Top 5 SEO Services Companies in Capetown & Johannesburg, South Africa

Top SEO companies in South Africa are helping brands both local and global to reach consumers.

You’ve seen the term appear in most articles that have to do with digital marketing.

SEO is behind almost every website’s content strategy. Or at least it should be. So, what is Search Engine Optimization, or ‘Google Optimization’ (as it is jokingly named)?

SEO is the process of developing content that increases the visibility of your website when people search for products related to your brand.

With a population of  38.13 million internet users in South Africa, it’s no surprise that the country has a multitude of digital marketing agencies. Brands want to know how they can get the attention of those millions of users. They want to appear at the top of search results. SEO companies are claiming that they know the way.

But, after you narrow it down, you begin to see that there is a huge difference between an okay SEO agency and a great one. And nobody should want the okay ones. We advise taking time to read testimonials and success stories before engaging any agency.

Through experience & research from Clutch, we have listed the best SEO agencies in South Africa.

Save yourself time and money by referring to our guide for your next project.

Top SEO Companies in South Africa – Johannesburg & Cape Town

1. Growthpad Digital Consulting

At Growthpad Digital Consulting, we specialize in growth marketing strategies. SEO is an important part of our work. We don’t want our clients to just acquire customers, we want them to get customers who will stick around.

In response to the rise in video content, we have a division that focuses on video content and SEO tactics for video.

In a world where customers have so much choice, what you want is to get their loyalty. Our experience spans 30 industries and you can expect to receive all the fundamental SEO services combined with content strategy.

Over the years our focus has been on East & Southern African brands who want to make an impact on the continent. As a way of introduction, we welcome you to schedule  a free strategy session with us. 

2. CSA Sha-Izwe

Charles Smith  Associates Media Communications & Advertising has been growing brands for decades. They combine date, and strategy driven SEO to drive sustainable growth to their clients.

Their services include:

• SEO
• PR
• Social Media marketing
• Video marketing
• Online Reputation Management 

The company opens its doors to both large and small businesses. CSA Sha-Izwe is perfect for a brand that is looking for a complete digital strategy.  The agency’s roots are in PR but they have received recognition for all their services.

Their expertise has resulted in increased sales inquiries, increased revenue and increased brand exposure for some of the top brands in South Africa.

3. Web SEO Online

They build. The create. They share. The focus of the agency is to increase traffic and conversions for their customers. Web SEO Online, has been around for over 10 years. Their clientele is a mix of both local and international brands.

They have a mix of services that connect well to each other including:

• SEO
• Web Development
• Adwords PPC
• Social Media Marketing
• Graphic Design

Their portfolio boasts of top brands like Hisense and Just Property. Whilst they are based in Cape Town, Web SEO Online also has a branch in Johannesburg.

4. The Converted Click Digital Marketing Agency

The minute you land on the Converted Click’s homepage, you are welcomed by a refreshingly different look. This agency stands out as being among the few in South Africa that offer augmented reality as part of their services. Their offering is diverse with SEO services being a part of nine other services available.

Some of the most interesting are Paid Media, Web Stories, SEO and Augmented Reality. Unfortunately, with a minimum project fee of $50000, the agency is not friendly to small businesses. However, their positive ratings show that they are worth the investment.

5. Lab Group

The Lab Group is a group of agencies that are united by a common philosophy. They offer innovative technology, creative, research and marketing services to promote their clients’ products. The group’s headquarters are in London and the Cape Town branch is one of the 5 agencies in the group.

 The Lab Group is an ideal fit for you if you have a forward thinking brand that isnt afraid to push boundaries. SEO is one of 5 services that they offer where they combine human insights, research, CRO and paid search to give their customers success.

Their other services include:

• Creative communications
• Technology
• Digital Experiences
• Audience Research

The Services Offered by Top SEO Companies in South Africa

Website Audit

The first step any good SEO company will take for a client is to run an audit of their website. The audit is the process of identifying the issues that are preventing the site from performing at its best.

This will then become an ongoing process done regularly to keep an eye on performance. Much like how you should go for regular checks with the doctor.

The main reports you should expect from an audit include:

• Technical 
• Website structure 
• On-page SEO
• User experience
• Content gaps & opportunities
• Competitor insights

Since most agencies offer this as a free initial service, use the audit to measure their expertise.

Keyword Research

Once the first audit is complete, the next important service to look out for is keyword research.

Keywords form the foundation of SEO work. The research involves identifying the terms users are searching for in relation to a particular product or service. These terms are to then be strategically included in the content on your website. 

By doing so, your site will show up at the top of search results when those keywords are entered by users. Whilst it may seem obvious to include all the popular terms in your content, there is a fine art to the craft. A good SEO agency will give a detailed plan of how they will combine low volume and high volume terms. 

On-Page Optimization by Top SEO Companies in South Africa

After auditing and researching, on-page optimization will be the first step an agency will take to begin to work on your site. Using the identified search terms, each page of your website will be fine tuned to perform better in search results. 

Aside from the keywords, work will also be done on your website’s coding, meta descriptions, and header tags/title tags.

Link Building, Social Listening

When you run a domain authority report, some of the numbers you see relate to your website’s links. Simply put, link building is an online popularity contest.

What you want is for the most popular websites to mention or feature your site. This way Google then thinks, hey, if the cool kids know this site, it must be important. 

Then it bumps up your rankings. The more those ‘cool kids’ link to your site, the quicker you will become cool yourself. So an agency will be working to get these valuable links. The key takeaway here is that it is not about the number of links but the quality of the links.

Benefits of SEO for Your Business

When you break down the services that SEO agencies offer, it becomes clear why SEO is important. Some SEO work will yield immediate results. Such as fixing glaring technical issues on a website.

However, the results of other work may take time to be realised. You need to be consistent and constant with optimizing.

At the end of it all, as you measure your digital marketing performance, you will start to see the following benefits:

• Increased traffic to your website. The traffic should be quality traffic that has the potential to convert at some level.

• Cost effective marketing. If your website is pulling in converting traffic, you can spend less on promotion in other areas. 

• Improved credibility. The more users see your site appear at the top of search results, the more they will trust you. Sites on 2nd, 3rd, etc pages don’t inspire respect amongst users.

• Competitive advantage. If you are not showing up on that first page of search results chances are you are not getting website visitors. Without visitors your site cannot get sales. The competition with e-commerce is about having the best SEO strategy. 

When you nail this, you will have a strong advantage over competition.

Growthpad Digital Consulting

In conclusion, SEO is here to stay. You cannot afford to ignore it on the basis of not understanding it. There are many great companies who are ready to manage your SEO needs.

Avoid wasting money with fly by night agencies.  Approach these top SEO companies in South Africa for peace of mind.