As a local business owner you are probably using your website as a strategic part of your business marketing plan, if you’re not you need to. Unless you have an in-house internet marketing employee or team then you are probably using local search engine optimization services to gain local exposure to your business.
The big question is do you get squeamish when you get your bill or do you smile when you sign that check knowing it was a great investment in your business that has paid off tenfold?
Hiring a local search engine marketing company can be a difficult task for many business owners. The concept of local internet marketing is relatively new. You have either been a business scorned by Google Adwords or you haven’t put much thought in having a website or even knowing the true benefit in having a presence on the internet in your local market.
The truth is the internet is here to stay and more and more people use it as their first option when looking for a product or service locally. Gaining local exposure online for your business is an investment that should pay off and pay off big time.
Picking the right local SEO Company will make the difference in whether or not you are happy to see their bill or if you just want to throw up and wait for the contract to end.
Here are some tips for picking the right local search engine optimization services
Local search engine optimization services should not be a one size fits all. What works for one business might not work for another.
When you start off exchanging emails, having phone calls or face to face meetings with a potential local SEO company there should be no promises made at any time. If you are told that they can guarantee you number 1 results they are twisting the truth. If you want to know what I mean by twisting the truth email me and I will explain.
The local SEO Company should start out by gathering some information from you about your business and the targeted market. They should then take the information they gathered from you and do some research to see how they can help you.
At this point they should come back to you with a plan of action. This should include making some changes to your website. Your website should be optimized to rank for the number 1 search term for your local business. You will need a great call to action placed on your website to draw in the visitor. In addition to the website optimization they should have an outline of some of the off page marketing tactics that will be used for your local search.
How much should local search engine optimization services cost? Each client should be handled uniquely. To put the investment in prospective evaluate how much revenue a new customer is to you and how many new customers a month you would need to get a return on your investment.
If a new customer to you meant $1000.00 a month and you were able to gain 10 new customers a month due to your local search engine optimization services and you paid $2000.00 a month then that would be a pretty good investment, wouldn’t it?
How fast can you expect results? Typically 60 to 90 days however each business industry, location and competition is different.
What about long term contract? Local search engine optimization services should be something that you use in your marketing plan on a long term basis. However, getting into a long term contract with the wrong company isn’t worth it.
Having a 6 month contract would be a fair amount of time to see if you want to continue with the local SEO company or not. From that point they should offer another 6 month contract or move to a month to month service.
In conclusion, investing in local search engine marketing services will pay off tenfold when picking the right local SEO Company. Steer clear of promises and flat rates without personal research being done on your business, location, and targeted market.
