practices of organic SEO and website optimization. As a result, only ethical and socially-oriented search engine marketers are surviving.
So if you’re searching for a professional and dependable search engine optimization company, in this article I share with you three indicators that define solid SEO and web optimization companies. These hints will help you recruit a credible, honest, and capable team of SEO experts to optimize your web presence.
Social Integration
Google’s search engine algorithm is ever-changing. And one element that’s clearly impacting keyword rankings is social media -specifically social signals like Google +1’s, LinkedIn Shares, Facebook Likes, and Tweets. As a result, it’s critical to incorporate social marketing with your content. Furthermore, it’s wise to integrate social sharing icons on the content you share.
Because social marketing is having such a profound influence on SEO, many website marketing companies are focusing solely on providing social media marketing services. However, some website optimization firms include these services in their SEO arsenal, which can create unity in a variety of Internet marketing strategies.
Content Creation
One of the greatest cues that a website optimization company is offering solid SEO services is its ability to produce high quality content for a number of different contexts. For SEO, content is still the king – it’s just context and application of the content that’s changing.
Writing keyword rich web pages is no longer the primary focus of SEO and website optimization. Rather, it is insightful and engaging content (e.g. videos, blog posts, info-graphics, etc.) that promotes natural optimization and inbound website traffic.
Content that’s highly relevant, offers value, and is socially share-able is the source of better SEO performance. If your teaming up with a website optimization firm, ensure it’s capable of generating such awesome content to help your business thrive.
Conversion Orientation
What separates the decent website optimization companies from the great is an adamant focus on helping clients realize greater conversions. The web marketing playing field is extremely competitive, and often times website traffic via search engine optimization is simply not enough to win the game.
A truly successful website optimization strategy will include a very focused approach on conversion rate optimization, or “CRO.” The primary objective behind website conversion rate optimization is to create compelling calls-to-action (CTA’s). This form of optimization can be a simple as making the “Add to Cart” button more visible on an eCommerce site, or as complex as designing a three-stage conversion funnel.
Like the latter two aspects of solid website optimization, powerful CRO hinges on having a good understanding of who your target market is. Your SEO provider should go above and beyond to ensure that your website is generating sales, not just search traffic. Some SEO and website optimization experts might disagree with me on this one, however I strongly believe that a CRO is an integral part of the equation.
