Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. The general factors of website ranking
3. The qualities to look out for
4. Developed for mobile devices
5. Transparency and Flexibility are the keys
6. Conclusion

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a well-known terminology in online marketing nowadays. It is essentially designing a website so that a search engine can find it out easily and place it among the results when a search is performed. It is now a common practice to do an online search before buying a product or service.

According to the available statistics, in 2021, Google is the most used search engine by online users globally. It is utilized by 70% of the net surfers, followed by Baidu at 13%, Bing at 12%, and Yahoo at 2%.

However, just making the website is not enough today; it has to be designed according to the factors that help rank. The placement of the business website on the first page of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is essential, as only 0.78% of searchers go to the results on the 2nd page in a Google SERP. So, it is evident that the agency in charge of the SEO will have to be proficient in developing the website. Moreover, Google has expanded its algorithm to detect Back hat SEO techniques, so the methods should bring in organic traffic.

The General Factors Of Website Ranking

During an SEO, an agency applies different tactics to make the clients’ website reach the prime ranking of the Google SERP. The methods differ according to the chosen company, but usually, most companies focus on the following facets to get the most traffic and highest number of prospective customers. Let us know about it in detail:

• Keyword Research

Let us think about a real-life situation. Let’s say you want to buy a pair of shoes. As is the trend, you will go and search about “shoe stores near ABC place” in a search engine and get the results listed in return.

But have you thought about how Google knows to find these web pages? Many factors determine the website’s ranking, but usually, Google will take each of the search terms, and its algorithm will search among the billions of web pages in the world. The one ranked highest will be placed, then the second, and so on.

Knowing the keywords that web users can use to search for your business is one of the capacities of a professional SEO agency. They will prepare organic content with these keywords and then launch them on your business site.

Typically, they use the available online tools to research the keywords ranking highest for a business. After the 2014 Google search algorithm update, the local firms nearer the searcher can compete with global companies for space in the SERP.

• Backlink Inclusion

A backlink is created when a website is linked with another website. This generation of links helps in the SEO of a website because the more mentions a website gets from other websites with authority, the greater its ranking becomes. One can understand the importance of backlinks from the following points:

a)Among all the web pages found in Google, 91% never receive any organic traffic, mainly because they don’t have any backlinks.

b)55.24% of these pages don’t contain even one backlink.

c)The web pages featured on the 1st page of the Google SERP have 3.8 times more backlinks than those below.

So, proficient SEO companies will have to include backlinks from authority sources. Most experienced SEO agencies have a team of writers, editors, and publishers who provide many backlinks for their clients.

Other than the above factors, Google ranks a website on site, pages per session, direct website visits, and bounce rate.

The Qualities To Look Out For

The SEO companies are also there to do business. So, they will advertise and place tall claims about their services. You have to find the best candidate for the job. The most prevalent character of the agency would be to work continuously and dedicate all their skills to improve your brand’s visibility and increase the sales of the products and services.

It’s like the famous quote by Phil Frost of Main Street ROI – “Successful SEO is not about tricking Google. It’s about PARTNERING with Google to provide the best search results for Google’s users.” Let us know about the other significant qualities you should look for when thinking about choosing an agency to handle your SEO:

1. Crystal Clear Practices

SEO design and the resulting optimization will take time as it requires the involvement and implementation of several complex and long-lasting processes and activities. A comprehensive SEO planning assimilates all of them together. It may take multiple months till you observe the outcome you want.

The most important thing is – the benefits will gradually come into being; there is no shortcut way to do it. You have to wait and let it develop organically. And for that, you will need a team with the knowledge of the workings of the search engine, attention to little details, and a deeper understanding of the evolution of Google’s algorithm over time.

The new algorithms of Google can detect black hat SEO techniques like keyword stuffing, link buying, and cloaking quite easily, and these practices are anyhow obsolete.

They will not help in your purpose but will surely invite penalties from the search engine if detected, as they are now considered malpractices and violate the search engine guidelines.

Google will automatically drop your site ranking in its SERP, and consequently, your traffic will drop too. So, it’s better to choose an agency practicing only white hat SEO methods.

2. Appreciative Of Your Business Goals

Every company has a set of specific goals to achieve and particular aspirations to complete. Before you start looking for the apt SEO agency for your company, you should make a checklist of your targets. Although, the targets should be realistic and keep track of the timeline.

For that, you should properly communicate with your chosen SEO agency. Be direct in your demands and tell them your primary goal. Would you like to increase the sale of your products? Or do you want to increase the visitor traffic to your website? Stating your target will help the agency to fulfill them correctly.

