‘Build it and they will come’ is an adage which doesn’t hold up in internet industries. Simply having a great, user-friendly website isn’t enough to generate traffic to that website. Intense on and off-site optimizations and SEO efforts or PPC are ultimately the two largest tools out there to help get traffic to your website. The bottom line? The higher your website appears on search engine results, the more likely that you’ll get not just more traffic, but better traffic.
But most website managers don’t have the time or the skill to SEO a website themselves, and need to hire a firm to take that responsibility off their hands. Finding a free SEO quote is easy… but finding a great SEO firm? Not so much. How do you measure SEO firms against each other? No one should be purchasing SEO services based on price alone, when quality work is more likely to get your better rankings in the first place. So, here are some tips and tricks to analyze free SEO quotes, which should help you identify quality providers.
The SEO Firm
You’re choosing what firms to get a free quote from, so the firm’s website is the first place to start. Before you even request a quote, root around the website to identify if it’s even worth it to request a free quote from a firm in the first place. Chances are, if it looks scammy, you’re better off elsewhere.
Is their contact information prominently displayed? Do they list a physical address? These are the first warning signs for a scammy site: little contact information available beyond one or two contact forms on the site. You want to be certain that you can get ahold of the firm whenever you might need them. Try making a few calls or sending emails to see how prompt they are.
Also, how informative and deep is their website? A good SEO firm will go into depth, explaining industry jargon, and offering a lot of information to potential clients. They’ll have a deep blog roster and a beefy website that makes you feel more informed, and lends credence to their claims of capability.
Ask for case studies, and contact their past or current clients to get reviews of the service from the horse’s mouth. There’s no better proof of results than those provided by individuals who have used the service. And of course, before anything else: ensure that the free quote you request will actually investigate and analyze your website first, and will give you a tailored quote. A massive number of SEO providers simply send a generic PDF pricelist in response to quote emails.
The Quote Itself
By now you should have a list of a few quotes to review from great companies which you’ve already vetted. When going over the quotes, consider these items:
Is the dollar amount right for what they propose? Whether or not you can even afford the service is the biggest concern: if you can’t pay their price point, there’s no point in investigating further. Expect to pay between $50 and $150 per hour for a la carte SEO services, or between $800 and $3,000 for monthly services. And that won’t include any start up fees, which vary from firm to firm.
Does it have a detailed explanation of what’s going to be done to your website? As mentioned above, SEO efforts can be quite technical, but the quote from your provider should be able to explain this work to you in a way that makes complete sense to you.
Does it contain a detailed breakdown of all the costs? This should be specific for each process or service offered and elaborate what it is that you’re paying for, and what costs more or less. This will also protect you from being overcharged extra for things which might not appear on the quote at a later date.
Does it contain a basic timetable? Clearly the goal of SEO is to get to a specific place on search results, and a good firm will have analyzed the available competition for your target and be able to pitch decent milestones and goals. SEO takes time, so depending on your current position, expect the timetable to take many months.
Does it offer a monthly report? A great SEO firm will always evaluate their progress for you in rich, deep, detailed reports. Even better, some firms allow you to access a backend profile which shows your progress in real time.