Best SEO Companies
Just as your business has certain types of clients and projects where you excel based on your company’s strengths, experience, and skills, the same is true of SEO companies. Choosing an SEO company to work with is one of the most important decisions your company makes.
Most SEO companies specialize in specific areas as well as offering different models of services for their clients. By understanding the different types of SEO companies, you can select a company that matches your needs and is more likely to achieve the success your organization deserves.
Your company’s SEO is the foundation for success in both the short and long term. If your company doesn’t show up when potential customers are searching online, your sales can’t grow. With the right SEO company for your needs, people who are likely to become your clients can easily find you online when they’re looking for solutions for their challenges.
What is an SEO company?
An SEO company’s role is to improve your business’s SEO through a range of services and projects aimed at improving your rank on search engines.
Most SEO companies start engagement with a new client by conducting an SEO audit, which determines where your organization’s SEO currently stands. Then the company creates a plan of needed services to help you reach your goals.
The most common service is keyword optimization. The company researches common searches made by your target customer and then identifies both long-tail and short-tail keywords to target.
By also targeting on-page SEO, the SEO company makes sure that your URL, title tag, internal links, meta description, headings, images, mobile optimization, and page load speed are all optimized so they make it easier to rank higher.
Additionally, SEO companies make changes to your site structure, in terms of mobile friendliness, crawlability, and indexability, which impact SEO.
Because backlinks can also improve SEO, an SEO agency can focus on developing an off-page SEO strategy for link building from reputable sites.
Other services offered by SEO agencies include digital PR, brand mentions and outreach, content development and optimization, local SEO expertise, Google business profile management, and e-commerce services.
When your organization hires the right SEO company for your needs, you can focus on what you do best and grow your business instead of spending more time and money on SEO and not achieving the best results.
Achieving success starts with choosing the right provider. By understanding the types of companies and which one best meets your needs, you can simultaneously improve your search ranking and grow your business by allowing your team focus on serving your customers.
SEO companies based on business model
Some companies, especially large enterprises with ongoing SEO needs, hire their own in-house SEO team. However, this requires a large budget as well as extensive SEO needs to fill the to-do list of full-time employees. Typically, the companies that need an in-house team are those with multiple websites and extensive digital assets.
Because SEO encompasses many different skill sets and expertise, it’s challenging for organizations to build a team that includes all the different specializations needed.
Due to the challenges of building an in-house SEO team, many companies turn to full-service digital marketing agencies or SEO-only agencies to handle their SEO needs.
A full-service digital marketing agency provides SEO services along with digital marketing campaigns, including pay-per click, email marketing, social media, website design, content marketing, and analytics.
Typically, companies hire a full-service marketing agency when they don’t have in-house marketing or need more support than what exists in-house. With a full-service approach, the SEO agency often gains extensive knowledge about your company, but they also often charge higher prices.
By comparison, an SEO-only agency only offers SEO and related services, making it a better choice for companies that have in-house marketing and need help to organically grow traffic.
Because these SEO companies focus solely on SEO, they often possess a higher level of expertise and experience than full-service agencies that offer SEO as one of their services. Companies only needing SEO services usually find that an SEO agency meets their needs better.
Another option is hiring a freelance SEO consultant. Typically, freelancers work for multiple clients as independent professionals. They offer customized SEO services based on each client’s needs and typically charge significantly less than agencies.
Businesses with smaller budgets and less SEO needs often find freelancers to be a good solution. However, freelancers can be challenging to find, and they require project management from the organization. Additionally, the organization does not have a backup for SEO in case of illness or other emergencies.
When searching for SEO services, you may also encounter the term “white-label” SEO providers. These providers handle SEO tasks, such as keywords and on-page SEO, that are rebranded under an agency’s or business’s name. Digital marketing agencies may use these services to offer SEO expertise to clients.
SEO companies based on specialization
SEO companies are not all the same — most specialize in specific types of SEO. Even more importantly, the term SEO does not mean one size fits all. When researching companies, it’s important to understand the type of SEO that each agency you are considering specializes in.
Here are common specializations:
- Local SEO: When a consumer searches for a restaurant, store, or other brick-and-mortar establishment, they are usually searching for one located near where they are at that moment. Turning the searcher into a customer requires companies to optimize local searches as well as effectively use their Google Business Profile. Businesses that rely on local search results are best suited for an agency that specializes in turning SEO into foot traffic.
- E-commerce SEO: Some businesses rely solely on digital traffic, especially online stores run on Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce. Because the search intent and types of searches are different than those for brick-and-mortar stores, businesses selling products online need an agency that specializes in digital e-commerce SEO.
- Enterprise SEO: Fortune 500 organizations and other large companies have unique needs, often with complex websites and, sometimes, multiple websites. Agencies specializing in enterprises have the experience needed to manage the extensive structures, business goals, and multiple stakeholders involved in enterprise SEO.
