What are SEO companies actually doing for you? Are they just another version of the well-known Snake Oil Salesman?
Well, the answer is, potentially… not a whole lot. One of the problems we frequently run into with our prospective clients are those which have been burned by SEO companies. We hear ‘they claimed our business listing and then did nothing for months’ or ‘they said we would be top of the page on Google’. These agencies also tend to be oddly large and out of state companies with giant sales departments, customer service reps, and incredibly visual and engaging marketing collateral.
All seems too good to be true, right?
They sell expensive packages which include services such as a website build, management, and maintenance. They create a website and then… disappear. For the advertising business, these guys are truly the modern day version of the snake oil salesmen. Sold with promises that simply can’t be carried out. Because, after 6 months of snake oil they will be long gone and onto the next town.
Never fear! Small business help is here!
One of the consistent issues we solve for small businesses is that many of the websites we take over are not keyword rich or even programmed correctly. Additionally, companies don’t have a plan to deliver consistent content to their website or social media channels, while correctly managing and updating directories.
Check out our 4 tips below to help improve your SEO and eradicate some of these problems. Oh, and you can do these by yourself in a day….
1. List your company on Google and various other directories. Even though people generally do not use Superpages or Bing to search as often as Google…make sure you have a full business listing to help validate your business.
2. Make sure your information on each directory matches! It may sound silly but you would be surprised how many times we find business addresses or names that don’t quite match.
3. Use photos! Everyone likes photos, just remember to use at least 5 or 6 showing your logo, a product or service, action shots, and faces! People like to be able to connect to your company and your staff. Faces can go a long way to building that relationship.
4. Be consistent with your content, both in terms of delivery and message. If you can only upload something once a month, that is fine! Make yourself a to-do once a month and stick to it. Write about something you are interested in and it will flow out.
There are many other ways that SEO best practices can be implemented. These are just the tip of the iceberg. Make sure that when you decide to go with an SEO firm that they understand your business, you industry, and the place where YOU do business. The internet is a wide world of opportunity, and many times what you don’t know can cost you!