When you begin researching Chicago Internet marketing companies, there are a few things that you should keep in mind. Being a web developer, I’m often asked to recommend companies to help my customers get their websites ranked higher in the search engines. This is a difficult task as there are few companies that do SEO the right way and even fewer of them are in Chicago.
The stakes are high when you hire someone to market your website. If you hire a company that doesn’t do things the right way, your site may never rank high in the search engines no matter what you do. There is a possibility that an unscrupulous company could cause permanent damage to your website. This is not only possible, it is rather common.
For this reason, I don’t like recommending any company to my customers. Once my job is done, I really just want to move onto the next project without having customers call me back and tell me their horror stories. However, I have worked with a couple of companies in Chicago that have produced fantastic results for my customers. Even so, I still have a hard time pulling the trigger on an actual endorsement.
Location: The first thing you want to check before you hire anyone is if they have an actual presence in Chicago. These days anyone with access to the Internet could have a prefix from any city in the world. This makes it very easy for these companies to trick their customers into thinking they are local, when they are in fact overseas. When you hire a Chicago Internet marketing company, make sure they are actually from Chicago.
Methods: Be sure you understand exactly what the company is going to do and make it clear that they are to do nothing that hasn’t been agreed on. Many companies will not give you this information as they fear you will take their knowledge and do your own project. However, there is really nothing to hide in SEO work. The companies should have no problem telling you what they plan on doing. You may not need the specifics, but you definitely need the overview.
Reporting: You want to know exactly which keywords are being targeted and you want to see reports monthly. Keep in mind that if your keywords are not in the top three, they are probably worthless. The reports may only show you that progress is being made, which is fine, but the job isn’t done until you are top three.
Cons: No matter what you do, don’t fall for anything that sounds crazy. For example, many people tell you that they will put you on the front page of Google for $x. From there, they will let you know which keyword they are going to use to put you on the front page. This is very easy for them to do and the entire labor spent will probably be under 15 minutes. Don’t fall for this.
Before hiring a Chicago Internet marketing firm, be sure you check their references and they have a proven track record. You don’t want a company from another country experimenting on your site. Make sure you are working with professionals that have done this before, and done it the right way.