SEO companies worth it?

[ablative]

For years we've done our own SEO - fairly basic stuff but it seems to have worked reasonably well.

However we've less time to devote to it nowadays and I'm musing over the idea of using a SEO company to, essentially, raise our rankings in Google.

Now very plainly, I'd like to ask any SEO CUSTOMERS out there if they've used an SEO company and whether it was worth it. Is it really possible to take a site to #1 on Google (given time, obviously) or is this money which could have been better spent elsewhere?

I'd love to hear genuine stories here!

 

[trustico]

SEO companies are only worth if you pay them on results (which is very rare!). Usually they will charge you a reasonable flat fee for lets say 15 KWs and once these KWs rank in the top 5 or top 3 results then you will pay them a bit more per KW achieving ranking.

My experience with using different SEO companies in the UK and Europe is that the ones using their own networks got penalized with Panda, so be careful who you go for!

You can find decent companies out there and it is definitely worth paying a GOOD SEO company to take care of your rankings.

Nobody can say they will achieve #1 but they can tell you if being in top 3 or top 5 will be achievable.

 

[ablative]

Thanks. Which brings the $64,000 question: who are good SEO companies?! Would you recommend any?

 

[Ali-v-8]

A good SEO has no problems - clients sing their praises and they dont look for clients as 99% of their work comes from recommendation.
Conversations should never start with how many links they can provide you.

 

[CBIL360]

The SEO Companies and clients both have some genuine challenges:
As a client one want to pay only after watching the result. You want there must be concrete deliverable to you. Generally companies suggest keywords which either have very less search volume or they are ineffective to do value addition for client.

***As a SEO Company we have observed - most of the time client go crazy about results. Some times they become unrealistic and expect result within very less span of time.
You can not give guarantee of exact position or total number of visits.

Now the question arises

how to identify good SEO Company: I think its very simple, ask how they can help you to solve your objectives and within what time frame. At initial states it may be difficult to track but you can see their portfolio, little dig their backlinks. Ask Are they aware of latest updates, how they make the link.

I will insist never hire any cheap service provider, if you want or you decide to do SEO for a website always seek a premium quality company. Remember SEO is not just about getting rank but it is also about branding and fulfilling objective of websites at both end yours and your visitors - The sort of visitor you want they come at your website.

 

[ablative]

Very much so. We have about 10 or so keywords and we're ranking about Google page 6 or 7 for some and not at all for others. The trouble is that the keywords are very popular in our sector and it seems difficult to push higher.

So many SEO companies promise the earth and I'm very reluctant to pay up front for something which seems so vague to be able to do. I think a basic fee plus pay on results is a reasonable solution though.

 

[ITsoldUK]

In short, yes, of course they are.

As long as you have carried out due process prior to selection and they are demonstrating results compared to your own efforts.

I can drive a car perfectly but cannot do anything under the bonnet.

My philosophy is right hats for right people.

Match the skill to the person and get ready to rock.

JMTC

 

[aidan1980]

Yes they are but then again it is a minefield out there. SEO isn't actually that hard, getting the knowledge is very hard though.

I got ripped off twice when I first started out, it isn't a nice feeling but got to work with someone that gave me a great amount of info and it really helped.

There are some excellent people on here that really no the score but there is also a load of chancers that don't know jack, that is the hard bit.

Maybe if you have a fairly good knowledge so far there is a member on here that does, or at least did, teach seo, so maybe you could look at that and then maybe share the work out with your team and do it that way, the member is Tin BTW, really nice bloke who is very trustworthy

 

[RedEvo]

I would advise engaging with potential suppliers and trusting the intuition that's helped you build your business thus far. As with any thing, promises that seem too good to be true always are.

It also helps to be honest with yourself. For example when considering keywords, review the competition and ask yourself the questions, is my site better than these, is my content better, be impartial and ask, should my site be above the sites currently ranking and if not what's missing. If you're not honest with yourself at this stage you leave yourself wide open to being ripped off emperors new clothes style.

