Five Questions To Ask When Hiring an SEO Agency

As a top digital marketing agency in Los Angeles, we provide effective digital marketing strategies for small businesses and have also been named a top seo company Los Angeles.

The SEO industry has evolved almost as much as the Google algorithm itself in recent years, but at times it can still appear shady and pay-to-play. This is unfortunate because there are so many good analysts that truly understand the complexity of SEO and offer valuable services. These folks pale in comparison to the countless crooked agencies and unqualified consultants selling SEO services to honest business owners. If you’re thinking about working with a Los Angeles SEO Company, it’s important that you do some research to ensure you are working with a qualified SEO provider.

Here are some common questions to ask an SEO Provider which should flush out the pretenders from the contenders.

1. The ABC’s – Address, Bio & Clients

Any reputable SEO, (or digital marketing) agency will have their address listed on their website. If there is no address on the website, you should be skeptical. That is the first sign something may not be on the up and up. In addition they should have photos and bios of their team.  Their website should also include some client testimonials. You don’t want to be the guinea pig if these items are not there. Quality agencies are transparent.

2. What Is Their Background & Training?

A trustworthy SEO agency will be open and straightforward about their experience and how long they have been studying the Google Algorithm. They should be able to say whether they were inhouse or worked at another agency. Reputable providers will have client references to share with you.

An experienced SEO provider doesn’t need to specialize in your industry. It’s often better to get a fresh perspective. Make sure the SEO provider doesn’t say anything about having a relationship with Google. Nobody has a relationship with Google. It’s also good to find out if they are doing the work themselves or white labeling another agency’s work, possibly overseas.

3. What Are Some Of The Recent Changes in SEO?

A top SEO provider should be able to talk about this with some level of certainty. There is no right answer but it should foster a conversation, demonstrating their knowledge about SEO. For instance if they mention keyword meta tags, then move on to the next provider. Keyword tags were removed from the Google algorithm over a decade ago.

There have been many big changes with SEO in the last several years any legitimate agency should be able to discuss some of their challenges and strategies to adapt.

4. What is Your Approach To Linkbuilding?

Inbound links are a ranking signal to the search engines. An inbound link is when another site has content with a link to your website. Inbound links are weighed heavily by Google when determining the order of search results. While SEOs used to look for any link opportunity, today they should only build links on high quality sites that are related to the industry and top directory sites like CitySearch & YP.com. The SEO provider should mention that the best types of links are those that occur organically in articles on trusted websites.

5. How Do You Handle Content?

The industry saying ‘Content Is King’ is true. Without content there is nothing to optimize. The goal is to get people to share your content on social media with the idea that it drives traffic back to your site. SEO providers should have a content strategy or ideas about their approach to generating content for your site. Ask to see some samples or check out their own social media pages to get an idea. We personally think its best to work with an effective SEO Company Los Angeles, like eMaximize, with a good sense of written humor.

These are some simple questions to ask an SEO agency or consultant before you hire them. Keeping current with daily Google algorithm changes requires dedication & tenacity. It’s not something you can read in a book because by the time you are done with the book, the game has changed.

Feel free to give us a call if you have any additional questions or you are looking for expert SEO Services.  We know a pretty good team ?

Thank You For Reading!