Finding A Good SEO Agency
Well done search engine optimisation, often called SEO for short, is designed to allow websites to show up in search results when people search for products and services rather than simply company names. The idea is that people looking for things online are able to find a business website without any prior knowledge of the business or its name. There are all manner of tricks and techniques which fall under SEO, but the good sustainable methods (also sometimes called "white hat SEO") are based around the idea of making your website easier for search engine to read and understand, meaning they rank you higher in searches for appropriately relevant terms.
It is not uncommon to decide to outsource SEO to external marketing agencies and other companies, but there are far too many dodgy types out there who like to take companies seeking SEO - especially local and small businesses - for a very expensive ride. How then does one actually go about finding a good, honest and legitimate search engine marketer?
It is actually incredibly easy to find a decent SEO agency online. Go to a search engine like Google or Bing and type in "SEO agency." Ignoring the paid ads at the top, whichever firm has landed at the top of the search results are what you want - they must be pretty good at SEO or their own website wouldn't be so high in the natural listings!
To narrow things down a bit, you could try extending your search. Say you live in Essex and want a local agency - just type in "SEO agency Essex." Or if your website is specialised and you want particular help with it you can add your industry or site type - "SEO tourism" or "SEO eCommerce" for example. This can be a great way to find niche SEO agencies who have specialist expertise in your field.
Sometimes SEO agencies (or at least people claiming to be SEO agencies) try to solicit companies by sending them emails or submitting contact forms with various enticements and offers. However if you see something like this come in then it is best to ignore it - if a company which supposedly specialises in search engine optimisation is reduced to spamming inboxes to get business rather than, say, doing SEO so their own website ranks highly and people can find them anyway, chances are they aren't very good. The same is true of SEO services advertised on paid ads at the top of search engines or on banner ads on other websites. If their search marketing is any good, why are they having to pay for their placements?
Another thing to bear in mind is to steer well clear of any SEO agency that promises you "top position for x keywords" or something similar. Nearly all modern search engines used personalised searching, meaning that everyone sees websites in slightly different ranking positions depending on their personal search history. Absolute rankings are a thing of the past, any anyone claiming to deliver this kind of service is lying through their teeth. Modern SEO will use sustainable "white hat" techniques in order to bring useful traffic to your website, not use exploits and dodgy tricks, which will constantly get them slapped by search engine updates like Google's infamous Panda and Penguin algorithm changes.
Once you've found an SEO company that looks mostly all right you'll need to ask them some questions before you leap into their services. As well as the usual checks like existing client list and testimonials, it is a good idea to speak to someone directly on the phone or in person. Here are some good questions to ask them.
Who does their search marketing work? Is it handled by in-house staff? Do they do any outsourcing, especially to foreign companies? A lot of agencies outsource to cheap link builders in Asia who tend to produce very low quality work that can have a negative impact on websites in the medium to long term.
How often do they report, and what format do these reports take? Any professional SEO agency should be providing regular updates to all its clients, along with written reports detailing actions taken and progress made.
What kind of skills and qualifications do they have? Take a look at their existing client lists for any recognisable big names, and see if they have anyone who is Analytics qualified. Some companies even use quality standards like ISO 9001 which is an excellent sign.
What else do they do? A lot of these companies are primarily website designers who are resellers for outsourced SEO services to boost their profits. It is better to look for an online marketing specialist to ensure you get a good quality service.
If you don't have the money to hire a professional SEO agency there are other options available. Some companies will let you pay for a one off website review to make recommendations on how to improve your site from a search marketing perspective, or you could research current techniques and ideas to do SEO for yourself.
Many online marketing methods are in fact startlingly simple. Boost your domain authority by getting other relevant sites to link back to yours. Get a backlinks boost as well as general marketing benefit by using social media like Facebook. Keep your website full of regularly updated and good quality content to encourage people to link to you as well as grow the site's visibility and importance. Use a good, solid SEO plugin for your content management system, and make sure your website's code is error free.
Remember you'll get a natural boost from modern search engines if your website is
Well designed, easy to use and nice to look at
Full of good, up to date and useful content designed for real people, not search engine robots
Free of errors, fast loading and devoid of spammy ads or buggy code
SEO Company Sydney
Friday, September 27, 2019
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
How to Find a Reliable House Painter
How to Find a Reliable House Painter
You've decided it's time to bring in a professional to paint your home but how do you find a reliable house painter? There are many things to consider when making the important decision of who will paint your house. While it might be easy to find a painter it's not easy to know which ones are qualified and reliable so you know the work will be done to last.
A couple of places to look for a painter:
Ask around - have any of your family members, friends or acquaintances recently used a local painter? If so, go check out the work they did - there's nothing like seeing it with your own two eyes to determine if that painter did a good job.
Check for advertisements in the local community and regional newspapers.
Check with a few local contractors, real estate agents and your local paint store.
