Marketing strategies may have transformed over time but the primary goal has not: to attract and retain new customers. Today, businesses in every industry are having to shift their marketing methods as consumers of all ages prefer digital storefronts to physical ones. 

Organic SEO Services: Dominate Google the Right Way

Since its inception Google has prevailed as the #1 search engine and, for this reason in itself, has created a type of marketing strategy all its own: SEO. 

Search engine optimization, better known as SEO, is a powerful strategy for web development that allows a website to rank higher on Google search results. Within minutes of any marketing meeting, the topic of SEO services will arise as the most important aspect of the marketing plan.  But not all SEO blueprints are created equal. Follow along to learn about organic SEO services, what it is, and how it can be used to dominate Google’s rankings!

What is Organic SEO?

SEO blueprints are not one size fits all and it’s for good reason. Websites serve each business uniquely, and, believe it or not, just because a business has an active website doesn’t mean that they want to be seen by everyone online. For example, a company that has a website only to enhance the awareness of their physical, brick-and-mortar business would want a marketing plan that brings attention to the people in the surrounding area. This type of company would benefit from an SEO strategy called ‘Local SEO.’ This approach utilizes geographical keywords and phrases to optimize the company’s presence in search results and filter out unnecessary views. 

If a company doesn’t have a physical address and sell their products exclusively online they would want to attract traffic from all over the world. This type of SEO is referred to as ‘Organic SEO’ and focuses its efforts more towards specific item searches rather than geographical tags. Some brands can benefit from both types of SEO strategies because they have more than one location, or sell online as well as in-store.   

As Google analyzes each webpage for ranking it takes into consideration a lengthy list of critical components including keywords, outbound links, inbound links, word count, and even syntax. This type of meticulous evaluation takes time. Due to the fact that there are currently millions and millions of active web pages online today, along with the thousands being added every single day, it takes time for web pages to climb the ranks. Impatient individuals have found ways to bypass Google’s original SEO algorithms, tweaking their content to place them unjustly at the top of the results page. These types of marketing techniques are seen as unethical and deceptive and have been given the nickname ‘Black Hat SEO’ methods. Systems have since been put in place to mitigate these types of practices but it still takes a little bit of time for Google and its web crawlers to realize what’s actually happening. 

On the other hand, techniques that are approved by Google and work alongside its algorithms are called ‘White Hat SEO’ methods. Black Hat SEO methods can deliver amazing results quickly but this success is normally short-lived. Once Google’s web crawlers detect foul play, they can and will flag the website, and possibly remove it from their search engine entirely. The risk is not worth the reward in this scenario. The easiest way for companies to navigate the world of search engine optimization is to hire trusted Organic SEO Experts to help them!

Types of Activities Done by a Natural Organic SEO Expert 

An organic SEO expert, also known as a natural SEO expert, is knowledgeable in current marketing trends, technological advancements, and consumer psychology. The addition of a natural SEO expert to your marketing team will enhance the authority of your website internally and externally. The first step of the SEO expert’s process would be to do a thorough review of the current website. 

There are three areas of focus for their initial review: technical content, on-page content, and off-page content. Technical-focused SEO reviews deal with behind-the-scenes content. It ensures that Google’s search engine crawlers can effectively look over and verify all content on every page, including redirects, 404 errors, and more. The on-page SEO review is user-experience focused meaning it analyzes the way the website flows within itself. It looks at the efficiency of the website: the internal links, navigation, and interpretation of content. Off-page-focused SEO reviews work to improve SEO rankings through community presence. This is done by adding and earning links to and from other reputable websites. This improves the website’s authority and popularity while at the same time increasing content and overall value. A true organic SEO expert will do a thorough review of all these components and more. While this may seem like a lot to go over, knowing how and where to find a reputable SEO candidate might even be a little more difficult.

How Do You Find and Hire a True Organic SEO Company?

A truly organic SEO company, although sometimes seemingly hard to find, will be easy to spot in a crowd of imposters. Companies looking to add an organic SEO team should pay attention to the effort and explanations given by the prospective SEO company within the first few interactions. The desired level of cooperation and interaction between the two entities is vital when choosing the right fit for any company. 

Companies should hire a natural SEO expert who believes in the company’s mission, goals, values, and influence. Just like in any other industry, there are SEO swindlers and they don’t play fair. SEO optimization will play a huge part in the success of any company so knowing what to look for will allow companies to bypass the zeros and find the heroes!

Key Questions to Ask an Organic SEO Expert

After an initial review, a company that has mastered the art of organic SEO will be able to provide new clients with a detailed report of where their website stands currently with an idea of where they could be in the near future. New clients, however, have a huge role to play when it comes to deciphering these detailed reports. The world of digital marketing can be extremely confusing for entrepreneurs of all ages so to steer clear of the insincere salesman, business owners should ask the following questions:

What is your company’s SEO philosophy? 

If the prospective SEO company answers this question based solely on one of the three SEO review focuses, it might be good to steer clear of them. Organic SEO, at its core, is a culmination of all three categories, technical, on-page or user experience, and off-page. If an Organic SEO company’s focus is not equally distributed through all facets of SEO they are not providing the best service available.

How will you adapt that strategy to our company? 

Even if the SEO expert mentions all three areas of website review there is never a one-size-fits-all strategy. Experienced SEO magicians are aware of this and within moments will be able to give some ideas on how to approach new content that uniquely caters to that industry as well as the company’s business model, values, and goals.  

How does SEO mesh with the overall marketing strategy? 

