SEO company in Dubai or Abu Dhabi: How do I choose?

Without any doubt, when it comes to lead generation, Search Engine Optimisation is still a key player. 

With so many "experts" in the market, what factors should you be looking for in a SEO company to ensure you avoid the sharks. 

1. How do they rank?

A simple gauge of how well they work for others is with how well they work for themselves. Use Google to search for terms around their business and see what they are doing for themselves. Try out SEO Company in Dubai for instance.

2. who will work on your account? 

A long time ago Search Engine Optimisation would have been performed by one person with the tasks of structure and link building. This has changed wildly. Now the optimisation task has so many facets. You should be asking them who works for your account and what are there roles. Some key people are:

• Social Media specialists
• Web designers and developers
• Journalists and content creators
• Strategists

Also ask them where they are based. It is vitally important to know the audience and how they use research and search to get the results you crave. An agency that outsources to other areas of the world are not going to understand the intricacies of your market. 

3. What else are they talking to you about?

The processes involved in this technique span many mediums and platforms. At the very least, they should be talking to you about:

• Social Media shareability - how do people share your information with their social networks? The power of referral through social networks is huge. Think about when you buy something, how much does it say when your friends and family refer products or services to you?
• Mobile responsive websites - Google is now actively punishing companies that offer a bad experience to its users (everyone who searches on Google) on mobile or tablet devices.  Make sure your website and content is optimised for all devices.
• Blogging/content creation - how do they use blogs or content to amplify your search results?  Also, could they be approaching your target audience rather than waiting for them to find you?  Ask and find out.
• Conversion - leads are nothing without conversion. Even if you drive thousands of people to your website but they don't convert into sales then what is the point. How is your agency converting your website traffic into leads? 
• PPC - Although this won't impact your organic SEO rankings, search engine marketing works hand in hand with organic search. This can get you some quick wins (traffic and lead generation) and can compliment your other activites. 

4. What practices do they use?

I mentioned earlier the sharks. Be careful here because many companies are being punished for the work that their agencies have performed. Google now stops anyone that is employing 'Blackhat' techniques from being found at all on search engines. This "prison sentence" can last for up to a couple of years. How much would that cost your business?

The irony of this is that the very companies that have used these 'illegal' tactics are offering services to fix them, making you pay for their bad mistakes. 

5. Are they talking to you about content marketing?

Organic search is a forever evolving artform. Now Content Marketing is becoming a behemoth in the SEO world. This practice involves not only people finding you but you finding them and nurturing them through a robust lead qualification process. 

To find out more about Content Marketing read this /content-marketing-does-it-work-in-dubai-abu-dhabi-and-the-uae

And finally...

Be careful when choosing the company that will get you found on search engines. Many will cost you more than you bargained for. Make sure to ask these questions and get someone who will act as your go to digital partner rather than your costly enemy. 

Check out our guide to marketing in 2016 for more...