As always, there are a number of different online marketing strategies that can help generate leads. One of the most important of all, however, is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Over half (53%) of marketers say content creation for blogs is the most important inbound marketing priority. When choosing an SEO firm for your business’s blog, you should make sure they can do the following.
- Keyword Research
A good SEO company will do thorough research to identify the most effective keywords for their client’s product. While ‘fast cars’ might be what your company sells, that keyword is highly competitive. Keyword research will reveal the intersection of what your company sells and what keywords are more accessible to rank on. This could include local SEO terminology like ‘fast cars near me’ or particular brands or specification. - Backlinks
One of the biggest ranking factors for a website on Google is the number of other websites that link back to it. When choosing an SEO firm, you must make sure they have a strategy to generate these links. A while back this was fairly easy to accomplish by building a bunch of dummy websites and spam linking to clients. Today, Google’s algorithm is much more sophisticated, making this technique obsolete. Backlinks need to come from trusted, well-ranked websites to be helpful. - Data Tracking
In order to know if the content marketing is effective, the SEO firm you choose must provide data tracking tools. This can include organic clicks per week, backlinks generated, conversion metrics, and specific keyword efficacy. - Frequency
Any good SEO firm knows that you must consistently and frequently update a blog for these strategies to be effective. Make sure to choose one that is capable of regular posting at a volume commensurate with your SEO goals. - Content Length
Studies have shown that long-form content consistently ranks higher than short form content. You can test this by simply Googling anything at all. Open the first three links on the results page, and do a visual assessment of their length. Then go to page two and do the same thing. You will more than likely find that top page rankings are much longer than those on page two.
These are not the only things to look for when choosing an SEO firm, but they certainly make up a huge chunk of the important ranking factors. Search Engine Optimization is far from an exact science since it is an ever-changing landscape. Perhaps after you know that an SEO firm is capable of the above practices, the next most important quality is adaptability. Google changes its algorithm so frequently that the ability to adapt in the SEO space is the x-factor that can give one digital marketing company the edge.