- Technical SEO: One type of SEO involves focusing on the technical aspects of a site that impact SEO, such as website load speed, mobile friendliness, crawlability, indexability, and SSL certificates. Organizations that have existing website content that is already optimized for on-page SEO and keywords often turn to technical SEO firms to adjust the other aspects that are preventing higher ranking.
- Link-building: Similar to technical SEO firms, link-building agencies focus on a single area of SEO — creating backlinks from reputable websites. Businesses specifically looking to boost domain authority often turn to link-building agencies that have relationships at well-respected websites.
- Content-driven SEO: Because quality and relevant content helps improve SEO and drive traffic to websites, many agencies specialize in helping companies create the content that helps build trust in the organization. Keyword research and optimization are also a key part of successful content marketing. Businesses that want to increase traffic organically often turn to content marketing to build their brand and SEO.
SEO companies based on industry focus
When looking for the right SEO agency, businesses should also consider industry-related expertise. While some SEO agencies focus on specific niches, others cover a wide range of areas.
A niche-specific SEO agency specializes in a specific industry, which all of their clients work in. The team typically possesses industry-specific knowledge about the customers and market trends. Additionally, they understand customers’ search intent in the industry and have experience with common keywords for the niche. For example, a hospital may see better results with an agency that focuses on helping healthcare systems improve their SEO.
A multi-industry SEO company serves several sectors, making it a better fit for companies that sell their products and services to customers in a range of industries. For example, a company that creates email marketing software has customers in many different industries, from government to higher education and retail.
Before starting to look for an agency, consider your business and your customers to determine whether you are focused on multiple industries or a single one. However, companies that serve multiple industries but are looking to expand their customer reach in a specific area may decide to hire a niche agency for a specific project. For example, the email marketing software company may decide to focus on increasing healthcare system customers, making a healthcare-specific agency a good option for this specific project.
How SEO companies charge for services
There are multiple types of pricing models, which often makes it challenging to compare pricing between firms. Additionally, agencies include different services in their offerings, making it even harder to make accurate budgeting decisions.
Here are common pricing models:
- Monthly retainer: The SEO agency charges a set amount every month for a specific set of services, such as keyword optimization and content development, to be completed each month. Typically, this also includes monthly reporting and analytics. This model works best for companies that are looking to make a long-term investment into improving their SEO and are outsourcing their entire SEO to an agency.
- Project-based: Companies often hire an agency for a specific SEO project, such as designing a new website or improving the website’s load speed. This model works best for businesses that need short-term and clearly defined SEO work. Some organizations use this model to see if an SEO company is a good fit and then move to the monthly retainer or performance-based model for more extensive SEO work.
- Performance-based: Businesses looking for specific results may work with an SEO company with a pay-for-performance model. This means that the SEO agency charges based on specific results, such as rankings, traffic, or leads. This model works for companies that are looking for a specific result.
- Hourly consultation SEO experts: Companies that need short-term and defined expertise often hire a freelancer or SEO agency on an hourly basis. For example, a business that wants to understand what changes need to happen to improve the company’s mobile friendliness to improve SEO may hire an agency for consultation. This model works best for defined questions and smaller projects.
Choosing the right SEO company for your business
With so many agencies offering SEO services, it’s important to take a strategic approach to finding the right fit. Here are four steps to helping you find an SEO company to help potential customers more easily find your content:
Assess your business needs
Start by defining your company’s goals with SEO: are you looking to improve SEO overall, do you have specific needs, or something else. Then consider the type of help you need — are you looking to outsource all SEO needs, or are you looking for help with specific projects. With these answers, you can then determine key factors, such as what type of agency and what level of service will best fit your goals.
Evaluate SEO companies
The next step is to identify SEO agencies that meet your initial criteria, such as type of agency and niche expertise. With your list of potential agencies in hand, research each one for details such as proven track record, testimonials, years in business, and client retention rate.
Budget considerations
Once you have a short list of agencies that are a fit, talk to each one to get information on their pricing and pricing structure. Consider asking about different pricing structures, and ask detailed questions about what is included in the price. For example, some agencies include an SEO audit as part of a retainer agreement, while others charge extra. Additionally, reporting and analytics are included in some packages but not with other agencies.
Red flags to watch out for
When interviewing agencies, a key consideration is the type of SEO practices they employ. Some agencies use black hat tactics, which are unethical and usually penalized by search engines eventually. By only using an agency that uses ethical practices and provides transparency, you can improve your company’s long-term SEO success. Other red flags include high client turnover, high staff turnover, a lack of a clear SEO strategy, and strict exit clauses.
Selecting the right SEO agency
Many businesses mistakenly believe that all SEO agencies provide similar expertise, approaches, and experience. However, your SEO success depends on hiring an agency that has the exact expertise and model that your business needs to reach your goals. The time invested in searching for the right fit will likely pay off in higher rankings and new leads in the future.
Best SEO Companies