Best SEO Companies: 2021 List of Top SEO Agencies

Here's what to look for from an SEO company:

• Experience within your industry/vertical: This is not always necessary but can be helpful.
• Proven results: A reputable SEO company should have no problem providing examples of their work, case studies, etc.
• Ability to provide other related services: OuterBox offers web design, development, PPC services, etc., all under one roof. It can be quite beneficial to have one company handle all of these services.
• Client testimonials: Any reputable company should have no problem providing a few positive testimonials from existing clients.
• A well-designed website: Look for an SEO company with some existing SEO rankings of their own. Ask the SEO company you are considering to tell you about their SEO efforts on their company website.
• A SEO focus: Be sure to work with a true SEO firm and not an agency that offers SEO services on top of their other main offerings. If they are a social media marketing company or PR firm, its better to not engage in an SEO campaign with them. Leave SEO to the true SEO professionals.

In the example above, you'll see the OuterBox website brings in organic traffic worth over $300,000 per month and has been on a consistent upward trend.

What does a successful SEO campaign look like?

Many bad SEO companies will try to paint a pretty picture that simply doesn't exist while you wait for tangible results. If your SEO company is constantly giving you excuses, remember that SEO is about your ROI. Your SEO strategy should be clear and you should understand where the agency is taking you.

This is what you should see from a successful SEO campaign:

• Increased Keyword Rankings: Are your target keywords improving?
• Increased Organic Traffic: Does the analytics show a significant increase in organic traffic as a result of those keyword ranking improvements?
• Increased Organic Conversions: Is the increase in organic traffic qualified? If so, you better see a significant increase in organic conversions!
• Increased Organic Sales & Revenue: If your site is eCommerce, your ultimate ROI can be broken down to organic revenue. If your total organic revenue isn't improving at a rate that can justify your monthly SEO spend, it's likely time to reconsider.

Watch "How to Measure Your SEO Campaign Success":

What a Successful SEO Campaign Doesn't Look Like

• Immediate #1 rankings: Beware! For valuable keywords, you aren't going to see immediate results. SEO takes time, so immediate results are typically temporary and will likely end up hurting your website down the road if nefarious tactics were used to achieve said rankings. For instant results in search engines like Google, PPC advertising is the answer. Learn about Google Ads Manager services from OuterBox.
• Irrelevant Keyword Ranking Improvements: Watch out for companies that string you along by improving rankings and traffic for low-competition, slightly irrelevant keywords. Be sure to approve a master keyword list of terms that the SEO company will work to improve. They should provide monthly search volumes and other pertinent data to help you make an informed decision.
• Declining organic traffic and conversions: At the end of the day, if your organic traffic and conversions/sales/revenue are not increasing, your SEO campaign may not be working as you hoped. Of course, SEO is a long-term strategy, and it does often take several months to start seeing positive results.
• They talk about things other than SEO: At the end of the day, if your organic traffic and conversions/sales/revenue are not increasing, your SEO campaign may not be working as you hoped. Of course, SEO is a long-term strategy, and it does often take several months to start seeing positive results.

As SEO experts, what does our proven search marketing process look like?

It all begins with planning. SEO companies who jump into optimizing title tags, content, products, or any part of the website before doing proper research and SEO planning, could be doing more harm than good.

Performing an SEO audit - An audit of your website should be done at the beginning of your SEO campaign to review all elements and be sure there are no glaring issues. The audit may be different if you're running an local SEO campaign compared to an eCommerce campaign, but should offer a road-map and a strategy forward after completed. Often audits will touch on SEO content, looking at blog posts, articles and other ongoing content needs. Also, your agency should use Google Analytics to track your conversion rate and should be able to offer initial ideas for conversion rate optimization. Throughout your campaign A/B testing can be performed, which is the process of running tests on your website to boost conversion rate, giving you a higher return on investment from SEO efforts. If your agency also offers PPC services, they may include general search engine marketing recommendations, as SEO and paid search often goes hand-in-hand.

After completing your audit, our expert SEO team has a much better idea of what an ongoing campaign will need to consist of to be a successful endeavor. We will work to determine the "low hanging fruit", or changes that can be made to the website easily that we know will boost rankings quickly. Identifying these areas will allow for your campaign to have success sooner than later, which helps you prove a positive return on your marketing investment in a shorter time-frame. Certain task may require website design or web development services, which we also offer in-house or can coordinate with your current website development team. Our developers are versed in SEO best practices so that all code written is SEO friendly.

As we continue with the campaign, we will develop and continue to refine a customized SEO plan that focuses on your goals, needs, and more based on what is driving results for your business. Each campaign is unique, so we do not have set plans or strategies for each client, although we have proven techniques that have worked for past clients. Talk with our team today to learn more.

Looking for SEO Consulting?

At OuterBox, we also offer SEO consulting services. If you're an organization with a large in-house marketing team, you may want an SEO expert to help guide your decisions. We can consult on a monthly basic and provide SEO recommendations, allow your team to do the implementation. We also look to develop long-term client relationships by being the thought leaders in our space and offering that knowledge to your team.