When it comes to SEO, you should always keep in mind that things may always don’t turn out the way as you expect. Being a new business owner is like being a parent to a newborn where you don’t want to do and when to do to pacify the infant alongside ensuring healthy growth. Most of the small business owners also don’t know what to expect from an SEO service, or they have a wrong perception about the SEO results.

One major question people to tend to ask the SEO providers is “When I can expect my website to be on top on SERP?” We should know that SEO takes time to work and exact what this “takes time” actually mean. Here, we will talk about some of the aspects of search engine optimization which a small business owner needs to know while hiring SEO services for your business promotion.

Before those who offer overnight results

There may be a digital marketing consultant who may approach you with cure-all type promises as skyrocketing the results and revenue in the first month itself. However, this is what actually happens in professional SEO in the first month.

Majority of your SEO efforts during the first month will be spent on analyzing your previous and current strategies and results, establishing the goals, setting timelines, and digging out what your competitors do. Any digital marketing company who gives you a promise of some overnight results are either trying to bluff you, or they are practicing black-hat SEO that will ultimately end up in bigger trouble to your business. Google now harshly punishes the black-hat SEO including banning the website from showing up in search results. Repairing such damage is too difficult to achieve.

So, finding the right SEO company among a huge number of providers is a really a hard task. But it is such a service now without which no business in any industry can survive. One major mistake any business may make now is to maintain an invisible website. SEO is considered as an essential investment by the corporate of all sizes and shapes. The dark side of this industry has given SEO some bad rap, but on being a bit knowledgeable and inquisitive, you can surely avoid the potholes and get hold of the best services to tie up with.

On the other hand, if you cannot understand the warning signs and understand what you exactly need from SEO services, then the empty promises, adverse link building strategies, and scams may strike you down. Even though there are many SEO practices which are running their business this way, a reputable and professional SEO can slowly and steadily grow your business through safe and transparent optimization services. For this, know what needs to be realistically expected from SEO.

1. Expect no guarantee at the ‘Very First Spot’

No professional SEO provider will give you any warranty at the very first spot without assessing your website, quality of your service, and also the industry along with competitors. Anyone who guarantees you blindly to get business could be dodgy. Google also alerts websites to stay away from such unreliable SEO practices. No.1 organic ranking is not definite or consistent for anyone.

2. Meet face to face

Communication is the key to choosing an effective SEO service for your purpose. Before signing up with any SEO provider, you should arrange for one or two rounds of face-to-face discussions with the experts to see how to approach your business needs and what strategies and solutions they offer to you. When it comes to SEO, such meetings needed to run through the course of SEO, not only to improve your ranking, but also to be on top consistently.

3. Business account management

Professional account management is that you exactly know the right point of contact and how often you hear from them about your service updates. Professional SEO services will be assigned a dedicated account manager for each client who will act as a one-point contact for all their queries. They may know your business well and also can come up with more and more strategic ideas in order to enhance your performance. Ensure that you get a qualified and skilled account manager with good domain knowledge of your industry to deal with your client account.

4. Content marketing

Content marketing is another key aspect of search engine optimization. These two needed to go hand-in-hand in order to ensure the best results. SEO cannot exist without quality content, both in terms of web content and also like blogs, short promotional content, social media content, etc. Every website will have product descriptions, landing pages, blog articles, industry-related articles, etc. in which all ‘content is the king.’ A good SEO provider will also aid in top-notch content production with the help of excellent copywriters.

5. Client training

When it comes to SEO, along with the optimization experts working on your account, it is also important for the business owners, marketers, and stakeholders also are compliant with the SEO measures in order to enjoy optimum results. So, a good SEO provider will also take the initiative to train the clients and others involved too as to what to do and what not do when they are dealing with website and other online platforms of the business.

6. Analytics

Google Analytics is an essential tool which SEO providers use to analyze the market, do keyword research, and also to assess the competition to develop the best online marketing strategy for a business. There are other analytical tools too used by SEO experts. Proper analytics-driven insight is something which you can expect from a skilled SEO service.

Over the first few months, you may expect your SEO consultants to make your website clean and marketing-worthy, expand its reach, and also nail down the factors which negatively affected your search engine performance. By six months, you may be able to tackle “low hanging fruits” if the SEO efforts are in the right direction. Remember the golden rule of SEO as ‘search engine optimization is a long-term strategy.’ However, you can pair it with the campaigns like paid PPC, which will help boost your reach and results.