What is an SEO Company? A Peek Inside the Machine

There is no end in sight when it comes to website management. 

There is nothing better than the feeling of raising glasses and toasting to a new website that looks great. 

But many businesses are now asking the same question a few months or weeks later: Where's all the traffic?   

The building of a website is just one step on a long road to maintaining a high-impact, successful website. Your business will grow by partnering with a top SEO company.

What is SEO? What does an SEO expert do? How do you find the best one? 

Continue reading to learn more.

What does an SEO company do?

While every SEO company has a unique mission, they all share the same goal: to grow your business. An SEO company's job at the end of the day is to work with you to generate leads, phone calls, and store visits as well as purchases through search.   

Partnering with an SEO company is similar to hiring an accountant to streamline your books, or a cleaner to clean up your office every week.

It means that you are connecting to a company whose goal is to increase your visibility on search engines.   

An increase in visibility through search engines can mean more traffic to your site and ultimately, more leads, phone calls, and sales.   

What services should an SEO company offer?   

It can be difficult to break down the actions an SEO company is working on.   

Each company operates in a different way, whether it is a local SEO agency or an eCommerce SEO agency. There are many variables involved.

However, many techniques are common across campaigns and companies, so we have compiled a summary of what an SEO company does.

Analyze and research your website and target markets      

• What is the current performance of your website?

• What works well for your industry's competitors? 

• What keywords are your target audience searching for?

•  What results can you expect for your SEO budget?

On-page SEO improvements

• Are page titles and meta-descriptions optimized?

• Are your website contents clear, concise, SEO-friendly, and easy to understand?

• Are you able to use the correct language to talk about your value-adds and services?

• Are your pages optimized for keywords and related themes?   

Off-page SEO modifications      

• Are you getting links and mentions all over the internet?

• Is your server configuration working properly?   

• What is the speed of your website?   

• Is your website secure? Does it provide a great UX?   

Clear communication and regular updates      

• How often do you receive SEO reports?

• What are the contents of SEO reports?   

• What are your campaign goals?   

• How does your SEO company keep up-to-date with business changes?   

Create your content       

• What content are you currently looking for?   

• Which type of content is most effective for your target audience?   

• How can we make sure that content is SEO-friendly?

• Are there strong calls to action in the website content?   

Perform experiments and tests      

• How can data be used to inform decisions?   

• Which areas can we A/B-test?   

• What are the key phrases that drive people to take action?   

• What new/upcoming opportunities are there?   

These six areas are a summary of the key points that many SEO companies focus on and what questions you should be asking your partner.   

Although these six points are useful, there is no way to boil down a campaign to a list like this. Successful SEO campaigns need constant optimization to achieve the best results.   

You can always attract more visitors and increase your site's conversion potential.   

A strong SEO company will have a robust follow-up process that allows constant testing, tweaking, and adjusting to the campaign strategy and your website.

Based on our experience, the majority of companies update their websites approximately every three to four years. So, consider your website as a living document.   

Your industry's search patterns are changing constantly, so your SEO campaign must be as flexible as possible. You need an SEO company that is able to move as fast as your business.   

Advantages of partnering with an SEO company

You've probably already considered the obvious benefits of partnering with an SEO company -- more qualified traffic, leads, and revenue. Additionally, you will have a comprehensive site analytics strategy to monitor and adjust your marketing efforts. These are the most important benefits. However, there are many tangible benefits to working with an SEO company.   

We have worked on tons of SEO campaigns and have noticed a lot of commonalities among our clients.

What’s working at an SEO company like?

Each SEO company is different, but all worthwhile companies share the same goal: to grow your business. An SEO company's role is to work with you to generate leads, phone calls, and store visits.

Partnering with an SEO company is similar to hiring an accountant to streamline your books, or a cleaner to clean up your office every week. It means that you are connecting to a company that has the goal of improving your visibility on search engines.   

Let's suppose you own an accounting business in Dallas, TX. You're an expert on all things numbers. You can spend your entire day discussing balance sheets, taxes, etc.

You want to generate more leads for your firm and have your customers tell you that they found other local accountants via search engines such as Google.

It is not possible to take the time to implement and adjust an SEO campaign yourself. You need to find a reputable SEO company that can help you manage your website's presence on search engines.  

After your campaign starts, your site appears at the top of Google results when you search for " accountants Dallas TX" or "tax experts in Dallas". 

A wonderful partnership is formed.

Your site is busier than ever because of the leads that come in through search engines.

A quality SEO company will give you the knowledge and expertise to increase organic search traffic. An advantage of working with an SEO firm is the high-quality traffic that organic search results bring in from Google (unpaid).   

SEO's beauty is that it allows interested customers to find your business online. Traditional marketing requires that you market to thousands of customers with the hope that only a few of them will become qualified prospects.