This recent white board Friday vid might help you a little.

d

 

[Beermonster]

Where I worked we have used several SEO company's over the past few years, I wouldn't recommend SEO Consult or Click consult, they are the same company, spent over £30,000 with them and at the end of the years contact found we was getting less sales.

I tried Sayu for a short while on my site and they got me some good results in the short time they worked on it, but I think most SEO company's are similar, they ask you what keywords you want to rank for and improve sales and if they don't get results then it's your fault because you told them the keywords.

I would try and keep in in-house, if something isn't working it's easier to change things without being charged more or entering in to a new contract.

 

[GreatSEO]

They ask you key terms?

Sorry but surely you pay an SEO as an expert and they should start by researching the key terms that are best for your site based on a number of factors?

That's how we do it anyways. You are paying an SEO to do the job.

That really did make me laugh out loud in fact I almost got coffee down my top...

Dave

 

[Beermonster]

They ask you key terms?

Sorry but surely you pay an SEO as an expert and they should start by researching the key terms that are best for your site based on a number of factors?

That's how we do it anyways. You are paying an SEO to do the job.

That really did make me laugh out loud in fact I almost got coffee down my top...

Dave

I'm glad I've cheered you up, in my experience company's we have used will do the research on keywords for you, but have always left the final decision to the customer.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

I always speak to the client about keyterms, as they know their business well enough to provide a set of 'seed ' terms. OK I then run off and research, but the initial seed can come from the client. Also consideration has to be given to the most profitable terms, because at the end of the day it is all about bottom line.

 

[GreatSEO]

Made me splutter my coffee. Seeding yes but supplying the exact key terms a big NO

Dave

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Oh god no you ARGUE with clients if they try to make you chase the wrong terms. because once you get them to the top for the wrong terms and they don't make money it will be YOUR fault

 

[Ali-v-8]

Agree with OWG - if you let your client dictate what you do then your half way down the path to failure.
Clients think they know what they want - page one ranking isn't it.
They want success and normally that means an increase in traffic and sales (or sign ups).
Getting to page one never guarantees it, but its a start.

SEO has changed - Most of us who dealt with SEO have realised that you can take a horse to water, but you cant make it drink (unless you hold its head under, but it gets messy with the RSPCA) .

An SEO's job is to advise the best course of action. If client doesnt listen I walk away, because 12 months down the line the SEO is always to blame.

 

Would you really trust a client to advise you in SEO.?

Bit like telling the surgeon how to do the operation.

An SEO gets paid to do research and then implement that research for there clients.IMHO

 

[mohitsandesh]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I read this discussion and I have a question that How [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]we can say that SEO companies worth it?[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Because Google updates, decrease the value of SEO companies and at present I think most of user move to different Internet marketing tricks like email marketing, Social-media[/FONT] etc.</span>

 

[ablative]

Thank you for all the comments here - certainly food for thought. Whereas before I was unsure, now I totally don't know whether to use a SEO company or not!

I think I might begin by having a reliable SEO take a look at the site and see what kind of suggestions they come up with.

 

[Ali-v-8]

May i suggest that you spend just a little money on becoming a member here. Then add your website to be reviewed so we can take a look and give you open advice. that way when you do hire an SEO you know what they will need to do.

i think its £40+vat - could save you thousands

 

[Metalfrogboss]

Bottom line: if you want to use a company to deliver then get validation that they have done it before. Get a contract. Google them for "SEO services" "SEO agency" "SEO company" "link building specialists" etc. google their business and their directors. If you want to get value your chosen partner should be researching keywords and competitors websites, and then justifying to you why these are returnable to you.
If your SEO partner has no code development experience this is also a disadvantage when link building ethically. Also, you need to spend less time with on page activity and more on building a reputation online. If you have time and experience and technical understanding then you should do this in-house. If not, then go to a reputable company taking in all the above factors. Hope that helps.

 

Bottom line: if you want to use a company to deliver then get validation that they have done it before. Get a contract. Google them for "SEO services" "SEO agency" "SEO company" "link building specialists" etc. .

That is completely wrong advice IMHO

You want a company that will do good for you not themselves.

 

[S-Marketing]

That is completely wrong advice IMHO

You want a company that will do good for you not themselves.

