Mar

5 Tips for Hiring a Local SEO Agency

March 1, 2022

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a search engine optimization strategy that focuses on local search results and increasing the visibility of your business in a specific local area. Simply put, local SEO deals with organically improving your spot in the organic search results–which drives traffic to your website–and optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) profile.

SEO delivers one of the highest return on investments (ROI) of all marketing services. Local SEO, search engine optimization that helps your business be found in local search results, is crucial for small to medium-sized businesses that want to grow regionally. With the right SEO strategy, you can increase your real estate on Google, increase traffic (website, phone calls, walk-in’s), and generate more leads. As a result of these things, your business revenue will increase.

Find Someone Who Specializes in a Specific Market

It's 2022, and the digital marketing pool of experts is getting increasingly more competitive. As you're searching for the right expert to hire for local SEO services that will improve the visibility of your business in your area, find the experts that specialize in a specific niche. Are you a hair salon? Are you a restaurant? Are you an eye doctor? Whatever the case may be, choose the experts that are familiar with the market you're competing for. If you aren't attempting to push ahead of your local eye doctor because you sell cheeseburgers, then you may want to find the local SEO agency that has experience building a local SEO strategy for restaurants.

Case Studies

As with most reputable sources, experts that are proud of their work want to showcase it. There is no difference in the digital marketing industry. When looking to hire for local SEO services, look for case studies that highlight how they improved the visibility of the online businesses they've worked for, and what their strategy was for doing so. By publishing updated case studies, you can see examples of their work and see if it aligns with your goals. It also shows their credibility and that they are well-established.

Testimonials

Similarly to reviewing their case studies, you can also reach out to any former or current clients. If they regularly publish and promote their work, update their case studies, and have Google reviews, this information shouldn't be difficult to find. It is also possible that some of their testimonials have been published somewhere by the agency themselves. By talking to their clients and hearing their testimonials, you can gain a better understanding of how well they do what they are claiming to do. You can't argue with a satisfied client.

Learn Their Metrics

Learning what metrics a local SEO services agency uses to measure success is crucial. Improving your online visibility doesn't always mean that your revenue is going to skyrocket. This is why you need an agency that prioritizes traffic and conversions as their primary metrics. Better local visibility is great, but what is the agency doing to ensure that you convert a visitor into a customer once they find you?

Communication

Communication is key, no matter what industry or market you're in. All of the above doesn't matter if the local SEO agency in question isn't able to be responsive and provide the answers your need. The right local SEO agency will be responsive throughout the entire process, provide comprehensive reporting, and be open to answering any questions you may have along the way.

FirstPage Marketing is an SEO-driven digital marketing agency that delivers results, not just reports. Schedule a free consultation today!