Hiring an eCommerce SEO expert is no cheap proposition, so you’ll want to make sure you’re choosing the right one out of the gate.
Getting the right answers to some of the following questions can help ease the risk. It’ll also help make sure your eCommerce website shows up in the search engine results pages.
What Ranking Factors Do You Actually Optimize?
Not all SEO companies’ services entail the same deliverables, but there are more than 200 ranking factors, which means that you need to know which factors they’re going to optimize out of the gate. Some combination of on-page factors, technical factors, link-building and content optimization should be the answer.
Can You Show Me Case Studies with Data?
Hire very cautiously if the agency you’re working with cannot demonstrate case studies that have actual client information and data associated with their marketing strategies, specifically increases in impressions, clicks, time on page, conversion rates, and sales value.
Can You Show Me Your Current Organic Search Rankings?
Never hire an eCommerce SEO “expert” unless they can demonstrate that their own website has serviceable organic standings. No SEO expert should own that title unless they can show they have a website that has healthy organic rankings that generate clicks and traffic.
How Many Clients in This Industry Have You Served?
It’s possible that you can hire a good SEO services provider that doesn’t specifically have experience in your vertical, but it’s always better if they do. Familiarity with an industry is necessary to optimize good copy for a campaign, and since content is king, there are no good SEO services with content optimization.
How Long Does It Take Most of Your Clients to See Results?
Pay close attention to the SEO company’s answer to this question. If they make any solid promises, move on to the next. No company can promise results even over a long duration. However, what you’re looking for here are reasonable estimates. As a general rule, it takes 6 to 12 months for SEO efforts to bear fruit. If the agency tells you it’ll be faster than that, be skeptical.
Do You Offer Supporting Marketing Services?
SEO does not operate in a vacuum, and other services can impact its efficacy. For instance, development services can benefit a website’s user experience, which in turn impacts SEO, just as social media marketing can improve a website’s organic reach, which also benefits SEO. The more related services an agency offers, such as landing page optimization or CRO services, the better.
Can We Have a Meeting with Your Writers to Align on Content?
Writing is one of the cornerstones of SEO and effective services need optimized content in order to produce results. Unfortunately, many agencies outsource writing efforts, and quality can suffer. Call for a meeting with writers before hiring so you can be sure of what you’re getting.
What Is the First Step in the SEO Campaign?
After you hire an SEO expert, there should be a firm process in place so that you know what the eCommerce SEO services entail. For instance, do the eCommerce SEO company’s efforts start with an industry or website audit? Or is the first step keyword research? You want to know what the first stages are like so you know where your money’s going as well as how long it’s going to take to bear fruit.
How Long Do Your SEO Campaigns Usually Last?
Ideally you want an eCommerce SEO agency with several search engine optimization clients that have been around not only for more than a year, but with SEO strategies that have been in place for several years. One, this will show that the agency can manage good relationships, and two, it will show that the clients are happy with what they’ve been getting for several years and have stuck around. Most importantly, it will show that the agency can adapt the eCommerce SEO strategy to changes in search engine algorithms that affect how the strategy is impacting online visibility and driving traffic.
Getting Started Hiring an eCommerce SEO Expert
Hiring an eCommerce SEO expert is not going to be a quick process, but asking the questions in this article can help you make sure you’ll be working with a good one for your online store.
