7 Secrets Of Choosing a SEO Expert in Singapore
One common mistake people make when looking for an SEO expert in Singapore is they use Google as a filter.
Confused? Let me explain below but first let me explain what is SEO.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a process of increasing the traffic that a website gets from the search engines. Hence, a SEO expert is someone whose (internet marketing) expertise is in getting more traffic for websites from the search engines, like Google, Yahoo and Bing.
People often fall for a seemingly irrefutable logic that an SEO expert must be able to rank their own website.
And that’s true for the most part, but there is a catch.
While a good SEO expert should be able to rank their own website for at least some SEO related keywords, not every expert has the time to focus on their own website.
The top SEO talents are too busy to work on their own websites. They typically get a lot of referrals from their existing clients. Plus, most of their clients give them repeat work consistently.
So they hardly get time to optimize their own website. Also, they rarely look for new clients.
So, what does that mean for you?
SEO agencies or SEO companies that rank higher on Google search results for keywords like “Best SEO in Singapore” may not necessarily the best.
That being said, you can also find SEO experts who score on both counts. We know a few SEO agencies that offer good SEO marketing services as well as rank higher on Google.
But SEO companies and agencies like them are few and far between.
So how can you find the best SEO expert in Singapore or a right one for your business?
Let’s find out.
Discover The Secrets Of How Your Business Can Be On Google Page 1.
1. Set a SMART goal For Your SEO campaign
SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Just saying, “I want to bring more organic traffic to my website,” is not enough. The fact that you are planning to hire an SEO expert in Singapore already shows that you want more traffic.
The important question, however, is what exactly you need from your SEO expert. Defining your exact SEO needs is the first step. If you are not sure how to set a SMART goal for your SEO, ask yourself the below questions.
- Why do you want to do SEO?
- Do I know if my competitors are doing SEO?
- How should SEO contribute to your sales and revenue objectives?
- What channels are currently bringing the most traffic to your website? What channels have untapped potential and is SEO one of them?
- How much traffic do you need on a daily or monthly basis? Am I losing sales to competitors because my website is not found on the first page of Google?
- How long do you want continue your SEO campaign?
- How does your website’s SEO performance currently compare to that of your competitors?
- Do you need traffic from a specific group?
- Do I understand that SEO is a marketing strategy that produces a much higher Return on investment than other marketing channels like paid Google and Facebook advertising but it takes a longer time to see results as compared to the rest.
You can start by creating an SEO checklist. For instance, this checklist from Moz could be a good starting point.
The goal here is to identify the strengths and weaknesses in your website, with regards to SEO.
Once you know your weaknesses, you can then find an SEO expert who specializes in that area. For instance, if you find that your website has broken internal and external links, you should hire an SEO expert with experience in link building.
If, on the other hand, you find duplicate content issues, you should hire an SEO expert in Singapore who specializes in On Page SEO.
Alternatively, you could speak to a few SEO experts and let them diagnose your website and let them propose solutions that will meet your needs or you can take up an effective SEO training course led by a good SEO specialist.
2. Choose a White Hat SEO Expert And Talk To One
So, what is white hat SEO? Simply put, it refers to SEO techniques and strategies that focus on optimizing a website for human readers as opposed to search bots. The techniques may include posting quality content that the reader finds useful, increasing the site loading time, making it easier to navigate through the website, etc.
The opposite of “white hat” is called “black hat.” Make sure your SEO expert knows the difference between the two. Black hat SEO manipulates Google algorithm to rank a website faster, but the long-term consequences could be devastating. Google penalizes black hat SEO activities, such as, keyword stuffing, invisible text and bulk buying of backlinks.
This black hat method would result either in a website 'disappearing' from the search engines or the website cannot be found easily, especially the top few pages in the Google search engine.
But fret not, a good SEO expert who have went through extensive studies in SEO courses and experience in handling with multiple industries and websites should definitely know this and be able to protect your website when taking up your project.
The bottom line is you need to choose an expert in white hat SEO and stay miles away from one who practices black hat SEO.
Also, if it's possible, you should talk to the SEO expert himself, understand his expertise, have a idea of his job description and what is his SEO strategy for your business website. You can also find out how competitive it is for your website to rank on the top of Google and what should be your reasonable expectations and timelines etc.
These shouldn't come from the account manager who is handling your account. The account manager can handle your account later but you want to understand how is the SEO specialist going to do your works because this is the crucial part of your SEO campaign.
Because given today's competitiveness amongst different industries, and if you are just going to get a SEO package off the shelf, what makes you think your website can rank when most of your competitors have already embarked on SEO marketing services for years.
3. Find An SEO Expert Who knows Both On Page and Off Page SEO And Check The Employment Record
On page SEO refers to search engine optimization strategies and techniques that can be implemented directly within your website. For instance, you should have a clear strategy for keyword density or how many keywords you want to use per 100 words. This is an element of on page SEO.
Some of Other On Page items include:
- Heading and Page Title Tags Optimization
- Meta Tags Optimization
- Fixing HTML codes
- Correcting Duplicate and Thin Content Issues
- On page Optimization
- Permalinks, Robots.txt files and breadcrumbs Setup
- XML Sitemap Setup
- Google Webmaster tools
- Google Analytics setup
- Image Alt Tags Optimization.
