If you’re seeking good SEO agencies for SaaS, you might feel a little overwhelmed. So many self-proclaimed SEO specialists promise page-one Google results in record time. But without an in-depth understanding of SEO, how can you properly judge these agencies and separate the wheat from the chaff? The following four tips will help you do just that.
SEO Agencies for SaaS: 4 Things to Consider Before Hiring an Agency
Success With Other SaaS Companies
It’s never worth taking a risk with an agency with zero experience working with software-as-a-service (SaaS) firms. Any SaaS offering will require a very particular SEO strategy designed to dramatically boost your qualified demo bookings over the long term. SaaS SEO strategy is totally different from that of a brick-and-mortar business with a local clientele, for example. So when shortlisting potential agencies, search the portfolio on their website for SaaS firms that are similar to you.
Scour their testimonials and reviews for SaaS clients and make sure that any feedback is singing the agency’s praises. Also, ask agencies for examples of SaaS clients that they’ve worked with for over a year. This demonstrates customer loyalty, which can only be earned with concrete results in the highly competitive world of SEO. You can check out this site for a good example of an agency that specializes in SaaS.
Clear and Transparent Communication
Similar to hiring a lawyer or any other specialist in a complex field, your SEO agency should offer clarity and transparency. After talking to them, you shouldn’t leave feeling befuddled and bombarded by industry jargon. A good SEO specialist can explain their entire process in simple terms that a layman can follow. They should be open and transparent about all their methods and never be impatient or reluctant to go into detail.
A good agency will also be happy to answer all your questions and answer questions well. An agency’s website will usually provide a good indication of how clear their communication will be. Browse their site for detailed, easy-to-follow explanations of their SEO process beyond simply finding keywords and building backlinks.
Up-To-Date Expertise
Google’s constantly updating its algorithms. In fact, more Google updates are coming out these days than ever before. This perpetually shifting SEO landscape means SEO strategies that worked just a few short years before are often obsolete today. Any agency worth its salt will keep its finger on the pulse of these changes or risk rapid stagnation.
Ask your shortlist of agencies about the latest Google updates and how they’ve affected SEO. Also, ask them about various SEO techniques that have fallen out of use, are considered black hat, or are generally harmful to a website’s rankings. Such ineffective methods include paying for backlinks, duplicate content, article spinning, keyword stuffing, link farming, cloaking, and hidden text within a page. Hopefully, the agency will firmly disavow these techniques and also explain why.
Realistic Definition of Success
The danger of the aforementioned shady SEO methods is that they can sometimes seem to work in the short term. Buying backlinks, for example, might jump your website to a higher ranking. But Google will almost certainly catch on, and your website will later earn a penalty, permanently harming your ability to rank in the long term. Some unscrupulous SEO agencies guarantee page-one rankings and then use any measure to get you there, no matter the longer-term costs.
To avoid this risk, ask each potential agency what success means to them. A good agency will not promise quick and unrealistic results. Instead, they’ll talk about a customized, adaptable strategy that gains you a reliable long-term flow of targeted high-value traffic, leads that convert, a sterling reputation with Google, and achieving your ultimate business goals.
The Four Legs of the SEO Table
When questioning agencies, it helps if you have a foundational understanding of good SEO. There are four broad areas that every effective campaign should cover. Like the legs of a table, all four areas are required for a stable and effective long-term campaign.
Keyword Research
Choosing the right keywords to target with your content is as important as setting a ladder in the right position before you start climbing. An agency should be able to put you on a good course for gradual ranking with the highly competitive keywords of your industry. They should also have the tools and know-how to find and target valuable long-tail keywords with strong searcher intent.
Off-Page SEO
The agency should continually search for opportunities to boost your brand’s reputation online, thus improving domain and page authority. A large part of this is posting high-quality content in all the right places and earning links by providing value.
User Experience
These days, Google can tell how good an experience visitors are having with your website. An agency should help you to optimize the user experience with intuitive navigation, fast page loading speed, well-organized presentation, mobile friendliness, and more.
Technical SEO
All technical aspects of your website must also be optimized for SEO. This includes logical site structure, solid underlying code, minimizing crawl errors, and various other factors.
SEO needn’t be a challenge with the right agency by your side. Using the tips in this post, you’re certain to find just the right agency for your SaaS company.
