There is a distinct difference between simply hiring a service and hiring a consultant. When you consider hiring a website optimization service it is of great value if they operate as a consulate in tandem with carrying out your SEO tasks. It is all too easy for an SEO service to simply take your money and tell you they have completed ‘X’ amount of work, seldom do many companies take the time to explain exactly what they have done and why. A consultant, as opposed to a service, will assess your core business strategy, business values and marketing plan. Once this information has been evaluated an SEO strategy can be mapped out.
It is pointless for a search engine marketing company to go full steam ahead with SEO and not fully understanding who your business is targeting and the core story of the company. In order to write copy for a range of SEO disciplines these things need to be understood. When searching for an SEO service, be sure to search for ‘search engine optimization consultants’, rather than simply ‘SEO Services’ or something similar, or alternatively, Google ‘SEOpartner’ for a well renowned high quality SEO provider.
Search engine marketing companies are no different to any other marketing/PR firm in that there should be a massive emphasis on client communication. This communication should be ongoing throughout the project. You should be able to contact your SEO company whenever you need to. You should also be able to continually monitor progress by obtaining reports and analytics. Obviously you get what you pay for and the more you pay the more statistics, graphs and reports you will be provided with. But at a minimum, make sure you are receiving weekly consultation, even if that means conducting a video conference call for 20 minutes once a week.
