4 biggest mistakes when hiring an SEO company

Mistakes can be made when you are looking for an SEO company. Search engine optimization is a great strategy to grow your online traffic, leads, and sales. When you do it right, you can earn a position at the top of Google’s search results. On the flip side, if you hire an inexperienced or unethical SEO company, you’re simply wasting your money.

There are several common mistakes that companies make when hiring a strategic SEO partner. We’ve listed what not to do when selecting an SEO company.

1. Don’t fall for the promise of quick results.

Hiring an SEO company that claims to offer quick results is a bad idea. No reliable SEO company will ever advertise that it provides “fast SEO results,” as it’s not practically possible. The fact is, SEO is a time-intensive process. You’ll only experience a regular surge in traffic when you have a comprehensive SEO strategy implemented for several months.

2. Don’t choose a low-cost SEO service provider.

Though the cost should be an important aspect when choosing an SEO company, it shouldn’t be the only factor. Most SEO companies offering low-cost solutions use black-hat SEO techniques, such as paid links, keyword stuffing, and cheap content. Google easily identifies these websites and imposes penalties instead of ranking them. So, you’ll actually hurt your rank by investing in these techniques. If the SEO company is very inexpensive, do some research about the quality of service and make an informed decision.

3. Don’t proceed before checking references.

Before making any decision, do your due diligence and check the company’s portfolio and client references. This will help you understand the SEO company’s experience and what it’s like to work with them. A successful SEO company won’t hesitate to give you references; however, if a company is unable to provide references, it could be a red flag.

4. Why are you hiring a SEO company anyway?
You really don't need to hire a SEO company. Instead, the PR agency updating your website, your newsroom, and your blog will ideally be developing strong copy and optimizing it for human readers and search engines. You don't need someone coming behind you to optimize site copy that you’ve already written and published.

Paying for ongoing SEO is a concept that died 10-15 years ago. In our experience, if you do SEO well the first time, it requires little to no management thereafter. It's all about producing new and fresh content that's well-optimized for humans first and search engine page rankings (SEPR) second. We don't recommend engaging a firm for SEO only.

At Axia Public Relations, we are committed to helping regional and national companies drive leads and reap SEO benefits from PR through news, social, and web. To learn more about how to get prospects to visit your website, download our complimentary "Inbound Marketing" e-book or call us at 888-PR-FIRM-8.