When it comes to SEO it is critical to work with the right agency in order to maximize results, while avoiding severe penalties from Google’s algorithm. Oftentimes, many business owners may be tempted to work with freelancers claiming to build “10000” backlinks only to be disappointed when they are hit with a big penalty from Google.
The result, of course, leads to dramatic decreases in search engine rankings as well as frustration and anger. In this article we are going to be covering some of the best SEO agencies in Oakville and Mississauga Ontario, so you can be rest assured you are making a good decision when looking to work with an SEO agency. Having said that, let’s quickly go over criteria to be cautious of when making a decision on who to work with for your business’s SEO.
What to Look for SEO Agency?
As a result, standing out from your competitors has never been more important. When it comes to looking for an SEO agency, it’s important to find an agency that stands out. A good SEO agency should have a well-structured website that contains valuable content that showcases their knowledge and overall expertise on SEO.
Having said that, it is critical to ensure that the agency you want to work with offers everything you need for a hands-off SEO solution. The main services they should be offering include:
- On-Page SEO
- Optimizing meta descriptions, SEO titles, H1 tags, URL slug, and Page layout and design.
- Off-Page SEO
- Building HIGH-QUALITY backlinks from relevant industry-specific websites with a good amount of organic monthly visitors, high domain authority, and a high number of organic keywords and referring domains.
- SEO Audits
- All quality SEO agencies should be offering you an SEO audit which should delve into the internal issues of your website that need to be fixed including but not limited to backlink profile, website load time, on-page optimization, multiple versions of the site, duplicate content, keyword cannibalization, and overall user experience.
- Keyword Research
- Before starting your on-page and off-page SEO campaign, make sure the agency you work with takes the time to do keyword research in order to map out your SEO campaign. When it comes to SEO, results only come from having systems in place that are manageable and measured.
- Therefore, choosing the right keywords for your campaign is literally the foundation and the determinant for 99% of the success of your SEO campaign. Make sure the agency you speak with is transparent about the keywords they have chosen for your campaign, and make sure that you are happy with the final list. Key criteria to be wary of when selecting keywords should include the following:
- Low competition keywords
- Decent Search Traffic per month (at least 500 searches)
- Relevant to your industry needs and users search intent
- Technical SEO
- In addition to offering On-Page and Off-Page SEO, a good SEO agency should also offer you technical SEO. Technical SEO includes factors such as optimizing your website page speed, reducing image and video sizes, generating your XML sitemap, and making sure your pages are indexed on the search engine. More often than not, agencies can get so caught up with trying to rank for a keyword that they forget to check if a page is indexed on Google. If the page isn’t indexed, it won’t rank no matter how many millions of backlinks you throw at it. As a result, make sure to work with an agency that is aware of the technical SEO aspect of your campaign.
- Content Creation (Blog Writing)
- Lastly, and arguably one of the MOST important services a well-versed SEO agency should offer you, is content creation. If you have been following up with the latest news in SEO, you would see that Google is a huge proponent for providing value to its extensive database of users. As a result, writing long-form content consistently on your website going after questions people may have about your product or service can go a long way in helping you capture loads of additional organic monthly traffic.
- As a result, make sure the SEO Agency you choose to work with offers you some sort of plan with blog publication to ensure that you are always ranking for long-tail keywords in addition to your primary campaign.
These services are not only key to your success online, but they are complementary and are needed in order to truly receive an all-encompassing SEO solution.
Why choose an SEO Agency over a Freelancer?
The other common concern most business owners face is deciding whether to work with a freelancer versus an agency. Based on our recommendation, both have their pros and cons, however for the most part it is always more favorable to work with an SEO agency for long-term work.
Considering that SEO campaigns typically average between 6-12 months, it is critical to feel like your SEO is in safe hands. Freelancers can only take on so much work, while agencies often have teams that are specialists in their respective departments of online marketing, giving you access to a team of specialists in their marketing fields.
