No matter how great your product is, you still need to spread a word about your company to generate first leads and sales. Search engine optimization (or SEO) can help here. SEO is an on-going process, and you need an expert to take your website to the top in search results.

Not all SEO agencies are the same. Hence, hiring the right one can be a daunting task. Here is a list of things you should know when hiring an SEO agency for startups.

Check Their Expertise

SEO for startups is the same as regular SEO in many aspects. The reason is Google doesn’t care whether you are a small online retailer, a big business, or a startup. All it strives is to connect people with the right content.

The SEO elements for startups are the same as any other business. The main difference is the scale of the challenge. A startup does not have abundant resources as big companies, but it aims to grow as quickly as possible.

It will help if you have experts to take up such a big challenge and succeed. Look for an SEO agency that specializes in startups to offer focused results. If the agency considers itself a master of all marketing services, it might not be the right one.

Ask About Experience

SEO experience plays a vital role in success. Optimization is not something that you can learn overnight and succeed. You need to look for an SEO agency with at least 10+ years of experience. Such a long period ensures the agency had time to refine their strategies over the years.

Experience is also necessary because search engines like Google change their algorithms and criteria every few years. This affects website rankings as well. SEO agencies need to rethink new strategies to adapt to new guidelines. Also, many agencies fizzle out in five years. Hence, avoid hiring a new SEO agency for startups.

Go Through Their Reviews

You need to look at the SEO agency’s quantity and quality of reviews. Please don’t limit yourself to reviews mentioned on their website. The agency needs to have at least 30+ positive reviews; the more, the better. The reviews should go back to a minimum of 5 years.

If you see multiple positive reviews with 5-star ratings in a short period, it can be a cause for concern. Expect an experienced SEO agency to have a mix of positive and negative reviews over their service period. Honest companies do not scrub their reputations and remain upfront about their expertise.

Look at the Keyword Research and Integration Strategy

Keyword research is an essential element of any SEO strategy. Every startup is different. The agency should work with your staff to gain a deep understanding of your business model, products, and services before developing any strategy. Some critical things the agency would discuss are:

• How do they plan to use this information and translate it into a search?
• What metrics do they use to determine the best keywords to reach your target audience?
• What are the search volume, relevancy, and competition for the keywords?

The agency will discuss every important aspect before developing a strategy. A right agency would make you a partner in this entire process.

Do They Have an On-Page SEO Strategy?

According to Google, a good SEO strategy starts with On-Page SEO. It refers to optimizing individual pages to ensure a higher ranking and draw more traffic to your website. A good SEO company would study your website carefully, analyze on-page SEO factors, and take steps to improve on-page SEO.

What’s the Link Building Strategy?

Your website cannot achieve the top position in search results without a robust back-linking profile. A right SEO agency would know this. The agency will build an excellent back-linking profile to help your website rank higher for target keywords.

Content Strategy Matters the Most

Content is the king in SEO. The agency you are interviewing should have a strong content strategy for their clients. You can ask the agency whether they have a writers’ team to produce quality content. Do they blog often? You can ask what kind of content strategy they employed for their clients. You can ask them to share the case studies of their past clients.

These are the important points to consider when you select an SEO agency for startups. Hiring the right SEO agency would ensure your business gets the right push and help your startup in the journey to the big league.