Neil Patel has rightly quoted “SEO is a race, not a sprint.”
With almost 68% of the online experiences beginning with a search engine, it has gained more popularity than social media. According to BrightEdge, SEO drives 1000%+ more traffic than organic social media. As search engines become smarter, ranking your website high in SERPs has become more complex.
This means that people throughout the globe are consuming more and more digital content on a regular basis. This has led internet users to become familiar with the basic role of SEO in ranking any content higher in search results.
It was in the early 2000s that SEO found its foothold in India when marketing primarily revolved around traditional mediums like print and television. Since then the seeds of digital transformation were sown and it started competing against traditional marketing.
From that time, many digital agencies were launched and successfully made their position in the industry. Among many, Ranking By SEO was also launched by Lalit Sharma along with his fellow knowledgeable team members. In 2008, this top-performing SEO company was established in Noida.
The ultimate aim of establishing this company is to offer brand-first SEO and marketing solutions to each of our clients. They want to provide their client’s businesses a competitive edge over others in the industry.
Let’s delve deeper into the enthralling journey of Ranking By SEO, from its humble beginnings to its current dynamic landscape.
Here is an exclusive Q&A session with Lalit Sharma, the founder and CEO of Ranking By SEO. Over 14 years, the company has helped thousands of clients across diverse industries in generating higher ROI. Let’s ask them about his journey in making this company an established one!
1. What inspired you to start your own SEO agency?
Lalit: I started my own SEO agency because I saw ample opportunities in this field. I saw that people and businesses were spending more time and money online. The traditional advertising methods were not as effective anymore. This made me realise that SEO and digital marketing is the ultimate future.
I find that people are looking out on the internet before shopping anything or looking out for information. So, I wanted to help businesses in making their online presence and reach their customers directly. I knew I could use my skills to create content, and strategies that would help businesses connect with people in this digital world.
I also love being creative and solving problems. SEO allows me to do both. I get to come up with cool ideas, and then see them work to help businesses grow. It’s really rewarding!
So, you can say that what works for me is my extreme passion for working in the SEO sector, willingness to help other businesses achieve online success and boosting other entrepreneurs up.
2. What challenges did you face while setting up the agency?
Lalit: During the initial stages, while I was setting up my agency, I experienced various minor and major challenges. These challenges tested my resilience and determination for the same.
Some of them were:
Attracting the first few clients. It was quite tough for me as many businesses at that time were unsure about the effectiveness of the online platform and thus they preferred traditional marketing over this. It took time to prove to them the value of online marketing.
Another challenge was that as we were a start-up with no track record, establishing trust was hard. Clients often go for experienced agencies. I had to rely on my skills, dedication, and early successes to build a good reputation.
Starting with limited funds and a small team, it was difficult for me to compete with bigger agencies. I had to be creative in resource management and learn to do more with less.
The digital world evolves rapidly. So, staying updated with new tools, algorithms, and trends was a constant challenge for me and my team. I had to invest in ongoing learning and training.
Again, dealing with legal and financial aspects was overwhelming. Contracts, taxes, and regulations require careful attention to avoid issues down the road. Last but not least, being in a competitive industry, I had to find a niche that differentiates my agency and offers unique services to stand out.
Overcoming these challenges demanded patience and persistence but I had a strong belief in the power of SEO. So, despite the difficulties that come midway, with time and effort, the agency began to thrive and grow.
3. How did you manage to stand out from your competitors in the industry?
Lalit: Being an SEO agency owner, I realized the importance of standing out in this competitive market. Here are a few key ways that I implemented in order to differentiate my agency from others:
Professional SEO agencies have people with expertise in various niches, some of which include e-commerce, healthcare, or technology. This specialization helps us in getting a better understanding of our client’s unique requirements. Thus, we were successfully able to tailor our strategies for our client’s business accordingly.
Apart from this, we always try to stay ahead of our competitors in our industry by providing our clients with innovative solutions that help them gain an edge in their respective industries.
