Definition of SEO services

SEO services are services typically offered by an SEO agency that helps your company succeed in search engine optimization. With SEO, your business wants to increase its visibility in search results on search engines like Google and Bing. You specifically focus on search results related to your company, products, services, or industry.

Example of SEO services

For example, a bakery may use SEO to rank for searches like:

• Gluten-free bakery central PA
• Bakery custom cookies
• Bakery for wedding cakes

As search engines like Google rely on more than 200 factors to determine the ranking or position of a website in search results, it requires a significant amount of expertise to succeed at SEO. That’s why many businesses partner with an SEO service provider.

SEO services that SEO agencies offer

In the years since search engines like Google and Ask Jeeves launched, search engine algorithms have undergone numerous updates and innovations. That’s why many SEO companies offer specialized SEO services, helping businesses in specific (and competitive) industries succeed. A few examples of some of the most common SEO marketing services include:

• Local SEO
• Ecommerce SEO
• Voice SEO
• SEO audits

For many companies, traditional SEO services provide everything you need to succeed. If you’re a local or ecommerce store, however, local and ecommerce SEO services offer a competitive advantage that can maximize the impact of your SEO strategy. In some cases, SEO services will focus on specific areas of SEO, like:

• On-page SEO, which focuses on optimizations related to your website, like your title tags, content, and more
• Off-page SEO, which focuses on optimizations related to your online presence, like your website’s backlinks
• Technical SEO, which focuses on optimizations related to your website’s backend, like your page speed, site architecture, and more

Since SEO requires on-page, off-page, and technical SEO to succeed, it’s uncommon for companies to invest in these services. Most will opt for full-service SEO plans, which include on-page, off-page, and technical SEO because these plans provide you with an all-in-one solution so you can focus your time elsewhere.

7 things your SEO company’s services should include

Now that you know the definition of SEO services, it’s essential to review the services provided by SEO companies. While every digital marketing company is different, you want to partner with a provider that offers the complete package when it comes to SEO.

1. SEO audit

Every SEO company’s services should feature an SEO audit.

With an SEO audit, your SEO provider takes an in-depth look at your current strategy.

Even if you don’t have an SEO strategy in place, your agency will evaluate your website from an SEO perspective, looking at where it excels and where it could use improvements.

While you can take advantage of free SEO audit tools, they don’t provide your business with the same insight as a team of SEO specialists.

That’s why SEO services should include an audit. If they don’t, it indicates a lack of preparation and investment by your SEO company.

An absent SEO audit can also suggest that your agency doesn’t plan to create a custom strategy for your business. Instead, they use a template, which is why they don’t want to invest the time auditing your site.

The best strategies come tailored to your business, your brand, and your audiences.

2. Competitor analysis

No matter how niche your industry is, you want a competitor analysis with your SEO services. With competitor analysis tools, your SEO company can discover online and offline competitors.

This discovery can inform your strategy, helping you take advantage of and benefit from competitor weaknesses. While many SEO agencies include an initial competitor analysis with their services, you want to partner with companies that make competitor analyses a regular part of your strategy.

They assess your competitors continually, always looking and spotting opportunities.

WebFX, for example, analyses your competitors every quarter.

This proactive approach allows us to create competitive strategies for our clients, which has resulted in our award-winning team generating more than $2.4 billion in revenue for our clients in the past five years.

3. Custom strategy

A custom strategy is a core component of the definition of SEO services. When you have an approach personalized to your business, you can maximize your return on investment (ROI) from SEO. That translates to more calls, orders, and visits to your company.

If you invest in SEO services, your team needs to ensure your agency provides a custom strategy.

That’s because many SEO companies, especially those promoting “cheap” SEO services, deliver cookie-cutter or copy-and-paste strategies.

With a cookie-cutter approach to SEO, your business doesn’t get the maximum ROI. In most cases, companies fail to appear on the first page of search results with these kinds of strategies, which doesn’t help your business because only 25% of users go beyond the first page of search results.

That’s why your team needs to invest in services from SEO companies that offer custom strategies.

4. Off-page optimization

When you invest in SEO services, your package should include off-page optimization. In SEO, off-page optimization refers to optimizing factors outside your website that influence your ranking in search results. For example, your backlink profile can shape your ranking in search results.

Your backlink profile, for reference, refers to the quantity and quality of websites linking to your site.

A food blogger, for example, may link to your website when sharing the custom cookies that you made for their wedding.

As a part of an SEO company’s services, they often provide the following for off-page SEO:

• Promoting your website content to bloggers and webmasters
• Developing shareable content for your site’s blog
• Monitoring your company’s mentions across social media by users and influencers
• Optimizing your Google My Business profile

If you don’t know if an SEO agency offers off-page optimization with their SEO services, just ask! They can provide your team with an overview of what their SEO services include, as well as the meaning of specific deliverables. That way, your staff can make an educated decision when choosing an agency.

5. On-page optimization

On-page optimization is another critical component of the meaning of SEO services. With on-page optimization, your SEO agency focuses on optimizing the features of your website for search engines like Google.

A few examples of some on-page SEO service deliverables include:

• Updating title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags for search
• Auditing your website’s information architecture, redirects, and internal linking structure
• Creating a sitemap
• Optimizing your site images according to best practices
• Researching and optimizing your website with valuable and relevant keywords
• Analyzing the usability, speed, and design of your site

In most cases, on-page optimization makes up a significant portion of your SEO services. That’s why if an SEO company doesn’t offer on-page SEO, they aren’t providing SEO services, which means your team needs to find another agency.

6. Monthly reports

Transparency is essential when it comes to SEO services.

You want an agency that your team can trust and rely on, which is why partnering with an SEO company that includes regular monthly reports is critical. With a performance report, your business can receive immediate insight into the results of your SEO strategy.

As an example, your report may cover your website’s organic traffic, conversion rate, and rankings in search results. In addition to receiving a monthly report, your SEO company’s services should also include time with your dedicated account manager.

When you have regular meetings with your account manager, your team can ask questions, review your report one-on-one, and more.

In short, routine meetings help you and your team stay on the same page as your SEO agency.

7. Progressive optimization

SEO is an ongoing strategy, which is why the definition of SEO services generally emphasizes the partnership that your business forms with your SEO agency.

You’re collaborating with your agency continuously, which is why SEO companies should work as an extension of your business. It’s also why their services should include progressive optimization. With continuous optimization, your SEO agency optimizes your site on an ongoing basis.

Even after your site meets SEO standards, they continue to find ways to improve and enhance your SEO strategy, which allows you to earn more from SEO.

Your dedicated account manager, for example, may find additional keywords for your business to target.

This discovery translates into new content, which leads to promoting that content to bloggers and webmasters in your industry.

No matter how advanced or successful your SEO strategy becomes, your company and SEO agency can make it one percent better.

That’s why it’s critical for your business to partner with an agency that recognizes that and sees the potential in your site.