How to Choose an Austin Search Engine Optimization Company

In a certain regard, Austin search engine optimization companies are no different than muffler shops, house painters or real estate agents. What these professions have in common is the fact that there are good ones and bad ones.

Some Austin SEO companies will adopt your goals as if they were their own goals, striving to grow your web presence in a professional, effective way. They will treat your website as if it were their own, and I salute them for it.

Other SEO companies can potentially cause you harm. The key is to understand how to screen SEO companies so you can tell which "camp" they fall into.

What I Mean by SEO Harm

When you hire an Austin search engine optimization firm, you will pay them good money to increase your website's search engine visibility. Hopefully, they would work hard to this end and deliver strong results. I like to think the majority of SEO professionals fall into this category.

But like any other profession in the world, search engine optimization has its share of bad apples. Some SEO companies take shortcuts to deliver good rankings quickly, and in doing so they knowingly violate Google's guidelines.

In the SEO industry, these are known as "black hat" techniques, and they can get your website banned from Google. That's right ... your website could be completely purged from Google's database. It happens every day. Just enter the phrase "banned from Google" into any major search engine and see what comes up.

Now I know what you're thinking. "How can somebody who gets paid to improve search engine rankings afford to get clients banned from a search engine?" Easily. They do it until their reputation goes down the toilet, and then they close up shop and re-launch under a new name. Of course by then, you're out thousands of dollars and your website is banned from Google. Ouch!

Avoiding the Bad Apples

To prevent those bad apples from spoiling the bunch, I'm going to tell you how to spot them and avoid them. When screening an Austin search engine optimization company, or even an individual SEO consultant, keep the following Q&A checklist handy.

1. How do you go about choosing the right phrases?

If the company hesitates to answer, or if they say, "Our clients usually handle that" ... keep shopping. A good SEO company will get to know your company, your offer and your audience. And they will help connect the three by focusing on the right words, phrases and language.

2. What kind of "black hat" techniques do you use?

If they give you a list, tell them goodbye. Black hat SEO techniques (like cloaking, domain masking, hidden text, etc.) can get you banned from Google. Think it can't happen to you? It happened to a European division of BMW, a major online printing company, and hundreds of others who thought they could "outsmart the system."

Is manipulating your way to the top of the search engines worthwhile if you later lose your rankings entirely? Could you handle scrapping everything you've worked for and starting over again from scratch? Probably not.

3. What SEO techniques do you use in general?

If an SEO company tries to keep secrets from you, there's a reason. The Austin SEO Guy, for instance, is proud to talk about his SEO techniques, because they are equally successful and legitimate. "We don't disclose our techniques" can usually be translated as "We're ashamed to disclose our techniques."

4. Have you ever operated under a different name?

Don't think you're being invasive when asking this question. Remember, you'll be paying good money for this service, so you deserve full disclosure. Why should you ask this question? Let me illustrate by sharing a personal story.

I had a pool put in my backyard, and I did a lot of online research to find a pool builder. One company I screened was practically off the radar. I couldn't find much about them on the Internet, despite their claim to be an Austin-area pool builder for over a decade.

So I asked if they'd ever operated under a different company name. They said yes, and I then began searching the old name. What I got was a series of unresolved complaints, disputes and other red flags. The company had "earned" such a bad reputation that they closed down and reopened under a new name. I told them goodbye.

Unfortunately, this happens in every industry, and search engine optimization is no different. So ask the question, even if you feel uncomfortable doing so.

5. Do you have a writer on staff?

Sure, there are technical aspects of search engine optimization. But let's not forget the audience we really want to win over -- people.

All too often, I see website owners develop a form of SEO tunnel vision, where they become overly concerned with "pleasing search engines" to the point that it clouds their judgment. "Search engines will love this copy," goes this argument, despite the fact that the copy reads like rubbish.

Search engines are not the ultimate goal. They are only a path to the ultimate goal. For these reasons (and many more), it's critical for an SEO company to have in-house writing talent. If an SEO company tells you they don't think copywriting is a big part of SEO ... then beware. Your web pages will likely be written for search engines, with little thought given to the art of persuasive copy.

Take this page, for example. I don't mind telling you it's well-optimized for the phrase "Austin search engine optimization company." But it still reads well, don't you think? That's because I haven't forgotten my primary goal -- to write a page that will interest you, the reader.

Conclusion

Obviously, these are not the only questions you should ask an SEO company. These are just the questions most people are inclined to overlook, despite their importance. Add them to your list of pre-screening questions, and you'll have a much better chance of finding the Austin search engine optimization company that's best suited for you.

Related article: Austin SEO Firms - 5 Key Qualities