We are well equipped with essential SEO tools and resources and updated marketing software that will help our clients in gaining valuable insight on different niches. We create campaigns based on a data-driven approach. This helps us in creating effective campaigns and deliver excellent results to our clients. It also assists in making informed decisions regarding refining our strategies.
In fact, we see our clients’ success as our success. We prioritize building strong, long-term relationships and providing exceptional customer service. This is the reason we are always available to address our client’s concerns and provide solutions promptly.
Also, we try to maintain close communication with our clients and share on-time progress reports with them. This helps in building trust with our clients as they know that we are honest and accountable for all our deeds.
So, these differentiation strategies have helped us thrive in this competitive SEO industry.
4. How do you establish your credibility in this industry?
Lalit: For me, establishing credibility in the industry and building a strong client base are not just limited to strategies. It’s a journey filled with learning, growing and expertise.
Some of the key strategies that we have implemented include:
We exerted on almost every core SEO service. This has helped us in becoming experts in these areas and gained the trust of clients who are searching for expert solutions.
Instead of trying to work with every client, we aimed to deliver exceptional results to a select few. As we focused on quality over quantity, this has helped us build a reputation for producing tangible outcomes and satisfied clients.
We also showcased our successful SEO projects and client testimonials on our website. This served as a visual testament to our abilities and provided social proof of our competence. We have even attended industry events and connected with other professionals in the field. Building relationships in the SEO industry not only provided new opportunities but also boosted our credibility.
We invested time and resources into continuous training and certification to demonstrate our commitment to staying updated. Also, I tried to maintain open and honest communication with our clients. This fostered trust and ensured clients were well informed about the progress of their campaigns.
Even we took the time to educate our clients explaining our SEO strategies and the reasons behind them. This empowered our clients and built trust. These strategies altogether helped us in establishing our company as a credible and reliable SEO agency in the industry.
5. How do you stay updated with the latest SEO trends and technologies?
Lalit: Being an SEO agency owner, I know how crucial it is to stay updated with the current trends for a successful campaign. This made me invest a lot of time in learning about current updates in this field.
I managed so by reading industry blogs, watching webinars, and taking online courses. I was well aware of the fact that this industry is constantly evolving so for me, the only key to mastering this is staying informed of the current trends and updates.
I attended several conferences and industry events to meet experts and fellow marketers. This helps me gain insights into what’s working for others and what’s on the horizon. I even subscribed to some trusted newsletters from those dealing in this niche. This way, I receive regular updates in my email, making it easy to stay in the loop.
I have always explored new marketing tools and technologies and gained hands-on experience. This helps me understand their potential and effectiveness. In fact, I also followed some influential figures in the SEO field and read their content. They often share the latest trends and insights.
Moreover, I have always encouraged my team to stay updated as well. We share knowledge and discuss new trends, keeping everyone informed. We also analyse our SEO campaigns and website’s performance regularly. This helps in adjusting our strategies accordingly.
So, staying updated not only benefits my agency but also ensures that our clients get the best results. Being an ongoing process, this change and update keeps us at the forefront of the industry.
6. What is your approach to creating effective SEO campaigns as per client’s needs and industries?
Lalit: As SEO is a dynamic field, our agency’s approach is centred on curating tailored SEO campaigns for our clients that meet their unique needs and requirements.
Here is how we proceed:
We started with understanding our clients. We sit down with them, ask relevant questions to them, and try to grasp their marketing goals. In the meantime, we also get to know more about their marketing budget and target audience.
This personalized consultation is quite important as it sets the foundation for a successful SEO campaign.
Next, we perform in-depth research. We dive deep into the specifics of the SEO industry that our client operates in. This helps us identify trends, opportunities, and the competition. It’s all about finding that sweet spot where our clients can stand out.
Then comes the strategy. We curate a customised SEO strategy by utilising the right mix of tools and information. For each and every client, this strategy is unique and it properly aligns with their goals. We even monitor the campaign’s performance, making adjustments as necessary. It’s a constant process of optimization.
So, it’s actually the perfect blend of all those discussed here that helps us create SEO campaigns that truly work for our diverse clients in various industries.
