It is important that the key point indicators (KPIs) that the agency uses to measure success align with your business goals. The methodology is important too. Is the agency using proprietary reporting software, or a tool that you control? Google warns you to beware of SEO agencies that guarantee you rankings (see more on Google’s guidelines).

So if it’s not specific keyword rankings, what is a good KPI for SEO campaigns? At SmartSites, we use your Google Analytics to measure Organic Search Traffic. We look at Visits, as well as Conversions from Organic Search.

Other popular KPIs include:

• Sales for Ecommerce SEO

• Calls for Local SEO

• CRM Reporting for National SEO

Organic SEO is the practice of ranking in Google’s natural search rankings. This is done through writing good content, building relevant links, and having an awesome website. Paid SEO, also known as Paid Search or Google PPC, involves paying Google for every click. You don’t need good content or a great website (although it helps) – you just need to pay Google. Organic SEO takes time to build up, but in turn the benefits last. In contrast, PPC is instant, but its benefits disappear as soon as you stop paying.

Paid & Organic SEO each has its own benefits; which one is best depends on your niche, resources, & business goals. One thing to keep in mind though is that there is an added advantage running both Organic SEO & Paid SEO. Because both target the same keywords & users, the shared data between both channels equates to the greatest net result.

This is a good question to ask any agency or B2B vendor, but it’s even more important when it comes to your SEO partner. The reason is because SEO is notorious for get-rankings-quick schemes. There are SEO strategies that one can take that will quickly get top rankings, but won’t last long.

One of these undesirable strategies is accomplished by acquiring dropped domains.You can pick up domains that previously held authoritative websites, but have since been abandoned. The domain expires and is available for purchase. ‘Blackhat’ SEO agencies pick up hundreds of these domains and put up fake blogs, or link farms, to direct SEO authority to sites of their choosing.

This works… for a very limited time. As soon as Google realizes that these new sites do not resemble the old and thus should not hold any authority, all pass-through value disappears and oftentimes replaced by ranking penalties.

How can you protect yourself from short-term SEO tactics? Pick a reputable agency that’s been around for several years and has hundreds of reviews – like SmartSites! SmartSites has been in business for over 10 years and you can read all our reviews to know that our SEO strategies are future-proof.