Every website’s circumstances are different. SEO is a definite investment in market shares. It offers one of the most effective returns on investments that a company can make. But don’t forget this: it takes time to develop. You need to stay patient.

Consider this: it depends on whether it’s local SEO or national. For sites with no domain authority, trying to be found by those searching online and triumphing over competitive buyer keywords, a company needs many months before they can see results. A top SEO agency will recognize this and guide you accordingly.

On average, it may take over 6 months or more before leads start trickling in.

Other things to note: Low levels of competition, aka the case of the “low hanging fruit” is possible. Furthermore, non-buyer keywords are touch-point opportunities for brand awareness.

To build an authoritative website requires extensive planning and research.

Once a site is submitted to the search engines, a proper strategy is needed to promote it. For sites that have poor rankings, it depends on the size and complexity for a team to come up with a great strategy. The severity of issues will determine how quickly the ship can be righted. This is where SEO experts come in.

Results can be seen in as early as two or three months. Typically, traffic progressively increases over time as each month passes. Once rankings are achieved, they must be maintained.

Some of the ranking factors are:

• Content Relevancy
• Domain Authority
• Keyword In The Title
• Website Architecture
• Breadth and Depth of Topic.
• User Experience

For highly competitive industries and search terms, it’s not uncommon to take up to one year for results to be noticeable. One example would be a site with low authority trying to rank for the search term, “New York lawyer”.

Think about it.

If a competitor’s site is 10 years old and is maintaining a ranking in the top 3, it’s an authoritative site. It’s likely they have the resources and strategy to stay there.

What is an authoritative website? It’s a website that other sites link to because it’s a “subject matter expert”. A great site provides answers to questions irrespective of the reasons for visiting.

If you’re trying to rank your business locally, find someone who understands Google’s local algorithm. Guess what? You also need to think beyond Google.

The objective of the search engines is to provide relevant results. Their aim is to show pages that provide authoritative content relative to what people are looking for in a bid to help them find the best results.

It is true that search engines are not always successful in this regard. That said, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, things are getting better,

It’s worth noting that there are well over 200 ranking factors that a website is evaluated against.

Much like a bell curve, those that come closest are more optimized for the query. Although content matters greatly, it goes well beyond this. There are major Google Core Update changes that need to be considered.

At a basic level, a site needs a content structure focused on topics and subtopics. But you’ll also hear phrases like “you need links.” You need much more than that to get ahead in the game, though. Although links are seen as “endorsements” in the eyes of the search engines, many misconstrue quality over quantity. Furthermore, no site will feel compelled to link to another site unless it feels like a good fit for their visitors.

You must have linkable assets. In other words, a site owner wants to provide quality resources beyond the content they offer. That’s why it’s called the web, after all. Again, a top SEO agency in Dubai should be able to help you understand these points of misleading you.

No. This is a scheme to lure uninformed clients and is a trap. They will say something like “$499 a month on the first page of Google”. Many of these unscrupulous companies have put a black eye on the industry and made SEO experts in Dubai look bad.

There are variations on these snake oil pitches. What’s worse is that these companies either violate the search engine guidelines or fail to produce results. Often, it’s both.

Remember these points:

1. No reputable SEO company will guarantee rankings. Google’s Webmaster Guidelinesstates this.
2. Organic rankings fluctuate daily. Check your average position via the Google Search Console and you’ll find many terms with avg. position 1.5. 2,5, 3.0 etc.
3. High rankings don’t guarantee sales. You could be targeting the wrong traffic.

No. 1 rankings are achievable, however, that’s not what you should be hiring for.

You should hire an SEO Agency to drive qualified traffic and not rankings.

NOTE: Search engines will penalize websites that attempt to game the system by manipulating results.

Google’s guidelines are rather straightforward. They state, “the earlier the better.” In fact, Google specifically recommends it when you’re considering a web redesign or new website. Unfortunately, many companies come to this realization much later.

Two scenarios that we hear about are:

1. Our site doesn’t rank as well as it used to.
2. We migrated to a new website design and lost organic rankings and traffic.
3. We’re not sure if our blog is contributing to sales or assisted conversions.

The worst part is that improper website migration comes with severe consequences. A company will lose revenue and potential lifetime customers. A double whammy, if you will.

Yes. First, please refer to our Google places optimization infographic. If you’ve lost visibility in Google Maps (aka Google My Business), it may be related to the factors listed.

In complex cases, this may take time to resolve. With paid search advertising now an option, it’s more difficult to navigate this. If you’re stumped, you can hire us. As SEO experts, we know what we are tackling. Chances are we’ve encountered it. If we feel additional work is needed, we will communicate our findings and timetable.

NOTE: Previous names include Google Places, Local Business Center, Place Pages for Google Maps, Google 7-pack.

First, cost is subjective. Not all SEO work is expensive.

1. Competitive search queries take time to achieve market shares. Higher volume keywords are typically more difficult.
2. You may have low domain/page authority. Sites linking to you are votes in the eyes of the search engines. And in case you don’t have link worthy content, that has to be developed and created, keeping your goals in mind. Then, as SEO experts, we must perform outreach. That takes time.
3. In many cases, websites are poorly designed. They have a confusing navigational structure, have poor internal link structures, or may respond slowly.

It may also be necessary to migrate, if the site is simply too old to function.

4. With the constant shifts in technology and changes in consumer behavior, it also takes time and research to understand the target audience.

