Four tips to choose your SEO agency

If you have a website, and it is vital for you to appear in the first pages of Google, you have probably already used an SEO agency.

And as you may have noticed, not all are equal.

Among those who subcontract their work in Romania, those who are never available to answer your questions, or those who cause a penalty on your site ... large are the chances of being disappointed and not to have any for your money.

Perhaps you have tried hardening your conditions with these agencies, asking for guarantees of results ... this is not necessarily the right solution. Because 90% of the time, these good results will be proposed to you on expressions or keywords which will not be impacting for your business.

But then, how to choose an SEO agency, without being an expert in this area? There are very simple criteria to choose your agency, without knowing anything about web marketing and SEO, and I propose to share them today with you.

To choose your SEO agency, you will need to use objective selection criteria:

Negotiate the contract of engagement

Most agencies tend to offer employment contracts on the very long term: a year or several years.

It is true that referencing requires long-term work, and that the results will probably be visible only after several months.

However, this tendency to propose long-term commitments means that the agencies do not question themselves throughout the delivery. A good agency must, therefore, allow you to negotiate contracts for up to six months, or to have a way out to stop the service in case of problems.

Support and impeccable follow-up

A good SEO agency must offer you support and impeccable follow-up.

This, therefore, requires an availability by mail, but also by phone, the days and working hours of the agency, in all circumstances.

This also involves the provision of a referent or an account manager who will be your privileged interlocutor and who will follow your referencing from the beginning to the end. Finally, it requires the issuance of regular reports, at least monthly.

A clear and transparent strategy

Also, a good Best SEO Company USA will propose a clear and transparent strategy to be able to trace your site in the search engines. They will, therefore, have to submit a detailed action plan with milestones and objectives to be achieved.

Be wary of agencies that do not communicate about their methods: maybe these are methods that are deprecated by Google. Perhaps they outsource their work abroad, under conditions that will be difficult for you to evaluate, and with interlocutors with whom you will never be able to trade.

Regular exchanges and coordination

Finally, the agency must be interested in your business, your goals, and your strategy, because SEO must increasingly be attached to the rest of your marketing and communication.

Also, the actions you perform on your site, on the Internet or as part of your traditional communication may have impacts on your SEO. And of course, the conflicting is also true.

Because of this, you must work in perfect coordination with the SEO agency. This one must offer you regular exchanges, and it must be interested in all the actions and the strategy that you put in place. If the agency does not do the rest of your communication and web marketing, go your way.

The web developer profession: answers to general questions about web development

I receive monthly requests from students seeking guidance or people in professional reconversion, here are the questions that are submitted to me most frequently.

Introduce yourself?

Web developer and project manager experienced for more than 15 years; I had the opportunity to work on digital projects in different sectors and to manage teams (AXA, Basque Popularize, CEVA, ...), as well as on Web and Cloud integration projects (CIC, Remy Martin, Warner ...). Founder since 2009 of the agency Idtonic.com, well surrounded by web pros (web design, ergonomics, photo, video,) we work together to achieve innovative projects tailored to customer needs.

Can you describe in a few words what a web developer is?

It is often a technician who takes charge of the management and implementation of a digital project (web or mobile applications, websites), it translates the functional needs of a client in a computer language that the server understands. We are now talking about a full-stack developer, in other words, it implies that we intervene at all levels (front-end and back-end Web software development, database management, deployment, version management, system administration).

What training did you follow?

After a computer management DUT, I did a master in engineering application development and information systems. But the most important training is the experience gained in my first job as a developer in Canada.

What are the essential abilities to be a developer?

Curiosity, originality, perseverance and a lot of sense. But we must above all be aware of the needs of the client, i.e., find the best solution for a project while respecting deadlines. Finally, it is necessary to be well organized in his work.

What is the biggest difficulty in this business?

The reality is that we are often in a hurry in this business, especially in agile development, which is why it is very significant to understand the customer's request to get it right. Indeed each project is different and sometimes it is difficult to estimate the time that it will take us. So I would say that knowing how to take a step back on your work and that of the collaborators is essential.

How is a project going?

We analyze the client's needs to make a technical proposal. If this proposal is accepted, a kick-off meeting or Kick-off is organized to start the project. We start by working ergonomics, then graphic design, and finally development and graphic integration. Then we perform a series of tests in different environments (different browsers, screen sizes, different devices like tablets and mobiles). Finally, we present the project to the client who validates or who possibly requests retouching.

How is a team made to carry out a web project?

All the agencies work differently. Usually, there is a person in relation with the customer, it is essential, it transcribes customer requests, refines them if necessary. Then a developer for the server (back-end), an integrator specializing in particular technologies (front-end), a web designer to produce the illustrations and create interfaces and a project manager who drives our entire team. Afterward, a person may have several caps depending on the size of the project.

How do you see this job in a few years?

It is rather complicated to predict, in 2016 the digital trades have as the wind-up, data analysis with Big data, machine learning has given rise to new jobs as Data Cruncher, Data Analyst, Data Scientists. There is also artificial intelligence and bot programming that opens up new opportunities. After that it's always the same principles of logic, we just change language or technologies. One thing is certain we are far from the "webmaster" of the 2000s, which brings together all trades (web design, ergonomics, development, and integration), it will adapt and specialize.

The 5 social media marketing mistakes you should avoid

Social networks are great, and many say that it must be included and that we must be more active to generate traffic for our websites and turnover.

Here are five mistakes that you should not (more) do.

1. Make your promotion more than 25% of the time

If people are on social media, it's all about being entertained and having a good time, so they'll hate receiving promotions all the time from your Facebook page or Twitter account! Unwitting you will lose followers on your social network.

The promotion of your company or brand must, therefore, be done subtly and no more than 25% of the time you devote to the networks. For example, if you post four messages a day on Twitter, only one must promote your brand or company.

2. Publish content to publish

Experts say you have to publish a lot of content and all the time! Yes but no, regular display of content attracts attention and makes your media an active medium, but if you do not have creative or interesting content, publishing a lot of content just to may have the opposite effect and so attract negative attention. The result, a decrease in the number of followers ...

3. Use vulgar language

Use vulgar language in real life if you wish, but keep it for yourself. A website or social media must be in good French (or any other language of your choice).

The vulgar language is synonymous with aggression even if it is used for jokes and this will not push potential customers to trust you.

So prefer simple language, with short sentences and be courteous with all your followers even those who are not happy or who insult you directly. The worst case, do not respond to insults.

4. Being a robotic company without a touch of humanity

People on Social media marketing company like to communicate with other people and not with a robot or a square profile that only responds with "yes" or "no" or pre-recorded phrases.

You must add a touch of humanity to your profiles and messages. If you respond to a comment on your profile, then do not answer with the classic phrases like "we have received your comment and we thank you for the attention... »Be yourself on social media; it's as if someone is speaking to you in real life!

5. Do not address negative comments

If you are following and have read point 3, we have advised you not to respond to insults, but this is an extreme case, do not answer if you cannot control but the best is to answer (without vulgarity always) and with a touch of humor.

Generally, people are likely to write a negative comment rather than other things, they can spend a lot of time on your site and like a lot of topics without saying anything, but as soon as they go to see an article that does not mean they do not like it, they will leave a comment.

It will, therefore, take the time to read these negative comments and respond to a relationship of trust between you and your customers (or potential customers). For your answer, it will, of course, try to turn the negative comment into some positive things.