How to hire an SEO Agency, is a problem I have faced in the past, and I know pretty much anyone out there running a small or even a larger business faces. How do you quantify if what you're being pitched is realistic or even going to cut the mustard?

As someone who both DOES Search Engine Optimisation for my own businesses and others - and has hired for it - I know how to recruit wrong.

Fortunately... I also know what to look for now.

Here's my take on what you should be looking for and for those who didn't want to ask - what SEO even really is.

SPOILER ALERT: It's not just downloading an app or completing the 'SEO box' on Shopify product descriptions.

The best SEO work is a lot more involved and sometimes incredibly slow-paced, data entry work. So anyway, without padding this description out too much so I can slip in a cheeky off-page SEO backlink, here's how to hire an SEO agency.

Where next? | How To Speed Up a Shopify Store

What is involved in SEO?

SEO includes 4 key areas, which I am going to cover:

• User Experience
• Technical SEO / Page Performance
• On-Page SEO
• Off-Page Linking/PR

How does this all relate to retail?

Well, ranking well locally means footfall through your door over a competitor's retail location. Clicks to bricks as it's known. Secondly, if you sell products online, or want to, search engine improvements are vital to make your presence become known. Here are this shopkeeper's tips to help you keep that traffic flowing and how to hire an SEO agency.