An SEO company helps you improve your visibility in search engines — so more people find your business online. It does this by managing your SEO strategy end-to-end, from keyword research and content creation to link building and technical fixes, with the goal of growing your organic rankings, traffic, and revenue.
Learn more about SEO companies now, including:
- What Does an SEO Company Do?
- What Services Do SEO Companies Offer?
- How Much Does an SEO Company Cost?
- Why Hire an SEO Company?
- When Should You Hire an SEO Company?
- How to Choose an SEO Company
- FAQs About SEO Companies
What does an SEO company do?
An SEO company helps businesses develop, implement, and manage SEO strategies to improve their online visibility in organic search. With greater online visibility, companies can earn more rankings, traffic, and sales from organic search traffic. Choosing the right search engine optimization firm is crucial for achieving your business goals.
What services do SEO companies offer?
SEO companies offer multiple services, which can get categorized in a few ways like:
- Market, like local SEO services, to serve brick-and-mortar businesses.
- Scope, like link acquisition services, to focus on building a backlink profile.
- Duration, like SEO consulting services, to resolve a one-time issue or project.
- Industry, like HVAC SEO services, to support heating and cooling companies.
- Size, like enterprise SEO services, to serve larger brands and more complex sites.
Some examples of broad SEO services include:
In comparison, below are more specialized services SEO companies provide:
- Link acquisition
- Keyword research
- Content creation
- SEO audits
- Page speed optimization
If you’re looking to outsource SEO, a good chance is there is an SEO company that offers what you need, and understanding what they offer can help you when comparing SEO agencies.
How much does an SEO company cost?
SEO companies typically charge $1,500–$5,000 per month for ongoing services, though costs vary based on your goals, site size, and the scope of work. You can also hire an SEO company on an hourly basis ($100–$300/hr) or for a one-time project ($5,000–$30,000). The biggest pricing driver isn’t the model — it’s what you’re trying to achieve. For a full breakdown by service type and pricing model, see how much SEO costs.
Why hire an SEO company?
Businesses opt to hire an SEO company for a few reasons, including:
- Time: Partner with an SEO firm, and you’ll get lots of time back in your day. From updating title tags to conducting link acquisition outreach, your SEO company will handle the time-consuming tasks that dominate your day.
- Skill: You’ll also get the benefit of SEO specialists. With these professionals, you don’t have to know everything about SEO because you can access broad and specialized solutions, like technical SEO services. Instead, you can rely on their expertise to inform and energize your search engine optimization efforts.
- Tools: SEO companies also come with SEO and marketing tools. While some in-house SEO teams can afford these platforms, most don’t have the budget. That means with your SEO agency, you can access the best SEO tools.
- Competition: Businesses in a competitive market will also hire an SEO. With a team of SEO experts, companies can build a stronger SEO strategy and implement it faster, which helps them keep pace (and hopefully pull ahead) of the competition.
- Cost: Hiring a good SEO agency is typically cheaper than maintaining an in-house SEO team. However, it’s worth mentioning that how much you pay for an SEO company vs. an in-house team will depend on your unique needs, from your site’s size to your strategy’s scale.
When should you hire an SEO company?
You’ll want to partner with an SEO firm before you start to see the product of not having one (like missed deadlines and low performance).
You know what some of the best SEO companies do, but should you hire one?
Consider hiring one when you’re:
- Missing SEO goals
- Delivering past deadline
- Predicting increased SEO investments
When seeing or predicting difficulties related to time, results, or skill, consider hiring an SEO company. Ideally, you’ll want to partner with an SEO firm before you start to see the product of not having one (like missed deadlines and low performance).
How to choose an SEO company
Learn how to choose an SEO company now (or later) with these five steps:
1. Outline your requirements
First, outline your requirements and fencing for partnering with an SEO firm, like:
- Budget: What is your approved budget for hiring an agency?
- Services: What SEO services do you think you need?
- Location: Do you want an agency that’s local, international, or somewhere in between? (If you’re looking for location-specific agencies, we’ve researched them already, like in our compilation of the best USA SEO companies).
- Goals: What do you want to achieve with SEO?
