The digital marketing landscape is constantly changing. What works today may not work tomorrow. One thing stays the same: SEO remains the driving force behind a strong online presence.

The websites listed on the on the first page in Google’s search results get 92 percent of all traffic. Higher rankings equal more traffic and revenue. This helps increase brand awareness and strengthens your authority online.

Unless you’re an SEO expert yourself, it’s worth hiring a professional.

But how can you distinguish good SEO companies from those that only want your money? After all, SEO experts are popping up all over the place nowadays.

To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of SEO questions to ask before you make a decision. This way, you can determine what strategies they use, how much experience they have in your niche, and whether or not they live up to claims.

Let’s get into it!

How Will You Improve Our Rankings?

This question will tell a lot about their SEO practices. As a rule of thumb, avoid any agencies that use content cloaking, article spinning, keyword stuffing, and link exchange schemes.

Good SEO companies will employ white hat strategies to boost your ranking in search results. Depending on your needs, they may suggest link building, guest blogging, content marketing, and other legitimate practices.

Do You Outsource SEO Services?

Large companies have their own teams of copywriters, web designers, and other experts involved in SEO. Smaller agencies usually outsource copywriting and other services.

Choosing one over another depends on your budget.

When hiring an SEO company that outsources its services, try to find out more about the experts they work with.

Are their copywriters familiar with the best SEO practices? How much do they know about your industry?

How Do You Track SEO Results?

A legitimate SEO agency will keep you informed of any changes and improvements they make to your site. This will allow you to closely monitor their work. If something goes wrong, you’ll know exactly what caused it.

Ask about the tools they use to track SEO performance. Make sure they are able and willing to send you weekly or monthly reports.

What Other Companies Do You Work with?

This is one of the most important questions to ask an SEO company. It will reveal a couple of things:

What their portfolio looks like

Whether or not they’re working with your competitors

How familiar they are with your niche

How much they’re likely to charge

For example, top ranking SEO companies work with popular brands across all industries. As you would expect, their experience comes at a price.

A smaller agency, on the other hand, may lack the skills and expertise needed to grow your online presence.

Again, it all comes down to your budget and individual needs.

Hiring a small company isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They might actually put more time and effort into their work to expand their customer base and strengthen their reputation.

What SEO Metrics Do You Measure?

There are hundreds of metrics that define success in SEO. However, some hold more value than others.

Ask the company what SEO metrics they measure. Is it organic traffic, bounce rate, or conversion rates? Do they track the total number of keywords for which your pages rank in Google?

If you’re not familiar with these metrics, ask them to explain why they use them. Also, make sure they include them in their weekly or monthly reports.

What Other SEO Questions to Ask?

These are just a few of the SEO questions to ask when hiring an expert. You can also request more information about their link building techniques, social media practices, and other services like PPC or web design.

Ideally, they should be able to provide references and showcase their portfolio. After all, good SEO companies are proud of their work. Take your time to read customer reviews and testimonials.

Have you ever hired an SEO company? What was your experience like? Share your thoughts below!