New Business Guide: What an SEO Company Does

New businesses, and first-time new business owners in particular, often fall into the trap of creating a website and checking it off their to-do list. Unfortunately for them, the simple fact is that website work never ends. Getting your brand, products, or services out there for the world to see is excellent. It is undoubtedly a nice milestone to reach, but without constant attention and nurturing, you will not get the traffic (and customers) you want and need.

That is, in summary, precisely what an SEO agency will do for you. They will take over your digital presence and build everything to ensure maximum exposure for your company. Read on for our guide to what an SEO agency can do for your new business.

What Is an SEO Agency?

An SEO agency is a third-party consultancy that you can engage to provide search engine optimization activities on your behalf. These services cover various factors to rank your website as high as possible for multiple search terms (keywords). So whenever a potential customer searches on Google (or other search engines) using specific words or phrases, they will be presented with a list of results, which will include your page(s).

Why Is SEO Important?

Internet searches often provide a massive number of results, spread out over multiple pages. Unfortunately, searchers very rarely get past the first page or two of results. Therefore, if you are not highly ranked, then they will never find you and your business – even if you are the perfect result for them.

SEO is vital because it works to place you as the top result and keep you there. But, remember, your business competitors are also trying to reach that fabled top spot on page one. Therefore, your SEO activity must continuously evolve to stay ahead of the game.

What Services Do an SEO Agency Provide?

As we mentioned, the range of services that an SEO agency provides can be pretty broad. For example, full-service agencies usually offer full technical audits, keyword research, content creation, backlink work, and more. In contrast, more niche agencies may focus their skill set on just one or two of these areas.

When choosing the partner you want to work with, clarify that they have the skill and experience to handle the most concerning areas. Otherwise, you will not achieve the results that you want and need.

The Benefits of Working With an SEO Agency

Ultimately, the key benefit of engaging the services of a skilled SEO agency is time. Sure, you could tweak your web page yourself, publish a few social media posts, and start your blog, but that is not why you are in business. As your new company grows, you will have enough plates to keep spinning without setting aside a significant part of your day to perfect your web presence.

A close second benefit is the level of skill. Those tweaks, posts, and blogs you make are extremely unlikely to be of the same quality and achieve similar results to the work of a professional. Why would they?

SEO agencies have spent countless hours training and building up experience to become experts at what they do. Every single action they take aligns with intending to improve your search engine ranking. Unless you have similar experience and stay on top of the ever-changing search engine algorithm requirements and preferences, you cannot compete.

Why Not Build an In-house Team?

There is a simple answer here: cost. As a new business, you must watch every cent and dollar to ensure you can grow and develop the business. Hiring a full-time digital marketer is likely to cost you more than engaging the services of an agency. You also have to deal with the typical personnel issues – benefits, turnover, and day-to-day supervision, for example.

You also need to give that person (or people) time for professional development, as search engine optimization is an ever-evolving discipline. For example, what is a priority in one year that may be much less significant after the next algorithm update?

How Do You Choose the Right SEO Agency for You?

Carefully choosing your SEO agency based on several factors would be best. Some agencies will have particular expertise with specific industries or sectors. So you can find an eCommerce SEO agency, for example, or a restaurant/hospitality specialist. There are also larger agencies with cross-sector expertise. Therefore, it is critical to observe if they worked with similar companies to yours in the past (with success).

When you vet agencies, be sure to look at the sector. For example, the size of the companies they have worked with – handling SEO for a massive multinational is very different from building up a brand new business to a top-ranked site.

You should also pay close attention to how you want your agency to interact with you. If you like granular details and frequent updates, ensure that your provider can provide that. If you prefer a more hands-off approach with simple, easy-to-understand reports on a monthly or quarterly basis, then make sure that is something the agency can provide before you sign up.

As with any purchase or service, you can learn much from existing and previous client reviews. Look for independent reviews (do not just stick to the ones the agency publishes on their website, which will typically be the most positive ones). In addition, try to look for comments that resonate with you and your business.

Digital Authority Partners

For more help or guidance on search engine optimization, get in touch with our award-winning team. We have helped businesses of all sizes, including brand new entrepreneurial start-ups, grow with customized strategies and campaigns, and we can help you too.