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 Yucca Agency, 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 E-commerce 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 sounds like a silly question, but it’s not! SEO is a very loose term that is used to mean several different things. For example, for a low-cost provider such as GoDaddy, SEO is purely software and reporting. Some SEO companies also help you write meta descriptions and content for your pages. BacklinkBuild, the predecessor of Yucca Agency, focused on the Link Building aspect of SEO. All of these initiatives are valid and valuable in their own way, but most small businesses need a holistic approach.

What organic SEO services does Yucca provide? Glad you asked! First off, yes — we do use software and automation. A lot of it. We love Ahrefs, Moz, Spyfu, Supermetrics, and several other tools that cost us a small fortune. But that’s just one piece. We plan your website’s pages, not just optimize what you currently have. We run technical audits on your website, and can actually fix the issues (or work with your developers to fix them). We write content and build links. No subcontracting. No schemes. Our processes have been carefully developed through the years and even so, there is no one-size-fits-all. Each client gets personalized attention and requires critical thinking to succeed.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of SEO, more than any other advertising medium, is that the benefits stick. This is in contrast to, say physical billboards or even PPC, where the benefits stop as soon as you stop paying.

Here’s what you should look for:
Make sure you own all the work. The website and domain must be yours – no exceptions. Same goes with the content. Is the SEO agency promising you a 100-page library? Great, but make sure it’s unique to you and you get to keep it. Too often we see businesses coming to us with websites where the best content is not actually theirs, and they must pay hefty license fees in perpetuity to keep it. With Yucca – everything we design, develop, write, or work on for you, is 100% yours.

Be cautious of paid link strategies. A “popular” strategy that some agencies choose to practice is purchasing links for their client websites. After all – it’s very tempting! Purchasing links is a quick and effective way to get results. You don’t have to worry about creating ‘link-worthy’ content and it’s actually cheaper to buy links than the cumbersome work of acquiring them organically. But there are two major problems: Firstly, it is against Google’s TOS to buy links for SEO. Secondly, the links will disappear as soon as you stop paying the agency. At Yucca, we focus on outreach and earning links that last.