The term ‘search engine optimization seems like a very distinct piece of the marketing puzzle but it isn’t. Any SEO ‘expert’ insisting on the isolation of SEO in the marketing plan should be dismissed immediately. SEO goes hand-in-hand with content creation, customer service, social media marketing, web development, sales, and public relations. 

How do you do your keyword research? 

In the past, SEO researchers entered key terms into a keyword database that populated the most commonly searched keywords and phrases relevant to their client’s product. This list of relevant keywords was then used in developing the content for the website. Not much has changed to the groundwork other than the goal. Keywords and phrases are now observed for intent rather than definition. Prospective SEO companies need to mention the search intent rather than exact words.

How long will it take before I can see results?

Unfortunately, the answer to this is supposed to be longer than most would want to hear. Once initiated, SEO needs time to mature and create momentum. Only about  22% of the pages that rank in the Google Top 10 are created within a year. If a website is healthy before hiring an organic SEO expert it might take longer to see changes from subtle improvements.

What metrics define success for you? 

Success can be delineated to numbers on a page but true success will be defined by the hiring company. This might seem like somewhat of a trick question but experienced SEO experts understand that their success is defined by the company’s perception of success.  What are the company’s goals and values? Are they coming second to monetary gain? The company might have met the traffic goal or sales goal, but at what cost?

 

Red Flags to Watch Out For in Organic SEO Services

When hiring a new employee, it is best to see them as a liability before an asset. When this same employee has a huge amount of input on profit the stakes are even higher.  Companies should be quick to steer clear of an SEO ‘Expert’ who does any of the following:

They promote link quantity over link quality. 

Google takes many things into consideration when ranking a website, one of the most important being links. But, it’s not just about the number of links, it’s about the quality. Poor-quality links are links that lead to no editorial or relevant information. A common ‘black hat SEO’ scheme includes purchasing hundreds of links to quickly increase the ranking of a website. These links though are commonly very low quality ultimately damaging their credibility and success.   

They don’t suggest making changes to the website. 

Website copy is even more important than links. The copy on web pages is what Google is sifting through to find the consumer exactly what they’re looking for.  Even if the suggestion is minute, there should be some amount of tweaking as Google rankings can change by the hour. 

They insist on tracking changes internally. 

Detailed SEO reports should be given monthly. If a company states that they are going to track the progress of the SEO campaign without any inclusion from the hiring company, new clients should be wary of this. Customers should be aware of all the changes made to their website as well as the results, whether they’re good or bad. 

They guarantee #1 results. 

Guaranteeing anything but a refund is where businesses get into trouble. Just like in sports, there’s more than one way to play the game and there are a lot of factors that decide who wins or loses each game. The market is forever fluctuating and no one can foresee the future. SEO is an ever-evolving process and relationship with Google that deserves patience, care, and attention. 

They pass on the initial SEO analysis.

When asking for directions in a new town, the best person to ask would be a local, someone who knows where they are currently and where to go. How can an SEO company give directions if they don’t know where to start? The initial SEO analysis is a huge piece of the digital marketing plan because it allows companies to see where opportunities lie as well as current issues.  

They publish new content without approval.  

Writing content for Google sounds very different than writing for the average consumer. In the past, Google wanted to see certain words on a web page, and the more times it was able to find it, the better the ranking. This produced clunky blog articles that refused to use pronouns and repeated themselves incessantly. Now that Google’s web crawlers look for quality over quantity, content needs to be made for the consumer first, and who better to verify than the creators?  

They outsource in-house work.  

The relationship between the SEO expert and the company is close in the way that they are supporting and creating the public perception of the brand. Once the SEO expert gives this type of meaningful work away to another third-party company, the voice of the company could be lost. This would be like taking a Ford model car to a Ford repair shop and they call a Kia mechanic to fix it. Cheap content creates cheap leads and leads to cheap sales.

 

Building a Legitimate Organic SEO Marketing Plan

When building a legitimate, organic SEO marketing plan one of the main things to remember is that successful SEO efforts are driven by great copy and even better content. Understanding that not everyone searches for the same thing the same way allows businesses to have a more open mind when creating different types of content for their pages. If companies would rather do their own SEO, they should begin by following these simple steps :

1. Take a look at the overall marketing plan. Figure out what has worked in the past and what hasn’t.  
2. Do an initial SEO analysis. See what types of content are currently working for the company and which are wasting money.
3. Figure out which analytics are being used, which ones are needed, and which can be forgotten. There’s no point in tracking actions that aren’t relevant to the overall success of the marketing plan. 
4.  Create a tentative timeline of SEO influence. What changes can be expected in one, three, or six months?
5.  Create a tentative timeline for off-page SEO influence. This timeline will be used to track the content posted on other influential websites or platforms.
6. Apply Google Analytics tracking to the website as well as other metric-tracking platforms to gain the most comprehensive picture of your company’s SEO efforts.

 

Ready to Work With an Organic SEO Agency?

Google is constantly updating its search engine algorithms for the highest quality results based on consumer experience. Natural organic SEO experts understand the need for, and welcome, these changes as they ultimately benefit everyone in the long run. By staying informed about major changes to the algorithms and analytics, SEO experts can adjust their digital marketing packages and plans accordingly, ensuring no loss of momentum. Here at Flyrise, we pride ourselves on supporting companies with missions we trust and believe in. Business owners should avoid SEO experts who tend to fly the red flags covered in this article. If you’re interested in receiving amazing organic SEO services from a reputable and trusted marketing company, look no further! 

Schedule a free consultation here and we’ll be ready to support you on your SEO journey!