SEO Blog by Arrow Internet Marketing – Company Blog

Welcome to the last part of the SEO agency series – ‘top questions to ask an SEO agency’. From establishing if SEO is right for you to learning how to research and shortlist an SEO agency we hope you have all the information you need to choose the right SEO agency for your business. But before you sign on the dotted line with an SEO company you want to make sure you completely understand what you are getting out of the service. You want to make sure you are making an informed decision. Asking the right questions is vital for the selection and evaluation process.

At Arrow we know that enlisting an SEO agency is a high involvement decision, no matter what size of the company, so once you have shortlisted your top SEO agencies, make sure you take the time to ask the following questions:

Reputation

1.       How long has your company been in business?

2.       Do you have long-standing clients?

3.       Can you provide some case studies and/or references?

4.       Do you have any previous experience in my industry?

Contract

1.       What is the duration of the contract?

2.       Can I cancel the contract at any time?

3.       How often do I pay?

4.       Is there an up-front fee?

5.       Does this contract have a guarantee?

Project

1.       When will my project start?

2.       What type of SEO work happens in the first month?

3.       What type of work do you do every month to improve my rankings (link building, Article writing, navigation set-up, code optimisation etc.)?

4.       How many hours a month will be spent on SEO for my website?

5.       How long should it take to see improvement in rankings?

6.       Do your methods adhere to the search engine’s rules and guidelines?

7.       Do you expect anything from our end to contribute to the SEO work?

Communication

1.       Will I get reports? And how often?

2.       Will there be email and phone support?

3.       How many people will be working on my project?

4.       Who will be my project manager?

An experienced and reputable SEO company should be able to answer the above questions with ease and confidence. Posing the questions will also filter through the good SEO agencies from the bad. We wish you all the best with your SEO investment!

For a free 30 minute SEO consultation with one of our SEO specialists, contact us today on 1300 766 665.

For many of us SEO is like Pandora’s Box – what is it all about and how can it maximise my business? One of the main queries we get asked often is ‘what does SEO involve?’ Before you start researching SEO and determining whether it is right for your business, you should ask yourself the following questions:

1. How is my website currently performing?

Start by typing in one of your company’s key phrases into Google. For example, if you were a pet store located in Chelsea, Victoria, you would type in ‘pet store chelsea’. Or even Pet store Melbourne. Once you have typed in your key phrase, can you see if your company is ranking on the first page? If not, maybe on the second page? Ok, so let’s try another keyword phrase. How is that ranking? You get the gist. Ranking highly on Google is imperative if you want to get more enquiries and leads. It’s simple. If your website is not being optimised on any search engine for your keywords and phrases, then it is time to take action. You don’t want to be invisible to your prospects. And it is one thing to have a well-designed website, it is another to have a well-designed and high ranking website.

2. Are my competitors outperforming me?

Type in the same key phrases as before and you will soon find out how your competitors are performing. For many companies, it is a huge frustration to see their rivals ranking higher than them on Google. Not only are the competitors getting more visibility but they would also be getting more enquiries and leads. And if you know you offer a superior product and better service than your competition, it is frustrating to see them rank on top. Let’s be honest, who really looks beyond the first page. Getting above your competitors and ranking highly on Google will not only maximise your business but build your reputation as a market leader.

3. Are my other forms of marketing sufficient?

What other forms of marketing are you using? And are they targeting the right people? SEO allows you to target people who are ready to buy. It is like getting found at the moment of relevance. Every dollar spent on SEO will go towards targeting the right people. While nothing online is permanent with the right up-keep and quality links to your site, your high ranking can last a long time after you have finished paying for the service. In comparison to other forms of marketing such as direct mail, SEO is the right choice if you want to sustain long-term online presence.

4. And finally… DIY SEO or professional SEO agency?

This question comes down to budget and time and knowledge. If you are tight on budget and can put in the hours, it may be advisable to get consultation session from an SEO expert and do the work yourself. Do self paced study and research online or even do a SEO training/workshop. It does work well for niche businesses targeting a local area. If your service/product is in a competitive industry it is advisable to seek a professional SEO service. Done for you solution backed by years of experience. Chances are that your competition would have hired experts whereas you might still be learning. So there is that opportunity cost of time lost. Also, don’t forget that SEO is a rigorous, time consuming process and demands ongoing effort. The rules are continually changing and while it is no rocket science, it requires staying on top of ever-changing search algorithms. If you think your time is best utilised working on your business rather than maintaining your website and your online marketing, then it is best off leaving it to the experts.

Are you one of these companies who don’t have the time to upkeep and maintain your online marketing and SEO? Then there is help! At Arrow Internet, we provide ongoing SEO and online marketing support to assure you get on top of Google for your key phrases… and stay there!

Check back soon to see our next blog on “How to research and shortlist an SEO agency”

Almost every web entrepreneur seeks an enviable traffic influx and high search engine rankings for his website. After all, the online marketplace is neck-deep in competition; standing out from the crowd is a real difficult proposition. At Arrow Internet Marketing, our objective is to help business owners gain maximum mileage from the Internet.

We are organizing a half-day SEO and Google Analytics Training Workshop to help you learn how to build a pipeline of prospects and customers. Get to know about the most important factors that determine the success or failure of a search engine optimization campaign. Read the rest of this entry »

Websites are growing constantly. Whether it is an ecommerce portal or a basic corporate website, people are adding, changing or deleting features constantly. In essence, over time, many websites reach a state where multiple URLs return the same contents. Having duplicate content on your own website is generally not a problematic issue. However, it often impedes the process of search engine optimization by making it harder for search engines to crawl and index the content. Also, aspects such as PageRank that are affected by incoming links can get diffused across pages that might or might not be duplicates. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a way by which the elusive page 1 rankings on Google  can be achieved within days and weeks instead of months and years.

It involves tapping into the power of Google Universal and social bookmarking to get prominent rankings on Google.

For example, a popular video on Youtube which has the relevant metadata makes it faster on page 1 than a website which is being optimised.

A Blog post that has optimised content can make it to page 1 of Google under Blog Results.

A news item on your website can make it to Page 1 results under Google news within days.

A Google maps result can become live within weeks of uploading.

Any SEO Approach should utilise a combination of methods, some which achieve quick wins and some which achieve long term results.