Most companies with a vested interest in improving their website business performance have already either launched into site optimization or are seriously considering it. For those companies which have not really started their move to SEO it can seem like a daunting challenge. There is an absolute plethora of information out there and it can be quite the task trying to ascertain which information is really relevant to your own firm. There are also many SEO companies, both local and national, and sometimes it can be hard figuring out who is good or bad at it, who you can really trust, and who should you stay away from.
Many companies looking to optimize their site(s) have already decided to out-source their SEO services. These companies need to consider several factors when selecting an SEO company appropriate to their particular needs: the size and scope of the company, the type of SEO and Web Analytics services offered, the companys reputation and how long it has been providing SEO, and other details pertinent to service, price and location.
One way to effectively narrow down the selection process is to request that any potential SEO providers prepare a comprehensive SEO Analysis Report for you. An Analysis Report will give you a better idea of the abilities of the company you are looking to out-source your SEO to. It will also bring you up to speed on certain aspects of SEO you might not be familiar with, and provide a brief but informative overview of the SEO work which lies ahead. SEO Firms usually charge upwards of $200 to furnish such a report, which makes sense considering that lots of time and effort has gone into producing it. There are firms which may even prepare the report at no charge, if they are confident that significant business is on the other end of it.
Some SEO providers do not start off by providing you with an Analysis Report, but initiate the process differently, actually conducting an on-site analysis of client capabilities with a Needs Assessment Report (NAR). This type of report helps an SEO provider to more accurately ascertain the knowledge-transfer, tools and/or resources your company requires for successful optimization. If you request an Analysis Report, it helps to know what you are looking for. This is by no means a definitive list, but here is some information which a good report should feature:
1. Basic Overview. This can be one-page in length., precede the body of the report and include information on the following: Domain (Age of Domain, Website Speed, DMOZ Listing) Ranking (Current PageRank, Predicted PageRank, Alexa Ranking) Links (Number of pages linking to website, Total listings on Google Search,Yahoo Search and MSN Search) 2. General information, including Keywords or Key Phrase, Number of Words and Number of Characters. In table format, this information tells you about the descriptive information available on your site, and whether or not it is comprehensive enough. Areas to be considered here include the following: Document TitleMeta KeywordsMeta DescriptionH1, H2, H3 and H4 Headline TextsAll Link URLsOutbound Link URLsOutbound Link TextsIMG Alt AttributesHTML Comment Tags3. Main on-the-page factors influencing your ranking Head Area (Title Tag, Meta Keywords) Body Area (Visible Text, First Heading on the Page H1 to H6, Text in links including ALTS, A LT Image Attributes) 4. Main off-the-page factors influencing your ranking Link Popularity Theme Open Directory Project Listing (dmoz.org) Yahoo! Directory Lisitng Rank Details (Google PageRank, Alexa Traffic Rank) Backlinks Theme 5. Density Analysis Results. In table format, this information includes details on phrase (1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-words), quantity and density).
Document Title Meta Keywords Meta Description 6. Sample of backlinks to website. In table format, this sample includes the following details:
Backlink URL PR (PageRank of backlink giving URL) OBL (Outbank Links, or total external links found on backlink giving webpage)
7. Analysis Summary. This can be one-page in length, follow the Table of Contents Page, and precede the Basic Overview and Body of the Report. It should include a re-cap of the following information available in the body:
Main on-the-page factors influencing your ranking (Website Interface, Keywords & Meta Tags)
Main off-the-page factors influencing your ranking (Link Building & Page Ranking)
A comprehensive, informative and insightful Analysis Report will tell you something about the SEO people you are about to hire, as well as the challenges which lay ahead as you move to optimize your website. Several SEO firms produce analysis reports which reach beyond the scope of the information outlined above, to include such things as Web Analytics. Suffice to say the suggested information for report inclusion is not exhaustive, but is in fact merely a starting point. If your Analysis Report has effectively considered most of the above information, however, chances are that you are at least heading down the right path as you initiate your SEO campaign!
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