What Should You Look for When Choosing an SEO Company in Ireland?
Choosing an SEO company can be difficult. Search for an SEO company in Dublin and you will find agencies promising better rankings, more traffic and more leads.
But SEO is changing.
Businesses now need to think about traditional Google Search alongside AI-powered search through platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.
So what should you actually look for when choosing an SEO company?
What should an SEO company actually do?
A good SEO company should help improve how easily potential customers can find your business online, they include several SEO services, including:
Keyword and competitor research
Technical SEO
Website optimisation
SEO content
Local SEO
Link building and online authority
Reporting and analytics
AI Search Optimisation
The goal should not simply be more website traffic. Good SEO should attract people who are genuinely looking for the products or services you provide.
Is traditional SEO still important?
Yes.
Traditional SEO is still an important part of how businesses are discovered online.
Google has confirmed that established SEO best practices remain relevant to its AI-powered search experiences.
There is also a strong connection between traditional search rankings and AI visibility. Research from Ahrefs found that 38% of pages cited in Google AI Overviews also appeared in Google's traditional top 10 results.
This means businesses should not see SEO and AI Search Optimisation as completely separate strategies.
A strong SEO foundation can also improve your chances of appearing in AI-powered search.
Should your SEO company understand AI search?
Increasingly, yes.
The way people search is changing.
Someone looking for help with SEO might traditionally search:
“Prinitng company Dublin”
Today, they might ask ChatGPT or Gemini:
“What are the best printing companies in Dublin that also offer branded merchandise?”
This is where AI Search Optimisation becomes important.
You may also see it referred to as:
AI SEO
AEO, or Answer Engine Optimisation
GEO, or Generative Engine Optimisation
AI Search Optimisation
The terminology is still developing, but the aim is similar: helping search engines and AI platforms clearly understand your business, expertise, services and relevance.
What should an SEO company look at first?
Before starting a long-term SEO campaign, an agency should understand where your website currently stands.
That normally starts with an SEO audit.
An audit can identify issues and opportunities across:
Technical SEO: Can Google properly crawl and understand your website?
Keywords: Are you targeting the searches your potential customers are actually making?
Content: Does your website answer the questions customers ask before buying?
Local SEO: Can search engines clearly understand where your business operates?
Authority: Does your website have enough credibility and strong external signals?
AI visibility: Does your business appear when relevant questions are asked through AI-powered search?
Without this initial research, it is difficult to know where your SEO budget should be focused.
Should an SEO company guarantee Google rankings?
Be cautious of anyone guaranteeing first place on Google.
No SEO company controls Google's search results.
A good agency should instead explain what it plans to improve, why those changes matter and how results will be measured.
Reporting should look beyond rankings too.
Useful metrics can include:
Organic website traffic
Keyword visibility
Leads and enquiries
Conversion rates
Local search visibility
Pages gaining or losing traffic
AI search visibility
The most important question is whether SEO is helping more of the right people discover your business.
What questions should you ask before choosing an SEO company?
Before hiring an SEO company, ask:
What will you do first?
There should be a clear strategy rather than a generic monthly checklist.
How will you measure results?
Rankings alone are not enough.
Do you cover technical SEO and content?
Both can be important.
Do you include AI Search Optimisation?
Your SEO strategy should reflect the way search behaviour is changing.
Will I know what work is being completed?
SEO should be transparent.
SEO and AI Search Optimisation with Canopy Creative
Canopy Creative provides SEO and AI Search Optimisation services for businesses across Ireland.
Our SEO services can include:
Keyword and competitor research
Technical SEO
Website optimisation
SEO content
Local SEO
Link building
AI Search Optimisation
Ongoing SEO reporting and strategy
We combine traditional SEO with AI Search Optimisation to help businesses improve their visibility across both Google and AI-powered search.
Not Sure Where to Start?
An SEO and AI Search Audit is a simple way to understand how your website is currently performing and where the biggest opportunities are.
We review your current SEO, website visibility, competitors and AI search presence, then provide clear recommendations on what should be improved.