SEO公司你应该知道的问题

1. Have you done work before for a business like mine? 你以前有过和我业务相似的客户吗？

Perhaps no other question goes to the heart of the matter like this. If you own a self-storage business and want an SEO agency to help you obtain more customers, the ideal shop would have a proven history of securing them for other like companies. The same applies when hiring an SEO agency to target a certain language or geography.

没有其他问题要比这个问题更重要了。如果你有个自助式仓储的业务，想要寻找一个能够帮助你获取更多顾客的SEO机构。那么一个有做过类似业务的公司公司将是不二之选。定位某种语言或地理位置时，雇用一个有过相关经验的SEO公司也是同理。

Yet, just because an agency has worked with a company like yours doesn't necessarily mean it will do a better job than another outfit that hasn't. But this is definitely a factor to weigh heavily.

当然，一家曾与相似业务的客户合作过的SEO机构不一定意味着它能够做得比其他没有类似经验的公司好。但这肯定是一个重要的因素。

2. Can you show me case studies? 你能给我看一下案例研究吗？

Whether the agency you're considering has worked before with a company of your type, case studies of its work will enable you to see the results delivered to other clients. In theory, this means the company can also come through for you. Talking with an agency representative about the case studies will also help you understand how the organization works.

不管这家机构是否有过类似客户，案例研究能够让你看到它曾经为其他客户做出的工作成果。理论上，这意味着它也能够为你做到这些。与机构的代表谈论这些案例也会帮助你了解组织的运作方式。

3. Can you provide references? 你能提供客户名单作参考吗？

No agency will intentionally give out as references the names of clients unhappy with its work. But if an agency can't even provide three positive references, what does that say?

没有任何一家机构会主动给出对自己工作不满意的客户名单。但如果一家机构连三个正面客户的参考都无法提供，这又说明了呢？

4. What metric do you focus on the most? 你最关注的度量标准是什么呢？

Surprise! The right answer is not rankings -- or traffic or links. The kind of SEO agency you want to work with won't ignore rankings or traffic as metrics in measuring a campaign's success but will primarily focus on customer leads, sales or conversions of prospects into clients.

很惊喜吧？正确答案并不是排名—或者流量，链接。你想要合作的那种SEO机构自然是不会忽视将排名和流量，但它们会优先注重于潜在客户，销售力和转化潜在客户为真正的客户。

5. How long until I start seeing results?我多久才能看到结果？

A representative of a good agency will underpromise and overdeliver. While every situation is different, this generally means the company will promise early positive results within four to six months and more substantial results within six to 12 months.

一个优秀机构的代表会做出一个较低的承诺，但最后递交一个超额的成果。虽然情况不一，但这通常意味着这家机构会承诺4至6个月有正面的结果，以及6到12个月时会有更多的实质性成果。

It's not unreasonable for an SEO consultant to say you will start seeing things moving in the right direction within two to three months, but he or she should make it clear such results will likely not be the kind that affect the primary metrics cited above.

如果一个SEO顾问告诉你在两到三个月间，你就能看到事情在向理想的方向发展，这也是合情合理的。但他/她应明确指出这些不是那种可以影响上述主要度量指标的结果。

SEO is a long-term tactic, and if it is sold to you as a short-term solution to get sales, then move along to an agency where you'll be told the frank truth, even if it isn't what you'd like to hear.

SEO公司是一个长期策略。如果机构允诺你一个短期的方案便能增加销售，那么请另寻他贤。即使忠言逆耳，但也请找一个会坦率地告诉你真实情况的机构，这才是对你公司最好的方案。

6. What is your link-building philosophy? 你的链接建设战略是什么？

The right answer emphasizes quality over quantity. Any SEO agency promising a certain number of links a month deserves skepticism if not outright rejection. The best links come naturally, from high-quality sources like news or industry websites.

正确答案应强调质量多于数量。任何一个承诺一个月就能得到一定数量链接的SEO机构是值得怀疑的，甚至可以直接拒绝。最好的链接是顺其自然而来的，一些优质来源比如新闻或行业网站。

Therefore link building is more like traditional public relations. Any SEO firm worth hiring for link-building services should be able to provide samples of high-quality links built for other clients and explain the process of how they were procured. If there's an explicit mention of buying links or anything that suggests the agency pays for links, run away.

链接建设更像是传统的公共关系。任何一个值得雇用的SEO公司，都应该能够提供一些高质量链接的客户案例样本，并解释工作的流程。如果机构直截了当地提到关于购买链接或者代理购买的建议，赶紧逃跑。

Related: 5 Ways Google Is Changing SEO

7. How has SEO changed over the past few years? 这几年SEO有什么改变？

It can be tricky to parse the answer to this. It's just as correct to say that SEO practices haven't changed at all as it is to remark they have been completely transformed. People at a firm that has always engaged in SEO through creating high-quality content and building high-quality links might feel that not much has changed.

解析这个问题可能有点棘手。正确的说法是，SEO的实践活动根本没有变化，因为他们已经完全转变了。那些一直投身于创造优质内容和链接建设的SEO人员也许觉得没有什么变化。

On the other hand, Google has rolled out major changes to its search engine that make high-quality content and links more valuable than before, while penalizing low-quality content and links. In addition, more searches are being performed on mobile devices.

另一方面，谷歌已经对其搜索引擎做出了重大改变，在惩治低质量内容和链接的同时，使优质内容和链接更加有价值。此外，移动设备上的搜索量在增长。

And today more searches use “natural language,” or complete sentences, rather than just a keyword or two. This has changed keyword strategy to a focus on more on long-tail results rather than just those “golden keywords” that many clients think will bring them the most traffic.

如今，更多的搜索使用“自然语言”或者完整的句子，而不仅仅是一两个关键字。关键字策略已经转为侧重于长尾结果的输入，而不仅仅是那些许多客户认为会带来流量的“黄金关键词”。