Questions and Answers for Selecting a Competent and Sincere SEO Company

How to Know about the Tactics of an SEO Firm

SEO firms use various means or tactics to optimize their client site. It is important to know the illegal and legal aspects of these methods. A slight error can ruin the prospects of getting noticed in search engines – although the error might be from an SEO company and not by the web owner himself. Here’s a list of questionnaires to help assess the tactics used by the firms.

Are there any pages that can be viewed by search engines but cannot be seen by other viewers?

Yes, it is possible to create certain pages with specialized content that can be viewed by search engine spiders when they scan through the website. When normal users access the site however, these special pages are not viewed by them.

This concept is known as “cloaking” – an illegal and objectionable means pursued by some sites to boost their search engine ranking. In “cloaking”, sites take the help of a technology that can recognize a search engine spider from that of an ordinary user.

As soon as a spider enters the site, it is intercepted by the technology. The spider is directed to another set of pages with different content that have been specially designed to get a good ranking in top search engines.

This discrimination infringes the legal terms set by the search engines. Any site which gets caught in such malpractice is summarily removed from the search engine ranking. Once removed, it would not only be a loss of prestige but also the genuine effort put by the website till date.

Hence, it is best to first secure a sincere and efficient search engine optimization (SEO) expert prior to resorting to these methods.

Are links that are seen in search engines get redirected to another page as soon as users click on the links? In other words, does the SEO method use “spamdexing” to flood the search engines with a particular phrase?

“Spamdexing” is quite common illegal method of getting a top slot in search engines where special pages, “doorway pages” are created for search engines. The visitors however, get to see yet another page. The main idea behind this option is to create pages for search engine spiders and not human beings.

Doorway pages are not the right way to get to the top. Websites caught using such pages is excluded from search engine listing. Apart from major embarrassment due to such illegal methods, websites don’t always get good positions in search engines due to this technique.

However, the trick is quite luring. Today, similar techniques are used in the name of bridge pages, gateway pages, etc. It is best to ask the SEO expert on this issue to get a better picture.

Is link building done through automatic linking schemes or gathering inbound links?

Link building is a very important factor in optimizing a website. However, link popularity cannot be done in a single day. A lot of effort goes to lure quality inbound links as experts need to provide interesting content to attract non-reciprocal links from other websites.

Many websites find it hard to boost link building, along with other optimizing factors. The webmasters resort to automated processes, such as reciprocal linking schemes where link building proposals are sent to sites through automated e-mails.

The outbound link, such as the e-mail, can have an impact on the link building of the other site where the e-mail had been sent. The result can be disastrous. Both the concerned sites in question lose their credibility and get punished for resorting to this illegal practice.

It is best to look for an SEO guide who gives primary importance to quality inbound links by attracting non-reciprocal links from other sites.

Is there any discrepancy between the content meant for the search engines and those for the visitors?

Search engines become serious when they find out that sites have pages which are not designed for the end-users but for the search engine spiders. Just like doorway pages or cloaking, some hidden text or links are used by some websites which cater to the spiders only.

Hidden texts or links are used by some websites to promote the search engine ranking. In hidden text, a special content is written with the color that is similar to the background color. In a hidden link, links as small as one pixel can be incorporated in a page.

Visitors would not be able to locate these text or links. On the other hand, search engine spiders would be able to detect these perfectly as they can scan the website and do not “read” the content, unlike users.

However, the entire methodology is not legal and can cost the website its prestige and place in search engines if it is caught in this process. It is best to find out whether the optimization company has any views regarding hidden links or content.

How has an SEO company dealt with the penalization factor?

It is hypothetical to consider that optimization can be done without any hitches. It is likely that a website would be entangled in legal issues, malpractices, implausible issues, etc.

However, when selecting a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert, one must find out whether the company had indeed fumbled or penalized its clients sometime in the past. If so, it is important to analyze when it had done so and why.

Considering these salient points would help find out if the company is indeed capable of optimizing a website truthfully and legally. While selecting a company, web owners need to ask questions from all angles to find out the competency of the company.

How to Know about the Competency of an SEO Firm

Selecting a sincere SEO company is really difficult as scores of unscrupulous companies are flooded in the Internet who uses easy and illegal methods to get the top ranking. As business owners are primarily interested in getting a good rank in search engines, they overlook the correct and legal procedures.

Here is list of questionnaires for SEO companies which would help a web owner to understand whether the SEO company is a genuine advisor or not.

Content Change: Is it necessary to change the content of the website to optimize it for top search engines?

To optimize a site, it is essential to change, edit, and tweak the content, images, and other elements in the website. In plain words, an SEO company, which does not give much importance to the change or does not want to change the content, would not be a competent SEO company.

To optimize a site, it is necessary to change alt tags, Meta tags, and title tags, apart from the proper content. Many SEO companies look for hidden elements that are responsible for the top ranking. This idea is a myth as content which addresses the needs of the users – when he types the keywords or phrases – is the only way to gain popularity in search engines.

In a nutshell, changing content, graphic elements, etc. is a must for optimizing a website.

Adding Pages: Is it essential to add additional pages to the website? -- Or, the existing pages would be enough to help integrate keywords and phrases.

Many SEO companies promise to alter the content of the website to optimize it for top position in search engines. However, they do this by restricting the content to the existing pages only. They fit new content in existing areas and somehow integrate the content within the pages.

