Businesses told to question SEO agencies

15:30 6th May 2010

A company boss who is looking to bring in an agency to help with search engine optimisation (SEO) must ensure they ask the right questions before choosing the firm to deal with.

Duane Forrester, the author of How to Make Money with Your Blog and in-house search engine marketer for Microsoft, stated that questioning an SEO agency can help a business owner to decide whether it is the right one to employ.

He suggested asking the SEO agency to provide a list of references and then asking the previous clients if they would use the agency again to carry out the necessary work.

Mr Forrester said businesses looking to employ an SEO agency should also ask for some sample work, to get an idea of the sort of tactics the agency will employ.

Writing for Search Engine Land, he said: "Legitimate, solid agencies and stand-up consultants won't bat an eyelash at your probing questions.

"A lot of side stepping, questioning and vague answers should have you concerned."

Companies may be more tempted to employ an SEO agency, as digital marketing professional Stephan Spencer recently told Search Engine Land that SEO is never finished.

He explained that there is always the opportunity to wring out more performance from a website.