Be Wary of SEO Agencies Who Promise This...

Selecting the best search engine optimization (SEO) agency is difficult. SEO is expensive, plus it has a major impact on how much money that you earn from your website, so it is important to choose wisely. Searching Google returns over seven million options, therefore, you will want to narrow down your choices from the start and eliminate the ones that say:

1. We Are Google Certified

Google does certify companies that do AdWords management, but they do not certify SEO specialists. Other variations include "We have a relationship with Google," or any promise that the SEO agency has access to inside information or a special relationship with the search engine that other firms do not. Google does not work with any SEO agency, ever.

2. Guaranteed Backlinks Every Week

While there are a few industry-specific directories that are worthwhile, the majority of directories do not provide authoritative links that benefit SEO efforts. Earned links from relevant websites is what Google likes to see. The only way an SEO firm can guarantee a certain number of backlinks is to buy them, which will hurt you in the long term.

3. We Outsource

Actually, no company will say this, however, the ones that do not outsource will say that all of their work is done in-house. If your website targets an audience in the United States, you need your meta descriptions and page content to mimic how people in the U.S. search for products and services on Google, which means that the firm should use U.S.-based copywriters.

4. Guaranteed First Page Results

In highly competitive industries, there are too many relevant, websites with aged domains to appear on the first page of the search results for moneymaking keywords, such as car insurance. Shady SEO firms will show you that your website appears on the first page of the search results when they type in your company's name.

5. Anything Said During a Robocall

SEO companies that have to drum up business this way obviously cannot optimize their own website so that it occupies a prominent place in the search results.

Our Advice

At this point, you might be saying, "How am I going to know who to use?" The short answer is do your research! There are many great SEO agencies in the world, despite a plethora of terrible ones too. Look for lists of the best SEO companies, check reviews, and come to your own conclusions about what will work for you, your staff, and your brand.

If you really need some help, our site has a list of our team's favorites. See our "Best SEO Companies."