When hiring an SEO company, it is essential that you carefully select one as there are literally hundreds of SEO companies. Due to the nature of SEO, you don't have to choose a company in your local area since SEO is done completely online. As a result, you can choose a company that is located anywhere in the world. For example, Brand That Name is an SEO company based in the UK but can help you increase your website traffic internationally. However, not every SEO company is effective or can drive results, which is why we will now look at 7 tips that will help you to find the best company.

1. Thoroughly Examine Their Website

The last thing you should do is hire an SEO company that doesn't have a proper website that is not ranked for their own keywords. So, be sure to check that they are actually ranking for at least low to medium competition keywords. You should also make sure that they are ranking for their own brand name. This will help you to weed out the companies that just say they do SEO and those who can actually do SEO.

2. Look At The Services Offered

Next, you should pay attention to the exact services offered by the company. Many SEO companies only offer certain aspects of SEO such as link building. You should hire a company that provides a full SEO service since you need much more than just backlinks in order to rank. The company should offer auditing services, on-page, off-page, CRO, keyword research, competitor analysis, etc.

3. Ask For Proof Of Past Work

You should always ask to see the sites that they have ranked in the past as well as the keywords that they have ranked for. It is imperative that you know that they have had past clients and that they successfully increased the rankings of these clients. After all, if they can't produce results for their past clients, then they likely won't be able to produce results for you. They should be able to produce at least a handful of case studies or proof of rankings.

4. References

In addition to asking to see past work, you should also ask for references from past clients. Once they have given these references, you should definitely call or message them to make sure they are legitimate. Unfortunately, there are many SEOs that don't think twice about giving fake references. So, be sure to do your homework to ensure that these are real people who actually used the services of this company.  

5. Check Online Reviews

Next, you should always do your own in-depth research on any SEO company that you're interested in. You should not just trust what they say and show you, but also do your own research. This means that you should look for past customer reviews on Google, what people are saying about them on social media etc. All you need to do is type in the name of the company and 'reviews' into Google. You should also look at their social media pages, especially the review section. If you see lots of negative reviews or negative remarks, then this is a huge red flag. This means that the company is not providing good service and it is best that you stay away from them.

6. Find Out What Type Of SEO They Do

Many SEO companies use black hat or grey hat SEO. While these are very effective, they are not meant for long term rankings. You will likely see an increase in traffic and visitors but you'll eventually get penalized by Google. Therefore, you should choose an SEO company that mainly does white hat SEO. This means that they will be more focused on on-page optimization and doing outreach for backlinks. You should stay away from PBNs and other black hat strategies since you will be risking your entire business.

7. Make Sure You Have Great Communication

The final tip is that you should be able to clearly communicate with your SEO manager. Many SEO companies hire people whose second language is English and this can be a real problem. Even if you have an English speaking SEO manager, you should make sure that you're comfortable talking to the person and that they communicate openly.

Another thing that you should consider is how long the company has been around. You shouldn't hire an SEO company that is brand new or has only been around for a year or two. It is best to hire an SEO company that has been around for at least a couple of years so that you know they have the experience necessary to handle anything Google throws at them.

To wrap things up, we have just covered 7 tips for hiring the best SEO company. Once you keep these tips in mind, you will definitely be better equipped to find a great company that will catapult your organic rankings.