Top Dangers Of Outsourcing SEO For Small Online Businesses

If you are running a small business and not making the most of Internet then you are really missing the boat. It costs peanuts to have a website but this small investment can bring huge benefits for your business. If you can rank on top for the right keywords, you can expect an influx of new leads and customers. And the best part is … there’s not much competition when it comes to ranking on the top for localized keywords, mainly because small businesses are still reluctant to go online. Maybe that’s the reason why Google had to offer free websites for businesses in selective cities to entice small businesses to explore the goodies at Internet.

Still, no matter how small is the competition, when it comes to getting on top for your targeted keywords, you will still have to optimize your website for search engines. For an average small business owner, maintaining a business website might sound like a hassle, let alone investing their time in learning and implementing Search Engine Optimization techniques. Therefore, the majority prefers to outsource the chores of SEO to some agency or SEO professional.

While it can save them a lot of time, there are certain drawbacks, which are part of the package. Let’s take a look at some of those downsides and how to deal with them.

The right price:

As I said the competition is a tad less intense when it comes to localized searches, and while it will still take some work before you can get on the first page, it should cost significantly less than what it will take to rank for the more generic ones like 123inkjets coupons or 4inkjets discounts. It’ll be hard to give the right price that’s appropriate for all kinds of businesses, but you can have an idea by performing “allintitle” and “allinanchor” searches at Google, with the keywords that defines your business e.g. San Francisco car rental or California window washers. This will give you an idea of the competition and what should be the right price.

The right guy:

For small business owners, identifying the right guy from the crowd of imposters posing as experts can be a very daunting task. You can’t go for established agencies because they will charge hefty prices, and when you go for low cost options, you will find yourself in the middle of hundreds of people claiming to be the specialists. To start with, never make a choice depending solely on the prices. Second, watch out for the people making tall claims and flowery promises. Ask questions, even if you are not sure about the answers yourself, because when you put the answers coming from different professionals side by side, it will be easier for you to decipher the more knowledgeable ones. Ask for references and get in touch with their past clients to make sure you are not hiring some amateur.

The right techniques:

SEO works wonder when you are doing it right, but when you get on the wrong track, it can do more damage to your business than good. So, you must make sure that they will not be using black hat methods or spammy techniques for your website. You should go through the reports and the work on regular basis to make sure there are no spam or black hat methods being employed. Same goes for the quality of the content used in the marketing (e.g. articles, press releases, blog posts, blog comments, or social media content). If you are outsourcing the SEO to some low cost region, you should confirm that they have proper English comprehension along with SEO expertise, because it will have a direct effect on your reputation.

The right approach:

Never leave all controls in their hands. You should have access to your social media profiles, and more importantly the contact numbers and emails given on your website. Make sure that all kinds of communication with your customers is been done by you or your in-house staff members, and not the SEO guys, because in that case, they might take the customers to some of your competitor if they are offering better rates. Also, make sure that they are not working for some of your competitors, because it will create a conflict of interest.

Making them sign Non Disclosure Agreement is another option that you should consider.

Arba Hana is an SEO expert, specializing in Hotels and Restaurants industry. On her website you can find restaurants in Bristol and restaurants in Hull

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