- Access: How much access will the agency have to your site for implementing SEO updates?
- Experience: How much experience does the firm need, and do they need it in your industry?
Understand your requirements, and you will save time when searching for an SEO company. For example, if you know your budget, you can easily axe SEO agencies from your list based on their published pricing (though this is rare among SEO companies).
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2. Compile your list of agencies
Next, compile a list of the best SEO service providers to consider. If you’re looking for a starting point, we’ve compiled a list of the best SEO companies, from Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta to New York.
You can also get started with this step in a few ways, including:
- Ask for referrals from your network
- Browse marketplace websites like G2, Clutch, and The Manifest
- Search online listings, like Google Maps, to find local companies
From here, you can generate a seed list, which you can then prune based on your earlier requirements.
3. Research your contenders’ track record, awards, and more
With your narrowed list, you can dive into researching each company’s background, like their:
- Reviews
- Awards
- SEO case studies
When reading reviews and case studies, consider the following:
- How the agency measures its performance and its client results
- What clients most often mentioned as a pro and con
- How long the agency and client have worked together
Based on this information, you can better understand what it’s like to work with the SEO company — and if they’re someone you want to have as a partner. Here are more tips on what to look for in an SEO company.
4. Interview your top SEO companies
Next, you can move on to interviewing your top SEO companies.
For you and the SEO company, this is the chance to interview one another and determine if you’re a good fit for one another. SEO firms typically ask some qualifying questions, like your budget, before scheduling a more in-depth meeting.
As you gear up to meet with your potential SEO firm, you can outline some questions to ask SEO agencies, like:
- How do you measure performance?
- How do you adapt when campaigns underperform?
- Is any of the work outsourced, and to whom?
- How do you approach working with a client’s competitors?
- How — and how often — do you communicate on campaign progress and performance?
- How much time will you require from me and my team?
Talk with your internal team and stakeholders beforehand to generate even more questions. The more questions you ask, the better you’ll understand if this SEO company is a good fit for your business in the short- and long-term.
And if you’re new to SEO, consider taking some of the best SEO courses so you can enter the conversation more informed.
5. Choose your SEO company
With all your research complete, you can choose an SEO company!
Before signing with a provider, though, review these potential red flags, which can cause trouble later:
- Refuses to share pricing and/or deliverables
- Answers questions with a non-answer
- Promotes black-hat SEO tactics, like purchasing links
If you’re hesitant about an SEO firm, start your research process again. Signing with a bad SEO company can have lasting effects on your site and business — the most severe being removed from a search engine’s index. A reputable search engine optimization company will always prioritize ethical practices.
FAQs about SEO companies
Do SEO companies actually work?
Yes — but results depend on the company and how much time you give them. A good SEO company sets company-aligned goals, builds a customized strategy, and tracks bottom-line impact like leads and revenue generated from search, not just rankings and traffic. Give any SEO partnership around six months before evaluating performance.
What’s the difference between an SEO company and an SEO agency?
The terms are used interchangeably. Both refer to a business that provides search engine optimization services — from on-page and off-page SEO to technical fixes and content creation. The distinction is mostly cosmetic; what matters more is the scope of services they offer and whether their approach is customized to your business.
When should I hire an SEO company?
Consider hiring one when you’re missing SEO goals, delivering past deadline, scaling your SEO efforts, or lacking the in-house skills to improve your search performance. Ideally, partner with an SEO firm before problems compound — not after.
What should I expect from an SEO company?
At minimum: a dedicated point of contact, an initial SEO audit, a customized strategy, regular reporting on rankings and revenue impact, and transparent communication. The best SEO companies also provide proactive monitoring, competitor tracking, and access to subject matter experts across on-page, off-page, and technical SEO.
Get all the benefits of an SEO company in one place
From keyword research to link acquisition to page speed optimization, we can provide your business with an all-in-one solution to SEO. WebFX (the team behind SEO.com) is one of the best SEO companies, bringing more than 25+ years of experiencing to your search engine optimization efforts.
Get your free proposal today by contacting us online today!
SEO Services That Aren’t Cookie Cutter
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SEO Services That Aren’t Cookie Cutter
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