We have been through this time and time again.

Decent SEO's get their clients sites to the number 1 position. They don't waste their time on their own sites, because they don't need to. Client sites in position 1 is all the promotion they need.

 

[webgeek]

It's a bit like some advertising companies we all are familiar with (not to name particulars) who have 1 person doing support, maintenance, fulfillment, operations and has a broom attached to their backside, while 157 people are using hard sell tactics to keep cash floating in the front door.

Would you rather have an agency that puts its resources into your success, or their own success?

Ask for referrals/testimonials. Search for reviews online. Check the forums here for mentions of them. If a marketing agency can make improvements to people's top/bottom line, can prove it, and rarely upset clients along the way... you might be onto a winner.

 

[eventdomain]

£30k on SEO alone, we'd never pay that

do it in-house as many companies hire SEO's as staff and pick them up for a £15k 'all in' salary with unlimited expertise at their disposal. Just like you can get I.T staff @ £20k. When I worked in Travel, we had 2 full-time I.T pros and own server room, many companies are doing the in-house thing as its cheaper and just as good.

But I guess there will always be a market for Freelance services for the unestablished biz.

 

[eventdomain]

into your success, or their own success?

But those are few, which means limited options and so darn hard to find or get lucky..... most will end up with the low-level to medium results return and never experince what you're describing as relatively easy to get and gain benefits from.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Agree with OWG - if you let your client dictate what you do then your half way down the path to failure.
Clients think they know what they want - page one ranking isn't it.
They want success and normally that means an increase in traffic and sales (or sign ups).
Getting to page one never guarantees it, but its a start.

SEO has changed - Most of us who dealt with SEO have realised that you can take a horse to water, but you cant make it drink (unless you hold its head under, but it gets messy with the RSPCA) .

An SEO's job is to advise the best course of action. If client doesnt listen I walk away, because 12 months down the line the SEO is always to blame.

A few reply's here that are either badly worded or unbelievably pompas (however it's spelt)

The customer knows his industry inside out, he / she knows what sells and what doesn't sell well and they know their plans for the future selling what items to whom

The SEO expert knows SEO and the best mentods of getting the best out of search engines, I would suggest the best selection of keywords is to work together with a indepth discussion to find the best solution

One area that always seems to be missed is the seo of the site with maybe just a token change of meta's and litle else, wheremany would consider SEo on the site the first thing to sort out before moving on to other area's

Some SEO still offer basic link farms hidden under different names or descriptions or links to totally unrelated sites

All the SEO companies I have contacted also never state how many hours a month they will work exclusivly each month for the amount paid, and some boast so many customers there is only a couple of hours available but charges of say £4-600 per month for those two hours

 

[OldWelshGuy]

A few reply's here that are either badly worded or unbelievably pompas (however it's spelt)

The customer knows his industry inside out, he / she knows what sells and what doesn't sell well and they know their plans for the future selling what items to whom

The SEO expert knows SEO and the best mentods of getting the best out of search engines, I would suggest the best selection of keywords is to work together with a indepth discussion to find the best solution

One area that always seems to be missed is the seo of the site with maybe just a token change of meta's and litle else, wheremany would consider SEo on the site the first thing to sort out before moving on to other area's

Some SEO still offer basic link farms hidden under different names or descriptions or links to totally unrelated sites

All the SEO companies I have contacted also never state how many hours a month they will work exclusivly each month for the amount paid, and some boast so many customers there is only a couple of hours available but charges of say £4-600 per month for those two hours

That is the key right there.

 

The customer knows his industry inside out, he / she knows what sells and what doesn't sell well and they know their plans for the future selling what items to whom

Not necessarily.

They will know what has been there best sellers,but without proper research they may well not know what sells best online.

For example I do wonder how many shoe retailers know that 38% of shoe sales are done online or what type of shoe sell well.?

 

[Ali-v-8]

What does this tell you - Nothing at all. took me a day to get these position.
Testimonials and word of mouth - ask clients and see what the SEO has achieved for them.
The old company I worked has a very very prominent word in our industry on page one position 2 - number one is wikipedia - has been there since I achieved it and still there now. However since I left their clients dont fair as well as they should. They feed off the success of their position and the key word is "Their" position.

