First, you should absolutely know what your end goals are, and the objectives you want them to meet. You would think that starting at the top of the search engine results would yield the best choice, but that isn't necessarily the case. You'll soon find that every firm you contact will tell you that they are your answer, and they can get you to the top of the heap. Obviously, some of them are not going to be able to deliver. In fact, many businesses have a bad taste from poor SEO work that didn't get them anything for the money they spent. So they tend to not believe anyone that tells them the same empty promise again.
The question remains, how can you tell who knows their stuff and who doesn't? Maybe you should look at how good their website looks. Many of the top SEO experts don't do other services, like web design. So you can't gauge how good they can rank your website by the clothes their site is wearing, unless you are looking for them to be a full service agency that does web design as well.
One thing you should look for is whether they are ranked well for their own search terms, but this in itself is not conclusive. It turns out that once a business gets to the top of Google, it can be hard to topple them. Their seo may have been just good enough to get them there, but it doesn't mean that it's excellent and can get yours to the top now.
Don't make assumptions based on how large the firm is. It only takes one person who knows what they're doing to make all the difference. More people don't necessarily translate into better.
So decide what you need, and keep those goals in the forefront of your conversations with each agency you talk with. Look at their experience and case studies to see how they align with your needs. Talk with several agencies before you make your final decision.
Carol Bell is the owner of Monumental SEO, an elite SEO agency in Florida.