Off page SEO, on the other hand, refers to the strategies that you apply outside of your website. For instance, you should have a strategy for how you want to earn backlinks or how you want to promote your website on social media. In simplistic terms, the more quality backlinks you have linked to your website, the better your website will rank in the search engine.
For your SEO efforts to be successful, you need to use both on page and off page optimization techniques simultaneously. That is exactly why it important to choose an SEO expert that has experience with both and preferably someone with expertise in your industry.
It is common that people working in SEO and marketing agencies come and go, sometimes very rapidly. So the account manager and SEO expert whom you thought you are working with, could be gone before your contract ends. And sometimes, this could be a deciding factor in the success of your SEO campaign. Hence, it is recommended that the people whom you are going to work with are with the company for at least two years and not on internships.
4. Look For an SEO expert Who Truly Knows Keyword Research
Optimizing your website content with the right keywords is extremely important. Thankfully, keyword research and SEO tools like Ahrefs, Google Keyword Planner, and SEMrush make the job easy.
But it’s one thing to have a SEO tool and to use it; it’s another to actually really know how to use it. This is exactly where the knowledge, expertise and experience of your SEO expert should come handy. You should choose an SEO expert who knows how to use these SEO tools like the back of his hands.
An SEO expert in Singapore will usually avoid targeting generic keywords like “office chair.” Instead, a good SEO consultant would use keywords that has buying intent and are more specific to your business. For instance, if your business specializes in making high-end office chairs for top executives, a more specific target keyword could be “office executive chairs.”
If you want to target customers from a specific location, let’s say Singapore, your SEO expert may consider using keywords like “where to buy office executive chairs in Singapore.”
Discover The Secrets Of How Your Business Can Be On Google Page 1.
5. Look For An SEO Expert With a Successful Track Record and Raving Reviews
This is a no-brainer but many business owners don’t know how to judge the credibility of an SEO expert. One simple way to check the track record of your potential candidate is by visiting their website and whether they have achieved success for their own company and clients.
Check what their past clients are saying about them. If possible, contact some of their past clients and get direct feedback from them. And reviews do not always have to be come online.
If it's a SEO freelancer whom you are considering, you can also use the above tips and you can also check which are the SEO agencies and digital marketing agencies whom the freelancer has worked with, if any. Do not be surprised many freelancing SEO experts are the backbone behind the success stories of many bigger renowned SEO agencies.
You can sometimes find a hidden gem simply by asking your friends and professional networks. One good idea would be to reach out to the companies that already got success using SEO services in Singapore.
6. Find An SEO expert Who Keeps Abreast of Latest Algorithm Changes
Google has made many changes to its search algorithms over time. If you know anything about the Google algorithm, it is a complex system that search engines like Google use to glean data from its search index and then analyze that data to determine what content/website could be useful of their users. In fact, it is commonly said that Google considers 200+ factors for its ranking alogrithim.
The first major changes to Google algorithm called Panda updates came in 2011. Since then, several major updates, including Penguin, Hummingbird, Pigeon, RankBrain, Maccabees, and Brackets were implemented. In addition, Google has also made a number of small 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 updates, along with hundreds of small tweaks to its algorithm.
You don’t need to know about all these updates in detail, but your SEO expert or even SEO freelancer must know them. In fact, you should choose an SEO expert in Singapore who has in depth knowledge of how search works, link building rules regularly keeps updated with the new changes and can incorporate those changes to their SEO strategy.
7. Stay Away From Low Cost SEO package
SEO marketing services and packages vary wildly in Singapore. The cost could vary from $300 per month to pricing of $5000 per month, depending on the industry competitiveness and scope of works. And of course, the experience of the SEO person put in charge of your project plays a big part too.
It could be tempting to hire cheap SEO marketing services, but the truth is good SEO expertise comes at a cost. That’s because acquiring SEO skills take a long time and effort. It is actually one of the most difficult internet marketing skills to learn and master.
The more years of experience the SEO expert has, the more industries he has been successful in, will lead to a higher probability of success in your SEO campaign.
It is also important to understand that SEO is completely different from Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. SEO usually returns slower results but has the highest return on investment across different internet marketing strategies.
Search Engine Optimization, SEO is an ongoing process and you need to keep patience to get good, long-lasting results. Those who claim they can rank your website on the first page of Google search results within weeks are probably lying and you should run if you meet them.
That said, it also does not mean that expensive SEO packages are definitely good and can help you to reach your goals.
In summary, a good SEO expert not just helps your website rank higher on Google but keep you there for years.
Imagine what would that do for your business if your business is found on the Page 1 of Google whenever someone is searching for your product or services 24/7.
To that end, you probably can consider looking for a SEO agency like Dynamic Marketing that offers effective, end-to-end SEO services, including title optimization, meta-tag optimization, link building, link removal, article submissions, and directory inclusions.
Discover The Secrets Of How Your Business Can Be On Google Page 1.
Copyright 2019 - Dynamic Marketing