SEO works in an opposite direction. You make it easier for people searching online to find your business. Organic search leads are qualified by nature. This means that people who are already interested are searching for your product or services.   

We track all leads that come in via a website using our marketing automation tools. While we see many amazing leads from different channels, organic search leads are the most valuable because they allow interested customers to find you.

What is it like to work with an SEO company? 

It's normal to wonder if you have never worked with an SEO company before. What can your team and business expect? How involved will you be in the SEO process? What does your SEO agency need to get started?

You can expect the following from our SEO firm:

1. Kick-off meeting   

After you have partnered with an SEO company, you can expect a kick-off meeting or introduction with your SEO strategists. This process is different for each SEO company, but it's seamless with us.

A dedicated account manager is assigned to you and introduced. This ensures that your SEO strategy is always in the hands of a familiar face. Our high employee retention gives our clients a consistent SEO experience. 

This kick-off meeting is for your team to:

• Share the digital marketing goals of your company.

• Highlight important information about your company, products, or brand.

• Find out the next steps in your SEO strategy.

• Meet your account manager.

Prepare for your kick-off meeting with a list of questions you want to ask your account manager. You can also create a list for your account manager of essential company resources such as your brand guidelines.   

2. Audit and campaign summary

Working with an SEO company is not complete without the following: Your SEO audit results and your SEO strategy. These topics may be discussed separately by your account manager, but they give your team a valuable roadmap.

These conversations are a great time to ask questions; SEO companies should always educate their clients. At our firm, we value our client's education, because the more they understand, the more committed they are to their success.

Ask questions when you talk to your dedicated account manager. Our team is happy and able to answer any questions you may have about a keyword or strategy. Make sure to use your strategy and audit calls to your advantage.

Ask about everything.

3. Routine check-ins

Once you have met with your dedicated account manager and reviewed and approved your SEO strategy, it is time to plan for regular check-ins. Your strategy and package will determine how often you chat with your account manager.   

These check-ins should take place for at least 45 minutes. This will allow you to have ample time to ask questions, look at data, and talk with your account manager about any other topic.  

Your company can also take a hands-off approach to SEO, aside from these meetings. Your account manager might require your approval or assistance in some cases to help move your strategy forward.

If your company prefers to upload content to your website, rather than having it done by an SEO agency, then you will need to take a more active role. You can maximize the effectiveness of your plan by choosing early what role you want.

You can monitor your SEO's direct results depending on the company that you partner with. This may be done through SaaS tools or a proprietary platform.

Monitoring results allows you to track the success of your SEO strategy. For example, your dashboard provides an overview of how many calls and revenue your website has generated. 

This dashboard is useful for your team and your company's decision-makers.   

What are the best times to hire an SEO company?

It doesn't matter how big your business is, it is important to know when an SEO agency is needed. Although your reasons for hiring an SEO agency may be different, they can have a huge impact on your bottom line.   

There are a few reasons why you should hire an SEO company:   

• Your business can grow in a niche or competitive industry.

• Help support your latest expansion or product launch.

• Increase your sales and revenue.

• For valuable search results, improve your ranking.

When should you hire an SEO company to help you?   

• If your company doesn't have the expertise.  

• If your team is short on time.

• If your company isn't seeing results.

Many companies find it more economical to hire an SEO agency. It can be difficult and costly to create a team of digital marketers depending on the industry you work in. An SEO company gives you direct access to a team of experienced professionals, without incurring additional costs.   

Three tips to find the best SEO company   

You now know what an SEO company does. How do you find the best one?

You've already taken the first crucial step in the process: educating yourself about SEO. 

In your initial discussions with potential partners, feel free to use the questions above.

If you don't know much about the business, it can be difficult to evaluate them. Even a basic knowledge of SEO can help you ask the right questions and provide a guideline for what to look out for in an SEO company.   

Other key tips for researching firms include:    

1. Search for companies with a solid track record. Agencies with many customer reviews and case studies on third-party websites give you an insight into their customer satisfaction.   

2. Search for companies with industry experience: Have these firms worked with similar websites in the past? What were their results? Are they able to speak with confidence about industry-specific information and KPIs?   

3. Find firms that align with your campaign goals. Be clear about your business goals for your SEO campaign. A good SEO company will be able to help you create a strategy that will take you there. Do you want more leads through your website? Find a company that specializes in SEO-based lead generation.

Are you ready to find out what an SEO company can do?   

The trajectory of your company can be changed by choosing the right SEO company that is aligned with your business.   

The power of organic search continues to grow. It is important to be educated on what an SEO company does, and how to choose the right one for you in today's changing advertising landscape.

Contact us online to learn more about SEO and how it can be integrated into your marketing strategy.