The best SEO practitioners stay up to date, anticipate, and prepare you for change. The best SEO agencies in Dubai will do everything it takes to help you understand this. Their chief responsibility is maintaining market share and building on it. Google is constantly changing its algorithm and new competitors are also constantly entering the space.

There are a number of reasons why SEO traffic may drop such as:

1. Failure to Maintain On-Page Optimization. If a competitor has better on-page or makes a change, they can outrank you. Their content could be more relevant once it’s updated.
2. Failure to Build on Domain/Page Authority. Just because you’ve built up a certain amount of link equity does not mean you get to rest. Smart marketers always find ways to attract links naturally. You’ve worked hard to obtain visibility. Now you’ve got to protect it.
3. Website Redesign Without Proper Planning. Before you hand the keys of the car to a website designer, you should ask for a detailed plan. What’s going to change and why?

Unfortunately, we’ve seen many businesses just give access without digging further. No questions asked. Why?

This is a big mistake. Ask questions, raise your doubts loud and clear. Probe further. Don’t be afraid.

If you’ve redesigned a site and traffic is dropping more than 3%, you need to take immediate action. This is important.

4. Violating Search Engine Guidelines. Tactics that may have been OK a few months ago are suddenly not acceptable. For older sites, failure to stay up to date could result in an algorithmic penalty. Or even worse, a manual one from Google. It depends on the infraction. Mild traffic loss may be around 10 to 20%.

Yes. Absolutely yes! One of the great things about search engine optimization is that it encourages improvement unlike any other tool. Think about it, it’s pretty straightforward. We’ve never seen a website with high traffic rank well without being highly relevant. And guess what? If it is not relevant, it won’t stay there long-term.

A great website provides answers and compels action.

Words to the wise: rankings can’t be bought; they must be earned. As a site improves, others will feel more compelled to link to it. It also requires outreach and constant monitoring. A top SEO agency in Dubai will always tell you this.

Here’s how to make a calculation:

1. Determine the search volumes for keywords.
2. Examine the market share of competitors by comparing your Domain and Page authority to theirs.
3. Determine your average order value.
4. Do the math! If you achieve a certain percentage of visitors and your average order value is X, then you can estimate revenue and ROI.

Although this is rather basic, it gives you a fair idea of what’s at work. With pay per click costs rising, the sooner you begin, the better for your brand.

There are numerous answers online. Here’s our BS-free take that’s honest and straight from the horse’s mouth. It depends on why you wish to hire an agency. That needs to be clearly defined. For example, are you looking to increase leads? Conversions? Know your answers.

1. At a basic level, an SEO agency should be able to articulate why your site is not performing well.

Here are some of the common reasons.

• Low Domain/Page Authority
• Problematic Internal Linking Structure
• Poor Architecture
• Improper on Page Optimization
• Over Optimization
• Keyword Stuffing
• Broken Links
• Pagination Issues

 

2. Ask to see a sample of their work. It’s not unreasonable to ask for a case study. Ever. If they’re SEO experts, they’ll never say no.

3. A reputable SEO company should be able to explain what strategies they would use to increase traffic.

4. Ask for a rough technical review. Don’t expect a free SEO audit. That said, you should have something to obtain context.

5. Do they follow a search engine’s webmaster guidelines? Some firms engage in unethical tactics which can result in a penalty. Avoid at all costs.

6. Revenue. If a site has a ranking, the calculation is doable. For sites that do not have a ranking, it becomes much more difficult to do this. The bottom line is timeframe and market share. Top SEO companies in Dubai can help you understand this better.

It really depends on your resources and goals.

If you have a small internal team, it can be well worth the time and expense. Small sites are usually done in 25 hours on average and large sites could take two to three weeks or more.

The answer depends on the size and complexity. Fees for an SEO audit can range from $2,000 to $20,000. Bigger firms will certainly charge more as they have bigger overhead. But delivery may be faster.

What are the benefits of an audit? It provides an overview on how to improve your website’s visibility and what to prioritize. It helps you understand what’s holding your site back from acquiring traffic, leads, and sales.

We are not big fans  as most audits don’t provide enough value, to be honest. We get it: it is the most common association.

Hot tip: What you should be looking for is an SEO Assessment.

Here’s a small sampling of what you can learn from an SEO website assessment.

1. Actionable Insights on What to Improve immediately
2. How To Improve CTR and Conversions
3. Crawl Report to Uncover Indexing Issues
4. On Page Issues Affecting Rankings
5. Backlink Risk Assessment
6. How To Use Link Equity More Efficiently
7. Is User Experience Good Or Bad
8. Duplicate Content

An SEO website assessment prioritizes what to tackle and save everyone’s time. Moreover, it’s an in-depth roadmap rather than just fixing deficiencies. It provides a deep dive into the site as a whole. Competent firms provide a free call to discuss the report. Some will waive the first month’s SEO fee if you purchase the report. SEO agencies in Dubai offer different options depending on whom you ask.

1. We recommend installing the MozBar chrome extension. You can see your current page and domain authority, links, and more!
2. We recommend SEM Rush to see what the historical market share looks like. It offers a number of handy tools.
3. Google Search Console and BING Webmaster Tools.

This is just to get started and give you an idea of what you should be looking out for!

We think so!  Considering that there are over 200 parameters in which a website is evaluated against; bet on it. Each has a bell curve, so it only makes sense to have an overall website metric.

Advice: Don’t chase algorithms.

Focus on creating a great website. It should have intuitive navigation, helpful content, and above all, an experience that helps the user. Visitors come to a site for a specific reason. Is your site speaking to them and their needs? That’s the central question to aim for and analyze with site metrics.