Im looking at paying a company for some SEO, how do you choose the right comapany, what do you need to ask, what services should i be receiving for my money? I ahve not chosen a company yet, but with so many available its confussing? Thanks in advance.
You should ask for his SEO Experience and References. You should talk with each of these references. There are many services comes under Search Engine Optimization but you must be adhere to White Hat practices (if looking for long term results).
Mainly want to be the top of google... or as close as possible... my website is doing well but i want to drive more traffic its way. do you know anyone cheap able to do this kinda project?
In choosing the right SEO company, you need to consider your budget but the company must still be competitive though cheaper compared to others. The company must practice "white hat" SEO. Try to search and find a legitimate SEO company coz it will definitely save your time, money, and headaches in the long run. I have no idea of any SEO company but just an advice.
Well I can tell you, cheap is a relative term. I have been performing SEO for over 10 years and cheap never works. If your budget is low, I would recommend performing the SEO yourself or internally. You will get way more bang for your buck. If you go with a company, i would recommend looking at their processes, results, white hat tactics and references. There is a lot of gray area when it comes to the term SEO. Some companies just update your pages and do best practices, where others use a targeted focus on specific keywords and rankings results. I would 100% not recommend using a web development firm. Go with a firm that their only focus is on Search Marketing. This way you know they know what they are doing. Web development firms are claiming they do SEO, but for the most part their specialty is in web development.
Cheap may not be quite the right way to go. SEO is an ongoing process. If you stop your efforts, you rankings will begin to fall because your competition will still be working on theirs. I work in-house for a company and as results start showing for one set of keywords, they'll find another set of keywords worth ranking for. What I would ask for from companies (before you hire any) would be experience, references (previous or current clients - you don't want some freelancer who only has a buddy as a reference saying "yeah he's good. His stuff shows results" and nothing more), and maybe an overview plan. You don't want to go hiring some company that is just going to do very basic on-page stuff then blast your link everywhere and anywhere. Don't believe any company that guarantees they can get your a #1 spot for any keyword. I'm not sure what sort of business you're in, but keep in mind that targeting local areas is generally easier than targeting global (or national). For example, it would be easier to get good rankings for "Bristol fencing company" than it would be to get rankings for "UK fencing company" or "fencing company". Definitely make sure they're using ethical tactics for SEO. Black hat tactics will get your quick results, then shortly after that you'll never be found again.
unfortuantly i am targeting the whole of the uk lol, but i have taken that advice onboard and will look further in to it. Begining to think for now i am best of just using google adwords for now? Thanks for help thus far.
Philoon is absolutely correct; you should start targeting local first. You'd be amazed how quickly you can rank for local keywords. Also, keep looking on this forum, and learn the SEO basics yourself. By doing a little bit of SEO myself every day (articles, videos, backlinking...) I find that I can do my own SEO a lot quicker (and better) than a lot of companies charging big bucks for this.
You should ask for his SEO Experience and References. You should talk with each of these references. There are many services comes under Search Engine Optimization but you must be adhere to White Hat practices (if looking for long term results).
You are right. There are soooo many newbies and "wanna-be" SEOs who aren't experienced and well-trained; and yet they are offering SEO services. In my opinion, such type of people are the one who humiliate the market and competition. Anyway, coming to your issue, you can go for "pay for performance". For this, you are going to need some references (from your selected SEO service provider) initially and than make a deal with them that you would only pay once you see results for your site. This type of service is more secure for clients' point of view. Hope this helps.