How to Choose a SEO Company
If you have reached the point (and
sooner or later we all do), when free SEO alone isn't bringing you
the results you want, maybe it is time to move to paid SEM. If you can do it on your own, it's great
but having in mind how much work is involved, it is quite possible
that even though you have the skills, you won't have the time and
effort required to run SEM campaigns on your own.
In this case, your best bet is to hire
a SEM company. While the process isn't very different from the
process of hiringa SEO company, there are some specifics you need to take into
account. Here are some tips to help you choose a SEM company.
Results from past campaigns speak volumes about the skills of the company you want to pick. Obviously, if their previous campaigns were a failure, you wouldn't pick them. Ask what past campaigns they had, what the return on investment was, how these campaigns were executed (i.e. where did they publish PPC ads – AdWords, or smaller networks), etc. It is true that you can't be given access to trade secrets, so some of the questions you want to ask might not be OK, but if a SEM company can't show results, this is a reason to move on to the next on your list.
1. Ask for Results from Past Campaigns
Results from past campaigns speak volumes about the skills of the company you want to pick. Obviously, if their previous campaigns were a failure, you wouldn't pick them. Ask what past campaigns they had, what the return on investment was, how these campaigns were executed (i.e. where did they publish PPC ads – AdWords, or smaller networks), etc. It is true that you can't be given access to trade secrets, so some of the questions you want to ask might not be OK, but if a SEM company can't show results, this is a reason to move on to the next on your list.
2. Backgroud Check Them
Their past results might look gorgeous (or at least the set of
campaigns they tell you about) but this alone isn't enough. It is
quite possible that the campaigns you were told about aren't
representative about their work, so it's pretty misleading.
Therefore, you need more proof about their skills.
You can ask them for references and search with Google and in
forums what their customers say. While this isn't a 100 percent
evidence either, if there is a lot of negative feedback about a SEM
company, this almost always means they are no good. Of course, it is
possible that this negative feedback isn't authentic – i.e. their
competitors are bad-mouthing them – but if you find genuine
negative/positive opinions, do take them in earnest.
3. Check what Services Them Offer
One point to consider is the assortment of services they offer. Do
they have all the services you need? If they don't, you still could
consider them but in this case you will have to look elsewhere for
the services they don't offer. It is a bit of a burden for you to
split the work but if the company you want to hire is very good at
what it offers, it makes sense to hire them for part of the work only
and search for the other services elsewhere.
4. Ask How They Report Results
With SEM, it is more than vital to have data about results as soon
as possible. Real-time reporting is best because it allows to adjust
your budget depending on the results but it could be very time
consuming. Once a day is more or less acceptable, though still you
could blow your whole budget in a single day without getting any
results.
Because of this, it matters really a lot how (i.e. in a report, a
spreadsheet, or any other way) and how frequently your SEM company
reports you the results. Some companies might not report at all by
the end of the campaign and if this is the case, just leave this SEM
company – you can lose a lot, if you hire them.
5. Look for Boutique SEM Companies
If you want quality, you won't find it in the 'department store' type of companies. Look for boutique companies – i.e. small companies focused on quality that do only or mainly SEM. You might think that bigger is better but this certainly isn't the case, especially when you are a small client. Big companies won't have the time and motivation to serve you well, while boutique companies tend to provide better care (though don't take this for granted).
6. Are they Specially a SEM Company or Are They the Jack of All the Trades?
Many companies offer SEM services but not for all of them this is a core business. Web design/development companies offer SEM as a secondary service. As a result, frequently quality and expertise are huge problems when SEM/SEO isn't the core business of the company. If the company you are interested in seems to be a Jack of All Trades (and Master of None), it's way too risky to hire them.
7. Ask to See the Contract in Advance
No matter how great a SEM company looks according to the other
criteria, one thing you must never forget is the contract. While
sometimes you won't have to sign any contract at all, there are also
cases when you are presented with a 10+ page legal gibberish that
even an experienced lawyer won't understand completely.
The problem with contracts is that they might contain clauses that
really hurt. For instance, the SEM company might want to tie you with
huge penalties, if you leave them before the 5+ year contract
expires, or they might have a door open to constant price increases
while keeping you tied. Needless to say, if you see any similar
unfair clauses in the contract, just move to the next company on the
list.
8. Check How their Own Site is Rankings
Similarly to the process of choosing a SEO company, you would want
to see how the SEM company you are about to choose is performing for
their own site. Of course, the number of backlinks and their quality
are more important for a SEO company than for a SEM one, so if their
organic ranking isn't superb, this doesn't necessarily mean they are
bad at SEM. However, in any case, if their site is not ranking well,
this isn't a good sign. You may use some of the ranking
services, not only PageRank, to get a better idea of how they are
performing.
9. Price Too Low / Too High
Price shouldn't be your most important criterion when making any
choice but still it is not something to neglect. If the price is not
right (i.e. it's either too low or too high), this should ring a
bell. When it is too low, you must have concerns about quality –
good quality comes at a price. On the other hand, if the price is too
high, this isn't a guarantee for quality – it smells much like a
ripoff.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a SEM company.
While it isn't rocket science, there are many things to watch for. If
you don't choose a good SEM company, this could do you more harm than
good, not to mention how much money you can lose. This is why it
makes sense to exercise caution – it's better to be safe than
sorry.
First check all the things you show in above and than you need to check the man power detail like how many employee work on it. Because some time it depends on the man power. And I think SEO service is really growing business in the world.
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