Top 5 Proven SEO Experts in Auckland

Avoid the uncertainty when looking for Google presence by reading our definite guide to SEO

Updated 3 July 2019
You may get spam emails offering to do your SEO, or you may be cold-called, or someone may have told you about SEO, and now you want to know if it’s right for your business. But where do you go from there? How much does SEO cost, and what do you get for your money?

We aim to provide information so that every business owner contemplating SEO can make a better-informed decision, save money, get results that make a difference and/or be confident in their approach. 

In this guide, we outline:

Read this first - 5 Essential SEO Questions & Answers

SEO isn't as logical as picking a business bank account, broadband provider or even web designer. To help you understand the basics, we have explained some essential FAQs. 

What is SEO?

SEO stands for ‘search engine optimisation’, which means improving your website’s ranking in search engines. Because 90% of New Zealanders use Google, SEO is primarily concerned with how your website appears in Google. For example, if you’re a plumber in Auckland and someone Googles ‘plumber Auckland’, if your website is #1 you will most likely get far more clicks to your website (and phone calls) than the plumber who is #10.

Why does SEO matter?

SEO matters because the higher your website is in Google, and the more relevant it is, generally, the more business you will do. That’s why every business owner wants to be #1 in Google for their industry, be it ‘builder Auckland’, ‘electrician Auckland’, ‘insurance broker Auckland’ etc. The regularity that your website shows up high in Google results can influence your overall business revenue. 
Generally, SEO work can be short-term (i.e. fix up a website and improve it, add content and make sure it displays correctly) and long-term (i.e. adding regular information, monitoring search rankings and improving the website experience overall). 

What does an SEO provider do?

The answer is, it depends. A good SEO provider will first audit your website and point out any issues to fix. Google wants to show its own users websites that are fast, complete and functional. Issues and problems that affect how Google ranks your website can include:
  • Slow-loading pages – for example, images are too big and mean a page takes 10+ seconds to load)
  • Broken links – restoring broken links means visitors can navigate around the website without getting to a dead-end.

After that, the SEO provider will invest time to create links to your website, such as business directories and link to other related businesses. For example, if you’re an insurance broker, they will want you to be linked to insurance associations, insurance companies and insurance blogs. This means that the website will be seen to be relevant to 'insurance' in the eyes of Google. If they are a good SEO provider, they will also want to create content about insurance to attract new viewers and potential customers. Any good SEO provider will know that having relevance in your industry will help ranking. 

​How much does SEO cost?

The answer is, it depends. We believe that you can do a lot of it yourself without too much effort or skill. However, most SEO providers will charge at least $500 per month, and in some cases, around $2,000 (and more). It’s an expensive investment, and if you get it wrong, it could be a huge waste of money. We believe that if you’re going to pay, you need to know what to expect and what to ask upfront. You also need to be clear about what you expect, while being reasonable about the likely results. SEO takes time, patience and skill – if you lack any of these, your results will suffer. 

​What do I need to know about keywords?

Keywords are the search terms specific to your business that people type (or talk) into Google. For example, if you were a plumber in Auckland, your keywords would be ‘plumber Auckland’, ‘plumbers Auckland’, ‘emergency plumber in Auckland’ or something similar. Your SEO success will depend on where in Google you rank for these, and how much traffic you get. 

Your SEO provider should set you up with a list of keywords specific to your business, and track those in the monthly reporting. If they don’t plan to do that, we take the view that this is an automatic red flag. Without variances to measure that arise between one month and another, there isn’t much you can match directly from their SEO efforts.

​What questions should I be asking my SEO provider (and what answers should I expect)?

To demystify the jargon of SEO, we’ve shortlisted seven questions which make initial conversations with an SEO provider that much more informed. 
  1. What do you do for SEO? The answer should focus on auditing your website and fixing errors, creating relevant industry links to other websites, content creation and regular monitoring. If you don’t hear at least two of these tasks being mentioned, you may not have found the best SEO provider. 
  2. What keywords should we be targeting? The answer should focus on ‘short’ keywords, such as your industry + location. For example, ‘florist Auckland, ‘dog grooming Auckland’. If you hear suggestions that are specific to your suburb, be aware that the search volumes are very low, and you may rank high in Google, but traffic to your website will be minimal. For example, ‘Plumber Auckland’ gets 7,500 searches per month, whereas ‘Plumber Torbay’ gets < 100. If you have a physical business, you need to hear keywords that are Auckland-focused. Not suburb or street-focused.
  3. What reporting will I receive? You want to hear answers what offer monthly data, specifically keyword ranking movements (i.e. going from #6 to #2 in Google), traffic volume changes (i.e. going from 500 visitors in January to 800 in February) are fundamental. If the SEO provider doesn’t offer this, then they do not measure their work. 
  4. What is the monthly cost? Asking this upfront and be prepared to hear some big numbers. Of course, you can negotiate on this as SEO providers know that the long-term relationship with a client is very valuable. 
  5. Is there a contract, and if so, what is the term of service? This is important, as many SEO providers will tie you into a minimum period. You shouldn’t sign up for anything more than three months, given the risks involved. However, it will take at least 1-3 months to see results.
  6. What clients have you worked on, and what were their results? You should expect to hear about existing clients and how SEO has helped them. Be sure to check the keywords they mention and challenge if they are relevant. For example, ranking a dentist #1 for ‘Dentist Auckland’ is not the same as ranking a dentist #4 for ‘Dentist Newmarket’.  
  7. Have you got experience in my industry? Whatever your industry is, you need to know if they can help and what expertise they bring. You know your industry better than any SEO provider, so make sure whatever they are saying makes sense. 

