What is the route to the customer for SEO tools and does it differ between countries? It appears that in some countries the advertising agency provides the SEO advice whereas in others it is independent SEO agencies. Does this channel differ by size of customer? eg do enterprises buy direct but small companies go through an agency? In other words, if you’re an SEO tools SaaS provider, how do you get yourself heard by the buyer and ensure your service is sold and repeatedly used?

I’d be grateful if someone could clarify or point me to reliable market research. As has been pointed out there is a deadly loop in searching for information on firms that specialise in optimising that search :)

And its not very surprising that these are the companies who are involved in grey hat techniques. Many of the companies from these top SEO company lists have used grey hat techniques themselves. Check their backlinks and you’ll know.

I am not talking about a list or a site in particular but many of you SEOs must be aware of these kind of sites. These are the sites that are themselves involved in buying links for them and their clients. Many of these sites even have these footer links from all the clients they have handled.

It is a double edge sword though because at times potential clients initially feel we are not a great company to work with since we are not ranked within the top 10 and they are often weary when I explain that Top SEOS is not all its cracked out to be. The idea that SEO companies could pay for top listings, which we never do, seems “too pure”.

But as someone else said, its is just like 1-800-DENTIST or any other directory.

Instead, hire a consultant.

That’s right.. hire an SEO consultant who is too good, too busy, and too expensive to take your seo work, but able to help find you an SEO firm.

With 1 or two hours of effort, a good SEO consultant can recommend a few firms or consultants who would be good fits for a project. For that you pay a few hours of a high hourly rate, but you establish a relationship.

I am more likely to make myself available for a call like the following, than a typical “we are looking for an SEO” call:

“Hey John Andrews. We need an seo firm, but don’t know which ones would be a good fit for us. We’ve budgeted a discovery phase, and we’d like to hire you to help us document our needs in a way that is actionable for the search for an SEO company, and to help us narrow down the choices. We need to choose a firm by ________ with an expected budget of ________ over ______ months for our site ___________. Can you help?”

The process I suggest filters out some of the “problem clients”:
* those who seek free advice, by hook or by crook
* those who don’t budget enough for successful SEO (with any firm)
* those who don’t budget at all (lack of planning)
* those who won’t pay anyone a decent rate, on principle
* those who just want a disconnected service provider (SEO doesn’t work that way)

I think serious businesses of all sizes would do better following this method than any search-based due diligence (since marketers by nature are excellent at “marketing” themselves even if terrible at SEO). I also know it’s better than “recommended” lists which are usually driven by industry politics and traded referrals, not merit.