3. Understanding Of The Process KPIs

After understanding the business goals and their handling by a few SEO firms, you will need to find their knowledge of the website’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Your chosen agency should be well-aligned to understand your needs and eager to work together so that you can improve your KPIs and allow their benefits to manifest.

The KPIs are diverse and could be anything from the number of people coming to your website, your performance on converting leads into buyers, your best-ranking keywords, and many other things.

They will also correct any flaw in your website which causes a Google crawling error. Before awarding the contract, ensure that your choice has the knowledge and skill to improve the KPIs.

4. Endorsed By Current Clients

The common practice of choosing an SEO agency is giving a Google search and selecting the highest-ranking SEO firm. But in reality, this doesn’t work every time. Rather than a high rank, an SEO company that has served hundreds of clients and maintained customers for a long- time is the safest bet when looking for an SEO agency.

However, it doesn’t mean that the Google SERP is of no use or the company listed there is ineffective. It’s just common sense that you can buy these listings and influence search rankings via black Hat SEO methods. So, even the impartiality or legitimacy of the top 3 listings are doubtful.

On the other hand, experts believe more in real-time recommendations and user reviews. So, it is better to listen to other experienced businesses in your area and have employed many SEO agencies. Their guidance will be more practical about SEO.

5. Modernized To State-Of-The-Art Movements And Policies

SEO methods are constantly evolving and getting updated daily. Therefore, the agency of your choice should be able to keep track of the latest policies and events in the SEO field.

If they are still using obsolete methods without relevance in modern times, you won’t get any results. In addition, using Spammy and age-old techniques can invite Google penalties too.

So, you should minutely check the knowledge and skills of the agency about the latest Google update and events. Do not hesitate to ask about their methods and schemes for your website.

6. Active And Well-Timed Communication

Your chosen SEO agency should be aware of the importance and the ways to generate effective communication and gaining trust. The reason is the SEO service providers use different tools to determine several aspects of the SEO. However, devices present data; they do not analyze, explain, or simplify them.

It’s the job of the SEO Company to communicate the valuable insights with you and explain them in the layman’s language. For example, they should make you understand the changes you need to make to your KPIs for a more effective SEO campaign.

The exchanges of messages and other forms of communication should be hitch-free and easy. You should be able to contact your SEO agency and get any query answered appropriately. The responsible person should be available, prompt, and listen to your questions with the appropriate attention.

7. Vertical Understanding

An SEO agency should have comprehensive knowledge and experience in the different areas of digital marketing. You should get skilled services, along with SEO, in link building, on-site optimization, and on-site content writing.

As SEO is a multifaceted method, your chosen agency should also know about the related vertical processes.

8. Dedicated Social Media Utilization

Ultimately, one of the essential qualities of an SEO agency is the focused and directed utilization of social media. They should be skilled in using social media to successfully drive its massive number of members to the customer’s website, which is only possible if they have extensive knowledge about the workings of social media. After all, it is predicted that worldwide social media users will reach almost 3.43 billion in 2023.

Social media platforms are utilized for business growth because of the massive numbers of potential customers available there.

For example, Facebook is considered the primary content distribution channel for current marketers. Instagram has the second-highest ROI among marketers today, with 120 million users in the USA alone. The skilled SEO should be adept at using these platforms competently and successfully generate increased traffic, leads, and conversions for your website.

Developed For Mobile Devices

Although this factor is not directly related to SEOs but has a considerable impact on the visibility of any website. The recent statistics suggest that 55% of website traffic in 2020 came from mobile devices, which will reach up to 73% in 2025.

This fact is important because websites developed for desktops often glitch in mobile devices, and mobile users will choose the net alternative. So, updated SEO agencies will recommend creating a mobile site for your business in its current state.

Transparency And Flexibility Are The Keys

An essential characteristic of an SEO agency is its transparency. They should be open about their practices and the method they use. The best way to judge their mode of operation is to ask about the processes they will apply to improve your company’s SEO. If they are trustworthy, they will explain the tactics lucidly and mention any disadvantages or likely setbacks the method can cause.

Conclusion

The SEO agency of your choice should always be informed about the new developments in the market and be prepared to adopt them when required. Their knowledge base should be continuously updated with further relevant information and maintain the same pace as the rapidly evolving digital marketing trends.

They should be flexible and adaptive enough to recognize and apply the new digital marketing techniques, tools, and trends where needed. Also, they should be reliable and complete their projects in the given time.