SEO London (Search Engine Optimisation) in London UK

London is one of the biggest business centric cities of the world. The largest businesses in Europe often make thier head quarters in London. It's only natural that you will find the best B2B service providers located in and around central London.

SEO is quickly becoming one of the most important disciplines of online marketing. Therefore it is only natural that 100's of London SEO Agencies are coming out of the wood work. What vexes me is that most SEO "specialists" out there either really don't know what they are doing or don't know how to optimise sites enough to make thier clients real money.

The trick to finding a great SEO agency or professional is to know what questions to ask. But before you ask the questions make sure you give the SEO professional access to these things:

• All of your domain names/URLs. (Even the ones you do not intend to optimise.)
• Google Analytics or what ever analytics software you use.
• Your sales targets from SEO. How many sales do you "need" to make per month according to your business plan?
• Average Order Value or Value of leads.
• Google Webmaster Tools. (Only if you have access to this already.)

Then ask him/her these questions:

1. How much non-Brand Traffic are we getting?
   
   

   Answer: They should be able to get this from Google Analytics.

2. How much more non-brand traffic can we get if budget is not an issue?
   
   

   Answer: They should be able to tell you how much traffic is available for your entire market. Not just some sample keywords.

What budget would you recommend we pay to achieve our goals?



Answer: They should tell you exactly how much money it will cost to achieve page 1 rankings for a list of target keywords. The more keywords you target the more it should cost. 10 keywords for example should take a few days to optimise. 500 Keywords will take several weeks.

3. What top 10 sample keywords should we be targeting?
   
   

   Answer:The keywords they show should be the highest converting keywords with the most amount of searches per month. The traffic should be based on EXACT match keywords, not Broad match.

Why should we be targeting these keywords?



Answer:They should display a good understanding of your product and they way your customers search for your products.

4. What is the highest click through rate can we expect per sample keyword?
   
   

   Answer:They should give a maximum click through rate of 39% click through rate as a projection. Anything more than that is unrealistic for non-brand keywords.

How did you come to this conclusion?



Answer:They should have a process to discover the best keywords to target BEFORE they optimise your site. Have them take you through this process.

5. What conversion rate can we expect for these keywords?
   
   

   Answer: A good SEO specialist should be able to give you conversion rate projections based on your existing conversion rate. They will get this from your analytics program.

How did you come to this conclusion?



Answer: They should take you through the process they used. They should be able to showyou the analytics report that they based thier conclusions on.

6. Are our targets realistic when compared to our budget?
   
   

   Answer: Thier priority should be achieving success, not pandering to you or trying to get as much money as they can out of you. They should tell you the truth regardless of how you may feel about it and even if it means spending less money then what you budgeted for. The next step for both of you will be negotiating.

7. What advanced SEO techniques do you think we should optimise for?
   
   

   Answer: They should give you options for YOUR site. Not random techniques that may mot be applicable to your budiness. Click here for more information on Advanced SEO.

Do you know how to optimise for each advanced technique?



Answer: They should be able to give you some key sample details on exactly what must be done to optimise for each advanced technique. If they say anything about using Youtube for optimising your video listings, use some one ELSE.

8. What procedure do you follow when optimising a website?
   
   

   Answer: Good SEO professionals and agencies will have set procedures that they have developed over time.

What are the time lines associated with your procedures?



Answer: If they have done SEO before they should know how long it will take to optimise a site of your size.

9. How do you handle conflicts with web developers, web designers and challenging websites?
   
   

   Answer: Most web developers and web designers feel threatened by SEO "recommendations" because they are seldom presented with solutions that are easy and cheap to install. Your SEO professional should have enough technical knowledge to have an open conversation with your technical team.

Can you give us 3 methods of solving a technical problem/challenge that you have identified on our site?



Answer: Good SEO professionals will have the experience and knowledge to offer multiple solutions to every technical challenge.

10. What are the names of the team that will be working on the project? Can you guarantee that they will be the only people working on the project.
    
    

    Answer: Ensure that all the people on your project are native english speakers. Not just fluent, but native speakers. SEO is more about "how" people say things than how things are "supposed" to be said. A natiive speaker will understand the nuances of the english language.

Last note: Your SEO professional doesn't have to be based in London or in England, but make sure that they are Native English speakers.