7. How do you ensure consistent communication and collaboration with clients throughout the project lifecycle?
Lalit: Being a reputed SEO agency, Ranking By SEO ensures to maintain consistent communication and collaboration with their clients throughout their project lifecycle.
Here is how we make it happen:
We begin with the details regarding the SEO project, what it entails and what goals it serves. By establishing clear expectations from our clients, we set the foundation for our team collaboration.
What makes us more transparent is that we regularly update our clients and schedule weekly or monthly meetings with them to address their concerns, discuss progress and share detailed SEO reports with them.
If there are challenges or changes in the project, we communicate them promptly as we believe that honesty helps build trust.
We even use some digital tools like email, project management software, and messaging apps to stay connected. These tools help us share documents, and updates, and answer questions quickly.
Listening is another most important aspect that we focus upon! We even listen to our clients in order to understand their goals and preferences. This helps us in curating SEO strategies as per our client’s needs.
In fact, we ask our clients for feedback on a regular basis as it helps us improve our SEO services and adapt to their evolving needs.
Moreover, we also assign them with a dedicated account manager who serves as their direct line of communication between us. Also, we ensure to provide them with detailed reports on their website’s performance so that they can ask to make any adjustments (if needed).
Our SEO agency works closely with all our clients so that we can achieve the best results together.
8. What are some key lessons you have learned while running your SEO agency?
Lalit: From past to present-the journey of Ranking By SEO has taught me some incredible lessons. One key lesson amongst many others is that the digital landscape is constantly changing. So, one must learn and adapt new techniques regularly in order to stay relevant in this SEO industry.
Another important thing that I learned is the significance of data and analytics in understanding which SEO strategy works and which doesn’t. This helps us in refining our strategies and helps improve the website’s results for our clients.
What I find is that customer service is crucial. Building strong relationships with clients fosters trust and loyalty. We’ve also discovered that transparency is key. Being honest about what can be achieved and setting realistic expectations is vital.
Flexibility is a must. We have adapted to new platforms and technologies as they emerge, from social media to SEO. It is essential to be open to change and seize opportunities.
Finally, teamwork and collaboration are fundamental. The success of our agency completely relies on our experienced team who collaborates and works together to solve the complexity and challenges of this industry.
These lessons have helped us take our company to this level.
9. What is your vision for your SEO company in future?
Lalit: Like every other businessman, my vision for the future of Ranking By SEO is to stay at the forefront of this digital marketing landscape. We want to deliver successful results to our clients consistently!
Here is how I have planned:
I have planned to remain flexible and adaptable in terms of the digital strategies that we are using for our clients. We must be sure enough that they match the current trends and market conditions.
Even I decided to provide training to our team so that they become aware of how to utilise the latest tools and technologies. This will help them in becoming an expert in their field to serve their clients better throughout.
Moreover, we also assure to provide excellent solutions to our clients. For this reason, we tried to be creative and innovative while planning strategies. Whatever decisions we will make for our client’s campaign, it will be relied upon data and analytics for that. This will help in creating more effective campaigns for our clients.
We will also ensure to maintain transparency and open communication with our clients. This will help the clients understand whether we have just met their target goals or have exceeded their expectations.
Hopefully, if I follow these goals, we will stay ahead in this industry and continue helping our clients succeed in the online world.
10. How do you react when people say “SEO is dead”?
Lalit: No, Absolutely not! SEO is an ever-changing and alive field. This is one of the frequently heard SEO myths that I come across often. With time, Google and other search engines have adapted to the changes in the user’s behaviour.
Earlier, Google observed a lot of spammy activities which hurt the website’s SEO rankings and hurt its end goal. To overcome this issue, Google comes up with frequent updates i.e. providing relevant and quality information to the users. This has made SEO important for users more than ever before!
With constant evolution, though SEO has become more difficult, it’s definitely not dead. However, following old SEO practices might not work anymore and can lead you to huge penalties.
So, it’s better to keep yourself updated about the recent Google search algorithms so that you can propel your website to the top of the SERPs.
This was all regarding how Ranking By SEO has emerged to gain prominence in this multifaceted industry! The overall journey was quite challenging.