Here’s one example why this approach – commonly known as “Shoehorn” approach – does not optimize sites in the long run. An online florist wanted to highlight seasonal flowers to his users. An SEO company hired by the florist, made an “About Us” page with directions, contact address, company history, etc all in one single page.

Later, the website got a high ranking when users typed, “seasonal flowers”. But, the users did not get the information on the flowers. They got to know more on the company. In short therefore, content cannot or should be cramped or “shoehorned” into the existing pages. New pages are mandatory for working with new content and these pages should be introduced at proper places.

When an SEO company tries to highlight how well the content addresses user query, it is surely on the right track.

Link Building Plan: What are the schemes or tasks which an SEO firm wants to do to build links?

Apart from excellent content, a website needs to have quality inbound links to increase its link popularity. This planning needs a lot of interactions with other sites as well. An SEO firm which works only to provide quality content is only doing half the job.

A greater chunk of the task is to build quality inbound links which includes hunting for portals and directories where the website link can be added. However, not all inbound links are regarding with high esteem. A competent SEO firm would look for those which have a good impact on the site.

A review analysis, working on quality links, and building links ethically would be a few tasks that need to be done by a competent and sincere SEO worker.

The Maintenance: What are the plans to put in additional key phrases and pages with time?

It is fairly tough to get to the top slot of a search engine with special keywords and phrases. Traffic influx increases no doubt, when the right kind of keyword is used in a website.

However, it is tougher to maintain the top slot. Many SEO companies optimize the site for the initial set of phrases and keywords. They don’t really go for traffic reviews or find out the right keywords that would help rope in potential customers rather than mere curious surfers.

A competent SEO company would first treat the initial keywords campaigning as a “testing” zone. Then, the true metrics start. The company focuses on keywords that really bring in customers and find out which phrases are popular among the existing customers as well. Based on this data, the company initiates a marketing campaign for the popular keywords.

This is a long process and needs a lot of reviews, understanding, and change. The detailed maintenance plan is a must when one opts for an SEO company.

Testimonials: Are there testimonials for cross-checking an SEO company’s performance? Are there reference sites which have been optimized by the SEO firm?

A good SEO company would furnish valuable testimonials and client sites which have been optimized. When this reference is acquired, a web owner should go through the site and review its performance – keywords, positioning, popularity, link building, etc.

Often, sites which are optimized are not more than a year old. So, one would naturally think how old is the SEO company?

In other words, a good and stable SEO company that has been delivering goods must have dealt with clients successfully for the past few years. A new company on the other hand, needs a lot more experience.

Some SEO firms try to evade the issue by stating that the client list cannot be disclosed under confidentiality agreement. However, viewing the optimized website is a must to help decide whether the SEO firm is good enough to do the intended role.

How to Know about the Business Assurance of an SEO Firm

Till now, the questions were intended to find out the credibility of an SEO company. However, what about the guarantees, agreements, or offers in terms of business assurance that the company provides? Here’s a list of questionnaires to find out if an SEO company has credible business assurance for its clients.

The Type of Guarantee: What is covered in the guarantee card?

This typical question says thousands even before a client hunts for an SEO company. Guarantee sounds wonderful but many firms only provide ranking-centric guarantee. But, what about the target phrases? Has the firm ensured that the keywords would be popular and relevant?

A good SEO firm would look into the relevant traffic primarily and focus on popular and most desired keywords. Here, the web owner would provide the relevant keywords or targeted phrases. The SEO firm on the other hand, would ensure that there is a certain percentage increase in the number of users who log in the site.

Unpopular phrases don’t get any importance while popular ones are reviewed, analyzed, worked upon by the SEO experts.

Alliance with Competitors: Does an SEO company work with the competitors of its client?

It is highly improbable that an SEO company would acknowledge the fact that it is working with the competitors of one of its clients. Some companies don’t elaborate this factor. While few others, ask for extra money to work exclusively for a particular website. Levying fees for this favor not ethically correct in the business world.

A sincere SEO company would ask the client for the names of immediate competitors. They would not work with these companies until the agreement with the client expires. If this policy is not done, it would be impossible for the SEO firm to remain unbiased while dealing with the two clients who are competitors.

However, even though a lot is being said on what a good SEO company would do to ensure a proper business ethics, it not always possible to leave out a section of the market just because of a single client. There are solutions nevertheless where an SEO expert can deal with a client while leaving out his competitors. It is best to ask for the policy to be taken by the SEO firm on the alliance with competitors.

Content Creation: How does an SEO company tackle the load of creating extra content that is keyword oriented?

Content creation is must for optimizing a website. Often, new additional pages with extra content or original data that is rewritten have to be done to optimize a website. The load of creating such inevitable content lies on the concerned SEO firm.

It might work like this: the firm does the written work and asks the web owner to take a look to approve the document. The document with edited work and changes are passed on the firm which implements the changes.

Before the final script goes live, a test page is again shown to the client for approval. In a nutshell therefore, the burden to complete the content work is done by the optimization expert firm while approval is taken from the client.

When this document gets created, it is essential to share the company brochure, white papers, or confidential documents. Web owners would be at a loss if they were to choose a copywriter and also an SEO writer to get the job done. SEO firms have specialized workers for this task which can be easily done by them.

All in all, online business owners should be confident in selecting a SEO firm to do the optimization job. The firm on the other hand, should be able to meet the popular and legal demands on methods, competency, and business assurance policies without any hitch.