We have used other SEO specialist in the past and we were not happy with the result? How can we make a sound decision?

There are many factors to help you choose the right SEO service in Vancouver. These are the list of 20 things to keep in mind.

1. Find out about the team behind the project. Make sure your SEO service provider is not outsourcing the work to someone in some other country.
2. Ask for their portfolio and work.
3. See if they have strong software and technical skills.
4. No Hypocrisy. See if they themselves rank.
5. Do they really care about you? If they do not, their work would be mediocre.
6. Ask about their strategy. How are they going to help you rank higher?
7. Do they write great and engaging blogs regularly? Great SEO is writing great content.
8. Check their Social Media Presence.
9. Make sure when they are re-doing your website, they are designing with conversion (CRO) in mind.
10. See if they contribute to open source software projects. Their ability to contribute and write great software is essential for long term SEO strategy.
11. How innovative are they? If they work on the same strategies all your competition is working on, the SEO efforts won't be effective. Ask for what makes then innovative.
12. Do proper reference checks. Call their clients and ask 'What was it like working with them'.
13. Make sure they can write software from the grounds up. No copy paste code and using 3rd party plugins. Long term, using 3rd party tools will cause more harm than good.
14. Ask about their digital assets. When you hire a SEO service provider you are working on building a digital asset. Ask them what have they done for themselves.
15. Do they conduct workshops, events and interact with the community? Or is your SEO service provider a hermit. You need a SEO service provider that interacts with the community. This will help them understand the local market better.
16. Make sure you are working with a provider that is atleast 2+ years in business.
17. Make sure they provide a good website maintenance and support package
18. Make sure your SEO provider uses offline methods too not just online methods.
20. Ask about how long will it take to see results. You should start to see some results in 4-8 weeks time.
21. Do not shop based on cost, shop based on value. Higher the value provided, faster will be the return on your investment. It will start to pay for it self

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What makes you - Vancouver SEO Specialist?

There are few things at ANTSAND that make us the right team to hire for SEO. We pride ourself in being a specialist for 3 main reasons.

1. 50% of SEO is writing great and engaging content. In other words we help you create content where search engines want to rank you high and users want to engage with. This is a science and the process to create engaging content is predictable.
2. The other 50% of SEO are the technical and visual aspects of the page. Making your website look visually appealing, making it load fast, making it secure, having less bugs and glitches, building trust with your users, optimizing your website for maximum engagement and a lot more. Having extensive programming and design experience helps us take care of the other side of SEO.
3. The part which truely makes us a specialist is our ability to monitor and make sense of data. Which is to say, we do not blindly make changes and expect to see results. No one should do that. You need to keep monitoring how your site is performing technically, how well it is ranking on search and the most important of all is your website truly engaging? Constantly looking at the data and fine tuning your overall website is both an art and a science.

What is a better SEO strategy, a one time thorough audit by an expert and make the changes ourself or pay for a SEO campaign?

The answer depends. It depends on your budget, your expertise, how much time you are willing to spend, your goals, the mission of your company and a lot more. Generally, a good audit will help you understand your goals and help you get started in the right direction.

If the audit makes sense and you are willing to trade money for time, hiring a specialist is a good option. Allocate $3000/month for a 6 to 8 month campaign.

If you have a limited budget, then just hire someone to do a thorough audit of your website. Budget $1500 for an extensive indepth audit.

If the audit is done correctly there should be actionable steps you can work on to boost your SEO rankings. Follow the instructions in the audit. Expect 3 months to see results.

Why is SEO and website audits so expensive? Why can't we just use freelancers from some other country to do SEO for us? Why hire a company here in Vancouver?

You are free to choose anyone from any where. Unfortunately, many agencies do this. They charge you a premium and use a freelancer from fiverr or other platforms to do the job.

I recommend reading this article to make a sound decision - 20 things to lookout when selecting the best SEO service in Vancouver.

The effort for you to find someone locally or find someone from some other country will probably be the same. Making an educated decision is the tricky part. For that, read the above article and drill your provider to the letter. You have the right to ask questions before spending your money. This industry is filled with many spammers but there are some great services out there too. Do your research is all I suggest.

Should you invest in a SEO consultation service?

Depending on your goal and the market you serve. For the most part, getting expert advice is always a good thing. It will give you perspectives and ideas to help build your brand online. Start with a consultation/audit service. If you feel there is value investing in SEO, then proceed with a full SEO service.

What is the difference between SEO consultation and SEO audit?

A paid consultation and an audit would mean one and the same thing. If the consultation is free of charge, then most likely it is just a phone conversation for you to pay for an audit service. If the consultation is a paid service, it will basically be a full audit of your website and online brand

Is your SEO service done in-house in Vancouver or do you outsource it to someone else?

At ANTSAND all our work is done in-house in Vancouver, Richmond, B.C. We take tremendous pride in our work and we want you to see the team that will be working on your project. The quality of work that is done in-house is always far superior to companies who outsource the work to some other company in some other country.

Another reason why we keep everything in-house is that our team has to meet our clients periodically to make sure the project is moving smoothly and successfully. Rest assured, working with ANTSAND you are in very safe hands.

What is the difference between a SEO and Local SEO? What should we invest in?

It all depends on where you customers are. If your customers are all over the world, you would need to rank on search globally. If you only serve customers locally, you need to focus on Local SEO.
The main difference between local SEO and SEO is Location.

If you want to master local SEO, read the Ultimate guide to mastering local SEO and growing a profitable business in Vancouver

What are the different types of SEO services that one can provide?

There are many different types of SEO services one can provide. Technical SEO, on page/ on-site SEO, off-page SEO, content marketing, etc. Learn more to see the different services that will give you the best return on your investment.

Are SEO consultation FREE of charge?

Depends on the service provider. Some may give you a free consultation some will charge you. At ANTSAND we charge a $250 consultation fee for a half hour call session. Why? Because we want our clients to succeed. We believe if you invest a little bit you will take the advise more seriously.
If you implement what we tell you to do, you will get your return on investment within a few weeks. If you implement everything we have told you and you do not see any results we will refund your money.

If you want to conduct an audit your self you can read this article. How to conduct an effective SEO audit for local companies in Vancouver? A step by step guide

Is there a guarantee if a SEO consultation will work? Will I get a return on my investment?

There is no guarantee in life. What we are trying to do is increase the probability of your success. If what we tell you to do, you implement and you see no results what so ever in a months time, we will refund your money. But we need to see if you have implemented all the suggestions.

When will my credit card be charged?

We'll attempt to securely charge your credit card at the point of purchase online. If there's a problem, you'll be notified on the spot and prompted to use another card. Once we receive verification of sufficient funds, your payment will be completed and transferred securely to us. Your account will be charged in 24 to 48 hours.

Will I be charged sales tax for online orders?

Goods and Provincial sales tax will be collected