How To Find The Right SEO Marketing Firm For Your Property Management Company
Did you know that search engine optimization (SEO) helps convert 14.6% of leads you generate? That’s in contrast to traditional marketing like print ads that only deliver a 1.7% conversion rate.
In a world where more than 90% of online experiences start with a search engine, being on your A-game is mission-critical. If you don’t attract the right kind of clients when they search for solutions, you’ll bleed lost revenue.
If you’re thinking of hiring an SEO marketing firm to help you tap into search engine leads, here’s a guide to help you settle on the best fit.
1. Identify the SEO Services You Need
The best SEO service provider isn’t one that only delivers results. The right firm is the one that delivers the kind of results you need.
For example, let’s say you are looking for on-page SEO expertise. If you hire a marketing company with heavy off-page SEO chops, no matter how good they are, they won’t be the right fit for your property management business.
Figuring out the right services you need calls for you knowing your SEO strategy’s goals.
Not being clear on what your SEO campaign needs to achieve is one of the biggest property management SEO mistakes you should avoid.
You will end up frustrating any SEO firm you hire since you’re not sure what it is they need to deliver. Thus, you need to develop specific, measurable goals you can track over a given period before you set out to hire a firm.
For example, outranking a competitor in a particular keyword may sound like a great goal, but it isn’t.
Why?
It does not directly tie to increasing your revenue. What you want is an SEO firm that can help you move beyond merely beating the competition to honing in on the right traffic for particular keywords.
The same applies to only looking for traffic. An SEO firm that can’t help you make sense of your traffic isn’t doing you any favors as traffic isn’t in and of itself a goal.
The right firm can help you shape your traffic goals to decide on who you want to attract and what you want them to do once they check you out.
Pairing your needs with the SEO company steeped in delivering on these needs is how you hit success in search.
2. Recommendations
Now that you know exactly what you need from an SEO firm, it’s time to go hunting.
Personal recommendations are a great way to zero in on SEO firms that deliver for their clients. That’s because every recommendation you get is essentially an endorsement from a client testifying to a firm’s capabilities.
Talk to other business owners you know that have gained excellent SEO results for their recommendation on a firm to go with.
For every recommendation, dig deeper to find out why the business owner, family member, or friend is giving the thumbs up. You will uncover other traits you can look out for as you assess potential service providers that may not be immediately apparent, but directly influence the results.
3. Do the Results Back the Firm’s Track Record?
While recommendations are valuable, you shouldn’t pull the trigger solely due to them. You need to match what you heard the SEO firm is good at with tangible results in that area of expertise.
Ask the SEO company you’re considering hiring for verifiable results in the particular areas you’ll need help in.
If the firm gets cagey about giving you this information, take that as a red flag and move on. Check to see if what you heard is backed up by the results as you assess the SEO company’s track record.
An exceptional firm will have no problem offering verifiable results, pointing to the accuracy of the recommendations you received.
Another critical reason to assess the firm’s track record is to identify if you can work well. The results will show you where the company’s expertise lies, which needs to line up with your SEO objectives. Anything short of that spells less than stellar results for you.
4. Find an SEO Firm That Works With Your Type of Business
No matter how good an SEO firm is, if you aren’t in their sweet spot, they won’t give you their best.
Therefore, you need to gravitate towards SEO firms that work with your type of business. For example, large agencies with huge retainers have built specialized capacities over time.
Your business may benefit from such a scale operation, but only if you are a big enough client. If not, you may end up at the back of the priority line, which translates to less than stellar results.
Find out which type of clients the firm best works with to decide if you can get the best attention as a client.
5. How Does the Firm Plan to Measure and Report the Results?
Before you hire an SEO firm, you need to ask how they plan to give you updates and reports.
A not-so-obvious benefit of making this a requirement is identifying if a company is using black hat tactics. These tactics may deliver short-term results, but they do long-term harm to your business.
Take a deep dive with the SEO firm on the techniques they plan to use so you can gain that visibility. If not, you need to fear the worst. Furthermore, the firm needs to offer an effective plan to measure the return on investment (ROI) for your campaign.
Request a detailed analysis of how the company plans to track results and how they plan to report the information to you.
Work With the Right SEO Marketing Firm
In today’s business environment, search engines are the new battleground for potential clients. How well your SEO strategy works directly influences the revenue you bring in. Even though there are many options when hiring an SEO marketing firm, you need to know what makes for an exceptional partner that can help you grow your property management business.
SurfResults Marketing is obsessed with helping property management companies gain the right organic search traffic. Talk to us for SEO services that help turn leads to satisfied clients.