How can I find the best SEO company?

If you're looking for the ideal SEO company to work for your business, there's a right way to go about the hiring process, and then there's a wrong way. Here are some effective ways to weed out the bad SEO companies from the good ones.

Don't Rely on Google as Your Filter

You might think that the higher a company ranks when you perform a search, the better the company must be. The conclusion drawn is that if they can rank well for their industry, then they must be effective for clients. However, this isn't necessarily the case. In fact, many SEO companies that rank on top might be so unsuccessful that they're putting all of their energy into ranking higher in an attempt to draw people in. A truly good SEO company won't rely on high rankings to get more customers–they'll rely instead on the quality of their services and subsequent customer referrals to improve their reputation.

There is No "Secret Sauce"

Many SEO companies might try to convince you of some "secret sauce" or formula that can get you on top of your competitors almost instantly. This is a falsity, though. SEO companies should be completely transparent with how they work from beginning to end. If you ask a company how they achieve something and they simply give you an evasive answer such as "I can't tell you that," chances are this company doesn't fully know what they're doing or they are engaging in black hat SEO practices that might hurt your business.

Be Wary of Those "Top SEO" Lists

When performing a search for "best SEO company" or similar terms, along with a specific city, they may wind up on a website with a list of "top SEO companies in [city name]." You shouldn't always trust these lists, as many of these websites simply try to rank companies that pay the most. Rather than for quality, the company at the top of the list simply paid nearly six figures to get to the top. Thus these lists aren't the best gauges for quality.

With these tips in mind, you can more effectively figure out if an SEO company is trying to cheat you out of high-quality SEO.