SEO: BFF for Your Businesses

Running a website is an on-going process. While there are milestones like when you first launch your site to the world, the truth is that you are never ‘finished’ with it. That is because for your website to do its job – attract visitors and convert them into sales, subscribers, or donors (for example) –  you must be at the top of the search engine rankings.

That quest for the top space never ends. Even if you do make it to the highest spot, everyone beneath wants to displace you. So, you have two options: You can try to manage all of the different parts of search engine optimization (SEO) yourself in-house, or you can take advantage of the help that an SEO agency can give you.

Here is why we think the latter is the best option, and how your SEO agency can be the best friend forever for your business.

What Is an SEO Agency?

When you need legal help, you turn to a legal practice. When it’s tax season, you go to an accountant. When it is time to get your website highly ranked, you go to an SEO agency.

Yes – you can technically perform all of these tasks yourself, but each requires a level of focus, skill, and experience to master that is simply not feasible for most businesses. After all, you still have to think about day-to-day operations and business growth.

Your SEO agency is the gateway to your digital presence becoming a sales asset – higher ranking equals higher traffic, which should then translate into higher conversions.

What Services Should Your SEO Agency Provide?

The truth is that different SEO agencies have different skill sets. You might find a technical SEO agency that would look only at the technical side of your web presence and not so much the other areas. Similarly, there are content specialists who can help you to create and implement a content production and publication strategy that will help your SEO.

However – there are also multi-discipline SEO agencies. These companies can help you with the full range of SEO work and ensure that each of the search engine ranking factors is tackled. The decision for what type of agency you prefer is yours, of course. Some business owners or marketing teams prefer to keep their content production in-house to have more control, but still need support with other areas.

Having said that, here are some of the main areas that a good SEO agency will address for you:

     1. SEO Audit

The first step in any optimization activity is to find out where you stand now. That means conducting a full SEO audit, to identify how your web presence is performing currently and which areas can be strengthened.

This activity typically also includes a detailed look at your competitors – particularly those who are outperforming you in terms of search engine ranking. What is working for them? Is their position in those factors unassailable, or is there scope for your business to compete?

Ultimately, your SEO audit should give you a detailed view of your current strengths and weaknesses and an action plan with reasonable expectations.

     2. On-Page SEO

Your on-page SEO is about making your landing pages and your content as accessible to the search engine algorithms (and your visitors, ultimately) as possible. This includes areas like metadata, title tags, and descriptions, keyword optimization, clarity, image descriptions, and a range of other factors.

     3. Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO primarily looks at the links to your pages from other places on the web. This is an essential piece of the SEO puzzle, and is more complex than it seems. Your SEO agency will make sure that you have high quality sites linking to your content. Otherwise, search engines might penalize your site for links from risky or potentially illegal sites.

     4. Technical SEO

Your technical SEO is all about how your content performs in a literal sense. How long does it take for your web page to load up and become interactive (the time it takes for a user to be able to click on links or enter information)? Is your website intuitive to navigate around? Are your pages optimized for the mobile or tablet device experience?

Each of these areas is important, as are factors including server response times and configuration, data security, and streamlined code with no dormant, missing, or incorrect internal links.

How Will Your SEO Agency Report to You?

When you choose your SEO agency, this is one of the key areas that you should discuss. Some businesses simply want to outsource the SEO function, and receive a monthly or quarterly report with an overview of the work and improvements. Others want a more granular and technical report on a more frequent basis.

Make sure that the agency you choose can report to you in the way that you prefer – there is no benefit to be had if the reports you receive are not timely enough for your needs, and they are written in industry jargon that you do not understand.

Digital Authority Partners

For the ideal SEO agency experience, get in touch with Digital Authority Partners. Our award-winning digital marketing agency is composed of multi-disciplinary specialists who can help you to define your SEO strategy, create the right program for you and your specific needs, then implement and manage your SEO for you.

We have worked with businesses of all sizes, and in all sectors, and we can bring that experience and track record of success to you and your project, no matter the scope.