6 Must-Know SEO Facts

To make navigating SEO providers easier, we have outlined some key facts to manage your expectations and help you pick the right company to help you.

Hiring an SEO company does not guarantee Google results

Any SEO company cannot guarantee Google results. If they are promising results, then this is a massive red flag. No one knows how Google works, so no one can manipulate it. For example, MoneyHub would like to be #1 for ‘contents insurance’, but it’s #4. While we internally improve our work to get to #1 in time, we know that you can’t pay to be #1.

For this reason, you need to be realistic with your expectations, as well as patient. SEO providers are not wizards, and the competition without your industry will also affect the SEO results For example, if you want to be #1 for ‘dentist Auckland’, this, generally, will be more difficult than being #1 for ‘dentist Torbay’ given the number of dentists competing in Auckland. ​
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If you don’t ask the right questions, you won’t know what you’re paying for

This is true with any purchase, but SEO is unique in the fact that there isn’t a measurable product or agreed on result. Asking the right questions upfront means you let the SEO provider know that you’re serious, informed and have reasonable expectations. If you go in blindly and let the SEO provider work away without understanding what you’re getting for your money, you have no way to assess the results.
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In general, ‘link building’, ‘press releases’ and overseas ‘citations’ are not relevant anymore. It’s all about content and relevance

Our view is that having a bunch of irrelevant links to your website won’t help your SEO. For example, if you’re an Auckland plumbing business, having websites about dog grooming, gardening, IT or anything else unrelated to plumbing or business directories won’t be of use. The same can be said about press releases on American websites.

This is a popular ‘technique’ of some SEO providers, but it won’t help your website. Also, citations, which are links from overseas (often American) business directories to your website aren’t valuable either. From Google’s perspective, why is a local business in Auckland mentioned in a website profiling Texas-based businesses? We believe that some SEO experts still prefer to create links first without consideration of their effects. If they get it wrong, it can adversely affect your Google rankings. 
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Blog posts are out – everyone is too busy

If an SEO provider talks about making blog posts, this should be a red flag. Today, everyone is too busy, and blog posts of 100-300 words rarely pick up any traction on Google. SEO experts would agree that the blog post is fairly redundant. Instead, Google wants to show people destinations, such as fully-complete guides. Not the views of a business owner. 
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Make sure your website has complete information before engaging an SEO expert

It’s not complicated – ask yourself, does your website solve a reader’s needs? For example, if you’re a florist, does the website have all the flower options, prices, delivery information and a phone number to call? Websites that aren’t complete mean searchers look for other websites, and your website becomes less relevant. 

We believe that some SEO providers take money every month…and do very little (or do it wrong)

Our researchers have been in touch with many businesses and organisations who asked us to advise them on SEO costs and results. To be able to respond, we looked at their websites, links from other websites and general Google ranking. In one case, a school in the South Island, we saw zero work being done (no links, no new content, no advisory on the website, no reporting despite a monthly invoice of $500 being sent. Such instances are not rare, so it’s very important to know upfront what your SEO provider will be doing, and don’t sign any contracts unless you trust the service being delivered.

To avoid any problems, you will need to ask for monthly reports and understand what is being reported. Specifically, your keyword search ranking will be shown, as will traffic numbers to your website. A good result is seeing a keyword go from #8 to #5 and/or traffic growth of 500 to 750 visitors over the same period. 

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5 Trusted Auckland SEO companies who deliver

​Our list below, which is no particular order, covers SEO companies operating all over Auckland. We have selected these based on their history of longstanding service within Auckland, their website's SEO ranking (which we analysed internally), reviews on Google Business, client SEO results and other relevant metrics.

No SEO company has paid to appear on this list, and MoneyHub.co.nz has no relationship with any SEO company below.

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​5 Steps to do your own SEO for free

It’s not impossible to get the basics covered. You’re best to check your website now to identify any limitations, and then create some relevant links. 
  1. Visit Google Page Checker, a free service, to see how fast your website loads - This is a significant factor in how Google ranks your website. Slow page loading annoys users, so Google will favour fast-loading pages. If you find a few large images, approach your web designer asking them to be reduced in size, or do this yourself (change the format to JPEG and reduce the dimensions). Anything over 250KB is too large – 10-30 KB is more suitable. 
  2. Google your website and see what comes up – to the descriptions underneath make sense, and do they entice people to click, or can you improve them? See our example for MoneyHub (LINK) – does the description encourage you to click?
  3. Create some links to Auckland-specific directories – you can register your business for free with Finda.co.nz and Neighbourly.co.nz. You should also create a Facebook page for your business if you haven’t already, and add in your website address. We can also get a Google for Business page for free, which will make you more visible on the web. Best of all, the more reviews you get, the better your presence online. 
  4. Associate with relevant websites – look at your industry, and see if you can link your website to blogs, professional body websites and similar related websites. 
  5. Create content people ask and look for – if you have the same questions asked every day in your business, there is an opportunity to write a guide or help sheet that addresses these questions. It may take some time, but the efforts are often worth the upfront investment.   Remember - Think about what Google wants to show in search results, and that should shape how you do SEO

​Recommended experts for DIY SEO

  1. Brian Dean Backlinko – Brian is perhaps the world’s leading expert on content marketing, meaning the creation of website content to attract Google users. While Backlinko offers a paid program, Brian makes an endless amount of materials available for free. Check out <> and <> to start with, which explains everything you need to know to boost your website. 
  2. Neil Patel – Neil is also an expert in content marketing, with detailed specialist guides to <> and <>. Like Brian, Neil does not charge for his information.
Related guides
If you have an experience with an SEO provider, or SEO in general, and you think we should know about it, please contact our research team. ​