How to Tell if Your SEO Company is Working in 3 Easy Steps

When you hire an SEO company, the goal is clear: improve your website’s visibility and drive more traffic. However, many businesses struggle to gauge the effectiveness of their SEO investment. So how do you know if your SEO company is delivering on their promises? In this article, we’ll break down three simple steps to help you determine if your SEO company is doing its job right.

1. Check the Rankings

One of the easiest ways to measure the success of your SEO campaign is by tracking the rankings of your target keywords. Rankings give a direct snapshot of where your website stands in search engine results for specific queries. Here’s how you can monitor this:

Track Keyword Performance: Start by identifying the keywords that matter most to your business. These could be industry-specific terms, product names, or even location-based keywords if you’re targeting local customers. Once you’ve established this list, you can begin monitoring your rankings.

Use a reliable SEO tracking tool, such as Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush, to keep an eye on how your website ranks for these keywords over time. Ideally, you should see a gradual improvement in rankings as your SEO company in India implements strategies to boost your website’s visibility.

Look for Position Changes: While rankings are important, it’s also crucial to look for consistent movement. A steady upward trend in keyword positions indicates that your SEO company is improving the website’s visibility. For example, if your site is now appearing on the first page of search results for certain high-priority keywords, that’s a strong sign that the SEO efforts are paying off.

However, if your rankings fluctuate without a clear upward movement or if you don’t see any significant changes after a few months, it’s worth questioning the effectiveness of the strategies being used. SEO takes time, but without steady progress, you may need to assess the quality of the work your SEO company is doing.

Evaluate Keyword Relevance: As you track rankings, be sure to consider whether the keywords your SEO company is targeting align with your business objectives. If they’re working on keywords that are too general or not closely related to your services, you might want to revisit the SEO strategy with them. It’s not enough to just rank higher for random keywords; those rankings must drive relevant traffic that leads to conversions.

2. Monitor Organic Traffic Growth

In addition to keyword rankings, organic traffic is a key indicator of SEO success. Organic traffic refers to visitors who land on your site through unpaid search engine results. When your website’s SEO is on track, you should notice a steady increase in organic traffic over time.

Use Google Analytics to Track Traffic: Google Analytics is one of the most effective tools for tracking website traffic. By setting up Google Analytics and reviewing the data, you can monitor trends in traffic and identify whether your SEO company is having an impact on your site’s visibility.

Look for growth in sessions, new users, and page views from organic search. An increase in these metrics indicates that the SEO efforts are working to drive more visitors to your site through search engines.

Evaluate Traffic Quality: Not all traffic is created equal. It’s important to evaluate whether the traffic your SEO company is sending to your website is relevant. For instance, if your site is focused on selling fitness equipment, you want to ensure that the traffic coming to your site is interested in fitness products or services.

Google Analytics allows you to see not only the quantity of traffic but also the quality. Are visitors staying on your site for a while? Are they engaging with your content, signing up for newsletters, or making purchases? If the organic traffic is high but visitors aren’t engaging or converting, it could signal that the SEO company is targeting the wrong audience or using ineffective tactics.

Compare Traffic to Previous Periods: A good way to measure SEO success is by comparing your current traffic to previous periods, like the last 3 months or year. If you see consistent growth in organic traffic, it’s a good sign that your SEO company is doing something right. However, if traffic numbers are stagnant or declining, it could indicate that their efforts aren’t producing the desired results.

3. Assess Conversions and ROI

The ultimate goal of any SEO campaign is to increase conversions, whether that means sales, sign-ups, or other measurable actions on your website. High traffic without conversions is just noise, so it's crucial to track how well your SEO efforts are translating into actual business results.

Track Conversions: Google Analytics offers a conversion tracking feature that allows you to monitor key actions on your site, such as purchases, form submissions, or sign-ups. Setting up conversion goals will give you clear insights into how many visitors are taking the desired actions after visiting your website. If you’re seeing an increase in conversions along with a rise in organic traffic, it’s a solid sign that your SEO company’s efforts are contributing to your bottom line.

Calculate Return on Investment (ROI): Measuring ROI is essential in understanding whether your SEO company is providing value for the money you’re spending. To do this, you’ll need to calculate how much revenue you’re generating from organic traffic compared to the cost of your SEO services. If the revenue from new customers or leads surpasses the cost of your SEO investment, then your SEO efforts are likely paying off.

Keep in mind that SEO is a long-term strategy, so it may take some time to see a return on investment. However, if after several months you’re not seeing any tangible results in terms of conversions or ROI, it’s worth discussing this with your SEO company to adjust the strategy.

Look for Specific Actionable Results: Instead of simply focusing on abstract metrics like “traffic,” look for more specific, actionable results. For instance, does the SEO campaign help bring in local customers if you’re targeting a local market? Are there certain pages on your website that now see a higher conversion rate thanks to increased visibility? Ask your SEO company to provide specific examples of how their work is driving measurable business results.

Conclusion

Knowing whether your SEO company is working comes down to tracking tangible results. By monitoring keyword rankings, organic traffic growth, and conversions, you can get a clear picture of the effectiveness of your SEO campaign. Keep in mind that SEO takes time, and results might not be instant, but consistent improvements across these areas indicate that your SEO company is on the right track.

If you notice stagnation or no improvement in these key areas, it’s essential to have an honest conversation with your SEO company to assess the strategy and make necessary adjustments. At the end of the day, SEO should bring meaningful results that help your business grow, and these three steps will help you determine if your SEO company is helping you get there.