Chicago is the beating heart of Midwest American commerce. It’s been a proud center of shipping, manufacturing, printing, publishing, and more since its founding in 1833.

Today, the Internet has added even more potential to Chicago’s bustling industries. SEO, specifically, has changed how Chicago companies market themselves and earn new customers.

These 10 Chicago SEO agencies are the best that you can find in the city and surrounding area. If you want to get the best results for your marketing dollar, these 10 agencies can make it happen for you.

The 10 Best SEO Agencies in Chicago

RankRatingSEO CompanyCompany WebsitePricingLocationFull Time Employees
1*****Digital Third CoastWebsite$$$Chicago, Illinois11-25
2****Design & PromoteWebsite$$$$Chicago, Illinois1-10
3****RivalMindWebsite$$$Chicago, Illinois11-25
4***Chicago Style SEOWebsite$$$$Chicago, Illinois26-50
5***Cherryone WebWebsite$$$$Chicago, Illinois1-10
6***SEO Fuel MarketingWebsite$$$Chicago, Illinois1-10
7***WebRevWebsite$$$$Chicago, Illinois1-10
8***Perfect Search MediaWebsite$$$Chicago, Illinois1-10
9**MmilasWebsite$$Chicago, Illinois1-10
10**VisibleWebsite$$$Chicago, Illinois1-10

How Does SEO Work in Chicago?

Chicago has 77 neighborhoods throughout the city, which makes SEO crucial to the success of any small business in the city limits.

Chicago SEO has the potential to go nationwide, but the emphasis of any SEO plan should be on local results.

For example, if you run a bar in O’Hare, you want to reach potential customers in the Far North Side or Northwest Side.

You don’t want to target the Far Southwest or Far Southeast since they probably won’t make the trip to your bar unless they’re your most loyal customers, which means you wouldn’t have to market to them anyway!

With that emphasis on local results, you ensure that your marketing only reaches people who are geographically close to you. For businesses like bars, plumbers, retail, and similar industries, that’s essential to your success and future growth.

If you’re in another industry — like ecommerce, shipping, or other online services — you can use SEO to cast a wider net.

Instead of only targeting local demographics, you can expand to target customers on a nationwide (or even worldwide) basis.

Ranking for keywords related to your industry is the cornerstone of any SEO strategy. When you have a whole country at your fingertips, it’s essential that you make smart judgment calls on which keywords will bring qualified traffic to your website based on their interests, as opposed to their locations.

You can use local SEO too, but that may not always be the best course of action for a company that has a nationwide audience.

Still, the customers in your neighborhood (or all of Chicago) are a strong starting point for any company, regardless of industry.

What’s Important When Choosing an SEO Agency?

Lots of factors play into finding a good SEO agency in Chicago.

First, you have to tell if the agency can give you good results.

Fortunately, we’ve covered that for you. We stand by our list of the 10 best SEO companies in Chicago, so you can research all of them to find a reliable marketing partner.

Second, you need to learn more about the company itself.

What’s their company culture like? Do they seem to be more interested in helping their clients or adding to their list of accomplishments? Have you heard their brand name somewhere else?

These kinds of questions help narrow your search from our list of 10.

Finding an SEO agency with an agreeable culture, client-centric focus, and popular brand name means you’ve probably found a reliable marketing partner.

But even after that, you’re not done with your research!

The third factor in finding an SEO agency is whether the two of you get along.

This may sound strange since you’re entering into a professional relationship, but it’s essential to long-term success.

If you immediately get a bad feeling from a sales rep or if you don’t like how a meeting went, go with your gut.

Many SEO contracts stipulate lengths of service up to and exceeding one year. So if you and an SEO company don’t get along within the first few interactions, that’s a bad sign for the year to come.

On the flip side, if you hit it off with your agency right away and get along well, you know you’ve found a good partner.

Last, you need to evaluate their skills in interpreting your business goals.

If you say you want long-term results and they immediately pitch you a PPC strategy, which is almost always a short-term solution to growth, you at least need an explanation.

And if they can’t give you an explanation, then this agency may not be a good fit for you. They might be too focused on upselling to adequately serve your business goals.

All of these factors are important to your final decision when hiring an SEO agency in Chicago.

But when you keep them in mind, you can root out the agencies that won’t work for you. Then, you’re left with the real winners.

Contact Us to Help Find Your SEO Partner

At SEO Companies Ranked, we love answering questions from our users!

If you want help figuring out the best SEO agency for your Chicago company, contact us at any time. We’re happy to help!