The second point you make about looking at competitors and copying them is a lazy way to go about Keyword research - And your assuming that they got it right - If they made mistakes and you copy them whats the point

Bottom line: if you want to use a company to deliver then get validation that they have done it before. Get a contract. Google them for "SEO services" "SEO agency" "SEO company" "link building specialists" etc. google their business and their directors. If you want to get value your chosen partner should be researching keywords and competitors websites, and then justifying to you why these are returnable to you.

 

[eventdomain]

I do wonder how many shoe retailers know that 38% of shoe sales are done online or what type of shoe sell well.?

They dont need to, unless they sell a certain shoe and want that keyword included - and then they will tell the SEO.

- most companies keep records of sales, they have electronic point of sales that collate figures by item number, price and total sold per day, so yup - they know what people are purchasing down to a daily basis, which is far more than some freelancer SEO ever will.

If their customers are buying whatever offline, no reason why it wont match up online.

 

[Ali-v-8]

I think you may have misunderstood about my opinion on Onsite SEO (click and see)

One area that always seems to be missed is the seo of the site with maybe just a token change of meta's and little else, where many would consider SEo on the site the first thing to sort out before moving on to other area's

 

[dsmpublishing]

In my opinion the dont touch is just search have a terrible rep and they always amuse me. I had a bad experience with them a few years back, wrote a review about it and even now I have people emailing me asking me about it.

Their seo consultants have a habit of posting on forums asking how to do seo and its so funny, but obviously not for the paying customers.

I have found the worst offenders are the big companies they charge the earth and really dont seem to know what they are doing.

 

[RichardSEO]

I myself currently work for an SEO company, 195SEO to be exact. Ive worked for a few in the past, just recently came across this post. Some companies offer way more than they can actually provide. If you need a decent SEO company, you need to look further down the page. The top SEO competitors don't actually care too much about the SEO side of it, i mean why should they? they have business coming in from all over the globe. Youll find the smaller companies are the ones you should target due to the time they can spend gathering content/quality links to your site. All in all you need to think carefully about getting into a contract with Certain SEO providers as a lot don't do exactly what they state.

 

[Ali-v-8]

Really - are you making a big presumption?

I myself currently work for an SEO company, 195SEO to be exact. Ive worked for a few in the past, just recently came across this post. Some companies offer way more than they can actually provide. If you need a decent SEO company, you need to look further down the page. The top SEO competitors don't actually care too much about the SEO side of it, i mean why should they? they have business coming in from all over the globe. Youll find the smaller companies are the ones you should target due to the time they can spend gathering content/quality links to your site. All in all you need to think carefully about getting into a contract with Certain SEO providers as a lot don't do exactly what they state.

 

[ITsoldUK]

Bottom line: if you want to use a company to deliver then get validation that they have done it before. Get a contract. Google them for "SEO services" "SEO agency" "SEO company" "link building specialists" etc. google their business and their directors. If you want to get value your chosen partner should be researching keywords and competitors websites, and then justifying to you why these are returnable to you.

Correct BUT as stated Google their clients NOT THEM.

As my old boss used to tell me his mantra day in, day out...

"don't buy because I say, buy because of what I have done..."

 

[Kevin007]

Thank you for all the comments here - certainly food for thought. Whereas before I was unsure, now I totally don't know whether to use a SEO company or not!

I think I might begin by having a reliable SEO take a look at the site and see what kind of suggestions they come up with.

I would like add something. I have read the issues that you have pointed out earlier. There are many SEO companies in the market with different business models in place. The trend thats been really popular is "Pay Per Performance" model where in you only pay if and when the desired goals which are being set prior to the campaign are meet. You need to understand though some generally take the percentage of sales generated some have fixed fees.

Please bear in mind ranking in google doesnt matters its rather significant that the keywords turn into business and generate a decent ROI if its generated you can say the money really paid off.

 

[RichardSEO]

Really - are you making a big presumption?

No i'm talking from experience, from what i've seen.