Once you've found them you should probably:
Check the Better Business Bureau for complaints against the painter you choose to hire.
Word of mouth is a powerful thing - ask around to see if anyone you know has heard anything negative about the painter you choose.
Ask for references - any reputable painter will gladly provide contact information for previous clients.
Ask the references or the people that referred the house painter if they were happy with the work, if the non-painted surfaces were protected and how the painter was to deal with, were they pleasant, on time and reliable?
Ask the painter to come out and see the scope of work and request a quote. Make sure the quote has details such as which areas will be painted and how many coats of paint will be provided at the price he's providing.
Once you've found a few painters that gain your initial approval and that are within your price range, there are a few key things you should be looking for.
Your house painter should have extensive knowledge and experience with regard to the tools they use like brushes, scrapers, tape and rollers. They should know how much paint and primer a job would require and what type of paint to use. They should also know things like how to remove wallpaper and how to properly fill a hole.
A responsible painter should have business insurance as well as worker's compensation insurance. If your painter doesn't have insurance and accidentally breaks something or hurts themselves it would be your responsibility to incur the charges associated with the accident. Ask for proof of insurance before hiring your house painter - it could save you a lot of money in the long run.
Also inquire about preparation of the area to be painted - will your house painter take all necessary actions to ensure the painting job is done correctly? Will holes need to be filled and sanded prior to painting? Will your painter be able to tell if an area will need to be primed before painting? How many coats of paint should each area be covered with?
Clean up is also a good area to ask questions about. Will your house painter leave your house in the manner in which they found it? Will they complete the job with respect for your rugs, ceilings and belongings? Non-painted surfaces should be properly protected with drop sheets.
The best house painter will be punctual, willing to answer all your questions and have all necessary materials and tools at their disposal.
Always request details of the job in writing - a written contract will protect you and the painter so that once completed everyone is happy with how it all went. The contract should include paint colors and paint brand to be used, the number of coats. Also specify the clean up requirements, the painter should be responsible for the removal of paint from any surfaces that did not require painting (floors, windows, etc.).
Keep in mind all of the information above and you should be able to find a reliable house painter that can get the job done for you at a reasonable price.
Commercial Painting Contractor
You've decided it's time to bring in a professional to paint your home but how do you find a reliable house painter? There are many things to consider when making the important decision of who will paint your house. While it might be easy to find a painter it's not easy to know which ones are qualified and reliable so you know the work will be done to last.
A couple of places to look for a painter:
Ask around - have any of your family members, friends or acquaintances recently used a local painter? If so, go check out the work they did - there's nothing like seeing it with your own two eyes to determine if that painter did a good job.
Check for advertisements in the local community and regional newspapers.
Check with a few local contractors, real estate agents and your local paint store.
Once you've found them you should probably:
Check the Better Business Bureau for complaints against the painter you choose to hire.
Word of mouth is a powerful thing - ask around to see if anyone you know has heard anything negative about the painter you choose.
Ask for references - any reputable painter will gladly provide contact information for previous clients.
Ask the references or the people that referred the house painter if they were happy with the work, if the non-painted surfaces were protected and how the painter was to deal with, were they pleasant, on time and reliable?
Ask the painter to come out and see the scope of work and request a quote. Make sure the quote has details such as which areas will be painted and how many coats of paint will be provided at the price he's providing.
Once you've found a few painters that gain your initial approval and that are within your price range, there are a few key things you should be looking for.
Your house painter should have extensive knowledge and experience with regard to the tools they use like brushes, scrapers, tape and rollers. They should know how much paint and primer a job would require and what type of paint to use. They should also know things like how to remove wallpaper and how to properly fill a hole.
A responsible painter should have business insurance as well as worker's compensation insurance. If your painter doesn't have insurance and accidentally breaks something or hurts themselves it would be your responsibility to incur the charges associated with the accident. Ask for proof of insurance before hiring your house painter - it could save you a lot of money in the long run.
Also inquire about preparation of the area to be painted - will your house painter take all necessary actions to ensure the painting job is done correctly? Will holes need to be filled and sanded prior to painting? Will your painter be able to tell if an area will need to be primed before painting? How many coats of paint should each area be covered with?
Clean up is also a good area to ask questions about. Will your house painter leave your house in the manner in which they found it? Will they complete the job with respect for your rugs, ceilings and belongings? Non-painted surfaces should be properly protected with drop sheets.
The best house painter will be punctual, willing to answer all your questions and have all necessary materials and tools at their disposal.
Always request details of the job in writing - a written contract will protect you and the painter so that once completed everyone is happy with how it all went. The contract should include paint colors and paint brand to be used, the number of coats. Also specify the clean up requirements, the painter should be responsible for the removal of paint from any surfaces that did not require painting (floors, windows, etc.).
Keep in mind all of the information above and you should be able to find a reliable house painter that can get the job done for you at a reasonable price.
Commercial Painting Contractor
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