If you have ever considered taking on a firm that offers SEO consulting services, you should be aware of a few fundamental points before you start.
First of all, can you do the SEO yourself? Is it cheaper and more cost-effective to take someone on and pay them a salary or part-time wage for doing the SEO work for you - and if so, can you find someone that understands your products and the industry associated with them.
If you can find someone like this and pay them £6000 per year part-time or around £15,000 full time then go ahead. If someone is committed to the cause most of the time, this will help you to do the internal and external work correctly. But what about the other scenario.
Your exisiting work force are too busy, they don’t have the neccesary expertise and they don’t full understand these specific areas of online marketing. If any of these fit, then you might want to opt for a firm which offers SEO consulting services.
We come across many companies who just don’t have the time to dedicate to this and make a real effort in this area. The truth is that for a cost of around £500 per month, you could have an SEO expert working on your website (and also off it!) and this time would be used in an extremely efficient way. They have the tools and the knowledge to save time in areas where you might struggle. But here is a word of warning. Always try to find an SEO company that can offer a tailor-made service in your niche area. It is pointless taking on a firm with little or no expertise in your area of business – and here are just a few reasons why this is important.
The main and fundamental part of any SEO program is building links, credibility and authority on sites within your niche. If an SEO expert has no experience in your area, how can they:
- Find the right channels for your articles and PR
- Build relationships with key influencers
- Communicate effectively and fluently in social circles
- Build unique content on SEO platforms
All of these things are vital in the external SEO story and this ongoing area of SEO is still the single most important ranking factor for the search engines. Of course, there is much more to SEO than just search engines.
These days, it is as much about creating the best possible experience for your users and potential customers. To do this, you also need a company who understands how your site should work for the industry you are in. What can potentially turn on your customers (so to speak!) and how can simple design and navigation issues influence visitor behaviour and actions. All of this should be taken on board and a serious, high quality SEO expert should know how to do this. So if you are looking for SEO consulting services, ask the company how they plan to make it work for you and why you should choose them.