Which SEO company would you choose?

[xan]

I was just curious about which SEO companies were considered the most efficient. I'm not sure who I would choose if I wanted to hire someone to do work on my site.

I know this might be a bit of a sensitive topic really seeing you are all in the business, but if you'd like to answer, my question is who would you hire (apart from your own company) to do SEO work on your site?

I understand if this is not a popular topic of conversation :)

[Marcia]

xan, it really isn't possible to say because of schills for one thing, and the sure appearance of biased promotion of people's good buddies for another. And I also take lists of recommendations on people's sites with a grain of salt - as I am sure some links will no doubt turn up in this thread, sure as I'm sitting here. And that could easily be the good ole' boyz club in operation.

I know for sure who I'd turn to but <surprise!> it would not be any of the people you would usually see recommended, but is based on long knowledge for a number of years of not only ability, but personal knowledge of personality and character.

[strategicrankings]

hi xan,
as mentioned by Marcia, some will simply answer your question by promoting their "buddy list" as we have seen on similar threads here and elsewhere. some will simply not answer your question coz they will not recommend their competitors to you unless you are the kinda of 'pain in the ass to be' type of client.

[IgorMordkovich]

Many people make a mistake of choosing the "best sales person". Instead you should not judge an SEO company by the way they sell themselves unless you're looking for a good salesperson.

[EmergenceMedia]

Xan,

Its a good question but almost impossible to answer.

One point I want to bring up, is that the SEO firm has to act like a project manager - interacting and coordating with multiple teams (technical, legal etc) across a multitude of services. So when you do sign up for an SEO firm and doing full scale SEO - we're talking the SEO firm and you (the main contact on the client side) coordinating copywriting, keyword research, branding/pr, legal team, technical team, analytics team and of course the marketing team.

So be sure of two things (at least for major SEO campaigns):
1) The SEO firm has to be very organized with experienced project managers
2) The Efficiency of the SEO Firm is also continigent on the Client! The client's legal team, tech team, copywriting team etc.

Hope this helps.

[Marcia]

The SEO firm has to be very organized with experienced project managersI'd like to point out that many of the most highly competent SEOs are not necessarily firms at all, but individuals who practice their art solo as independent contractors. I pretty much know who I'd use, and they're just such people - individuals.

I've become familiar with a number of people over time who know what they're doing, and if I needed to choose one (or refer someone to another service provider), the choice would probably be made depending on the nature of the project.

One of the factors could be how competitive a given market is. There are areas that are killer competitive and take rather aggressive SEO methods in order to be able to effectively compete. That type of project may not necessarily take the same type of person that a "moderately competitive" project would call for - and the cost certainly wouldn't be the same.

Oh, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a "firm" and some people may actually head up or be employed by a firm, but the choice would still be made based on that individual, not the firm.

[egain]

I agree with Marcia, and I personally dont agree with the best Project Managers comment of the post she responded to.

Whilst I value the input of Project Managers during the project, the effectiveness of any SEO campaign is down to the experience and skill of the "implementer(s)" themselves. THe project manager at the end of the day, only manages and controls the project, and is not directly involved in what is actually developed as a final product.

As Marcia said, many of the best SEO's are one man bands, or smallish orgaisations, without extra headcount such as Project Managers and the like.

[Black_Knight]

Several prior replies have alluded to it - the best is a subjective measure.

The best for me, and my needs, and able to work with my practices and procedures, means absolutely nothing to anyone with different needs, practices, procedures, etc.

Some SEOs are brilliant technicians - understanding the mechanics of search brilliantly. They'll get you a high ranking on any phrase or engine you ask for if you supply them with the resources to do so. But they won't be able to tell you that you're wasting your budget because that traffic won't convert, or may even react negatively to your high placement.

Some SEOs are the opposite - great marketers who really understand the media of search and the mindset of searchers, but outsource many of the technical elements.

Some SEOs specialise in understanding their clients, knowing exactly how to jump through all the hoops of long-drawn-out pitching processes involving multi-department ownerships of projects for larger companies. They have the patience (and budget setup) to spend six months winning a contract, and know how to present polished presentations and feel-good reporting to that kind of client. But some of those companies are the least effective in terms of performance.

Those are the xtremes, and most companies lie somewhere in the middle of that triangle, with their own mix of the three qualities.


The only person qualified to say who is the best SEO for you and your needs is you. 'The best' is always subjective, which is why no company or site can use those words in their DMOZ/ODP description.