Hiring the right BigCommerce SEO expert is one of the most difficult and demanding challenges that businesses face. Not only does it take you away from your business, but it can also be very costly if you hire the wrong one.
Hiring an SEO professional is, however, necessary if you want to take your business and your BigCommerce website to the next level.
So here are 5 questions you can ask before you hire one, to ensure you hire the right SEO agency.
1. What do you think is wrong with my website?
Start assessing the skills of the SEO professional you’re talking to by asking what he thinks about your website.
An SEO expert, even without diving into the backend of your website, should be able to tell you foundational issues that are preventing you from getting favorable search engine rankings. He should be comfortable discussing SEO concepts like on-page and off-page SEO and the immediate steps you can take to improve your organic traffic.
He should have a clear estimation of how your page load, navigation system, and sitemaps among others are affecting your conversion rates and your SEO performance as a whole. He should also be able to tell you what he can do to address the same issues and improve the page optimization of your site.
2. How will you improve my search engine rankings?
Stay away from BigCommerce SEO agencies that aren’t transparent with their SEO methods. They should describe the tactics they’ll employ to improve your site’s eCommerce SEO and there should be nothing like paid links, spam comments, keyword stuffing, and other negative SEO techniques that can hurt your website.
They should also be able to provide an estimate of how long it’ll take to meet the SEO campaign objectives you’ve set.
3. Do you have experience with the BigCommerce platform?
The technical SEO requirements of BigCommerce are significantly different from other eCommerce platforms like Shopify or Magento.
It will be the difference between success and failure if the SEO expert you employ can maneuver and consult at a technical level. So make sure the specialist you hire has experience with BigCommerce.
4. May I have a list of former and present clients?
A good SEO agency should be willing to share their current and former clients.
So, request case studies and client references as you narrow down your list of potential agencies.
When reading the case study, look for the problems the SEO agency solved and the outcomes of their efforts. If the client wanted to increase sales, the results should be measured in dollars and not the number of backlinks they gained from hiring the SEO company.
When it comes to references and reviews, these can assist you in determining the skills and technical expertise of the company.
Their presentation to you may present a lot of lofty claims but if they can’t prove this in their results, that should be enough warning for you to look elsewhere.
5. Can you guarantee a number one ranking for my BigCommerce store?
If the candidate says yes, run as fast as you can and find someone else. It’s impossible to guarantee a top search engine ranking for your online store. Google themselves warned people of this. Their official statement is:
“No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a “special relationship” with Google, or advertise a “priority submit” to Google.”
These are just some of the questions you can ask to help you decide or hunt for the best BigCommerce SEO expert. Check out Genius eCommerce® and their BigCommerce SEO services. Their expert SEO team is well-versed with the BigCommerce platform and BigCommerce SEO optimization techniques. Contact them today.
